Identification and Assessment of Human Error in Electrical Installation Work of Electricity Distribution Company in Tehran Province Using Sherpa Technique



Ghavam MA¹ ; Mazloumi A² ; Hosseini MR³ Show Affiliations
Source: Journal of Health and Safety at Work Published:2019

Abstract

Introduction: Industrial incidents are one of the major problems the most societies. Different studies in this field showed that the main and most important cause of error occurrence is human factor. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify and asses the risk of human error in the activities related to the operation of electrical installations in Tehran Province Electricity Distribution Company. Material and Methods: This study is a qualitative and cross-sectional research was conducted through direct observation of the tasks, surveying documents, and interview. A task analysis was done using Hierarchical task Analysis, (HTA), the results were presented in the form of HTA. Finally, according to the instructions of SHERPA, the relevant worksheet was completed. Results: The analysis of SHERPA worksheets showed that a total of 3399 errors were detected for 759 tasks as 39.57% of them were action errors, 32.4% check, 7.32% retried type, 19.64% communication and 1.80% were selective errors. According to the results of risk assessment, 12.47% of the errors were in unacceptable risks level, 59.57% were undesirable, and 20.2% were acceptable risks but need to be revised and the rest, 7.93% acceptable with no need for revision or remedy action. Conclusion: According to the results, the most common type of error was action error. Adopting corrective measures such as proper selection of people for occupations, training, monitoring, using smart machines, tag outs and periodical checking and updating the instructions would be useful and effective countermeasures. © 2019, Tehran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved.