An occupational risk assessment approach for construction and operation period of wind turbines

Gul, M.; Guneri, A.F.; Baskan, M.

doi:10.22034/GJESM.2018.03.003

Document Type : ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Authors

¹ Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Munzur University, 62000, Tunceli, Turkey

² Department of Industrial Engineering, Yildiz Technical University, 34349, Istanbul, Turkey

https://doi.org/10.22034/GJESM.2018.03.003

Abstract

As wind energy is one of the most important renewable energy sources over the globe, need for increasing safety for this type of energy is gaining importance. Although this sector is not suffering an excessive amount of fatal injury accidents, there are many aspects open for improvements in occupational health and safety management. The construction and operation processes of wind turbines include several hazards that must be reduced. This study aims to present a risk assessment for the construction and operation period of wind tribunes using a new fuzzy based method. Fuzzy analytical hierarchy process, a common used multi criteria decision making method, is applied to assign weights to the parameters of Fine-Kinney risk analysis method. Then, fuzzy VIKOR method is used to prioritize hazards. A case study is carried out for an onshore wind turbine in Turkey by using occupational health and safety experts in weighting risk parameters and evaluating compromised rankings of the hazards. Results reveal the most important hazards both for construction and operation period of the wind tribune. On conclusion of the current study, control measures for those risks and possible corrective-preventive actions for improvement are also provided.

Graphical Abstract

Highlights

Two-stage fuzzy MCDM based risk assessment approach were followed in prioritization of hazards
The method eliminates deficiency of risk score evaluation by crisp numbers and decreases the inconsistency in decision making
The evaluations of risk parameters and ratings of hazards with respect to these parameters are made by judgements of experienced occupational experts under full consensus.
Different from a classical Fine-Kinney method, experts give criteria weights by pairwise comparison style of Buckley’s FAHP
To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt in occupational risk assessment of both construction and operation period of wind turbines using a fuzzy hybrid approach.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Environmental risk assessment and management

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Global Journal of Environmental Science and Management

An occupational risk assessment approach for construction and operation period of wind turbines

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Volume 4, Issue 3 - Serial Number 15
July 2018
Pages 281-298

An occupational risk assessment approach for construction and operation period of wind turbines

References

References

Letters to Editor

Send comment about this article

Volume 4, Issue 3 - Serial Number 15July 2018Pages 281-298

Volume 4, Issue 3 - Serial Number 15
July 2018
Pages 281-298