Work

Assessment of Human Errors in the Operation of the Water Treatment Plant

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: The water supply system (WSS) is an anthropotechnical system whose reliability depends on proper human activity. Research indicates that 75% of WSS failures are due to human errors. The water treatment plant (WTP) is a key element of the WSS. The water treatment process requires human control as the operator. His task is to maintain an appropriate level of reliability and safety for the system by controlling the technological objects. The aim of the work was to assess the reliability of the WTP operator. The paper presents a Human Reliability Assessment (HRA) of the operator of the WTP using the Fuzzy-Bayes CREAM method. The values of the Human Error Probability (HEP) for operators were determined, which are key to carrying out further analyses of the human impact on the reliability and operational safety of anthropotechnical critical infrastructure systems. The HEP value of the water treatment plant operator varies in the range of 0.0005–0.0746 (depending on the technological process). Identification of new threats related to the impact of the human factor on the WSS’s functioning and taking them into account in reliability calculations will allow for a better representation of actual operating conditions.

Source: Water

DOI: 10.3390/w16172399

Authors: Jakub Żywiec, Barbara Tchórzewska-Cieślak, Kateryna Sokolan

Institutions: Rzeszów University of Technology, Khmelnytskyi National University

Language: English

Topic: Risk and Safety Analysis

Subfield: Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty

Field: Decision Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Clean water and sanitation

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,955