ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Assessment of Human Errors in the Determination of the Concentration of Water Pollutants
 
More details
Hide details
1
Faculty of Occupational Safety, University of Niš, Čarnojevića 10a, 18000 Niš, Serbia
 
2
Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 6, 21102 Novi Sad, Serbia
 
 
Submission date: 2024-02-13
 
 
Final revision date: 2024-04-03
 
 
Acceptance date: 2024-04-27
 
 
Online publication date: 2024-08-05
 
 
Publication date: 2025-01-09
 
 
Corresponding author
Ana B. Bijelić   

Faculty of Occupational Safety, University of Niš, Čarnojevića 10a, 18000 Niš, Serbia
 
 
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2025;34(2):1507-1514
 
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Despite the achievements in the field of instrumental methods of pollutant analysis, human error (HE) is still a significant issue affecting the quality of data obtained during environmental analysis and should be taken into account for quality risk management in the laboratory and field. Numerous scenarios that depend on the performance shaping factor (PSF) can lead to HE in the chemical analysis of environmental pollutants. Considering this, we applied, for the first time, the Success likelihood index method (SLIM) for the identification and quantification of HE in the analysis of polluting substances. As a case study, a spectrophotometric determination of ammonia concentration in water was examined. By applying SLIM, the impact of PSFs, such as procedure, experience, training, time, communication, and teamwork, on the occurrence of HE for specific activities was assessed by experts. It is estimated that “taking an unrepresentative sample” is the error with the highest probability of occurrence. The obtained results indicate that experience and training, followed by procedures and time, are PSFs that contribute to the greatest extent to the reduction of errors during the analysis of polluting substances. Considering the above-mentioned, the appropriate corrective measures that would lead to a reduction of HE in the analysis of pollutants are proposed.
REFERENCES (24)
1.
KANKI B.G. Cognitive functions and human error. In *Space Safety and Human Performance*, 1st ed.; Sgobba T., Kanki B., Clervoy J.-F., Sandal G.M., Eds., Butterworth‑Heinemann: Oxford, UK, pp. 17, 2018. <https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0...>.
 
2.
PARK J., JUNG W., KIM J. Inter-relationships between performance shaping factors for human reliability analysis of nuclear power plants. *Nuclear Engineering and Technology*, 52 (1), 87, 2020. <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.net....>.
 
3.
STOJILJKOVIC E. Knowledge management for the purpose of human error reduction. In *Proceedings of the 12th International Conference Management and Safety*; European Society of Safety Engineers: Čakovec, Croatia, pp. 1, 2017.
 
4.
ABRISHAMI S., KHAKZAD N., HOSSEINI S.M., VAN GELDER P. BN‑SLIM: A Bayesian Network methodology for human reliability assessment based on SLIM. *Reliability Engineering and System Safety*, 193, 106647, 2020. <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ress...>.
 
5.
KAYISOGLU G., BOLAT P., TAM K. Evaluating SLIM-based human error probability for ECDIS cybersecurity in maritime. *Journal of Navigation*, 75 (6), 1364, 2022. <https://doi.org/10.1017/S03734...>.
 
6.
ZHOU J.-L., LEI Y. A SLIM integrated with empirical study and network analysis for human error assessment in railway driving. *Reliability Engineering and System Safety*, 204, 107148, 2020. <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ress...>.
 
7.
ZHOU J.-L., YU Z.-T., XIAO R.-B. A large-scale group SLIM to estimate human error probabilities in railway driving. *Reliability Engineering and System Safety*, 228, 108809, 2022. <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ress...>.
 
8.
ERDEM P., AKYUZ E. Interval type‑2 fuzzy SLIM approach to predict human error in maritime transportation. *Ocean Engineering*, 232, 109161, 2021. <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocea...>.
 
9.
ERDEM P., AKYUZ E., ARSLAN O. Human factors in maritime environmental risk assessment: Oil spill response case study. *International Journal of Maritime Engineering*, 163 (A2), A101, 2021. <https://doi.org/10.5750/ijme.v...>.
 
10.
ABRISHAMI S., KHAKZAD N., HOSSEINI S.M. Data-based comparison of BN-HRA models in assessing human error probability: Offshore evacuation case study. *Reliability Engineering and System Safety*, 202, 107043, 2020. <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ress...>.
 
11.
STOJILJKOVIC E., GLISOVIC S., GROZDANOVIC M. Human error analysis in occupational and environmental risk assessment: Serbian experience. *Human and Ecological Risk Assessment*, 21 (4), 1081, 2015. <https://doi.org/10.1080/108070...>.
 
12.
TU J. Human reliability analysis of roof bolting operation in underground coal mines. *Quality and Reliability Engineering International*, 32 (7), 2253, 2016. <https://doi.org/10.1002/qre.19...>.
 
13.
FARCASIU M., CONSTANTINESCU C. Human factor engineering influence in nuclear safety using probabilistic safety assessment techniques. *Kerntechnik*, 86 (6), 470, 2021. <https://doi.org/10.1515/kern-2...>.
 
14.
GHASEMI G., BABAMIRI M., PASHOOTAN Z. Quantifying medication error probability using fuzzy SLIM. *PLoS ONE*, 17 (2), e0264303, 2022. <https://doi.org/10.1371/journa...> PMid:35213625 PMCid:PMC8880918.
 
15.
KUSELMAN I., PENNECCHI F. IUPAC/CITAC Guide on classification, modeling, and quantification of human errors in chemical labs. *Pure and Applied Chemistry*, 88 (5), 477, 2016. <https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-20...>.
 
16.
HELLIER E., EDWORTHY J., LEE A. Analysis of human error in analytical measurement in chemistry. *International Journal of Cognitive Ergonomics*, 5 (4), 445, 2010. <https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327...>.
 
17.
ELLISON S.L.R., HARDCASTLE W\.A. Causes of error in analytical chemistry: Survey results. *Accreditation and Quality Assurance*, 17, 453, 2012. <https://doi.org/10.1007/s00769...>.
 
18.
HAWKE D.J., BROWN J.C.S., BURY S.J. Preventing and detecting human error in ecological stable isotope analysis. *Methods in Ecology and Evolution*, 9 (12), 2326, 2018. <https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-2...>.
 
19.
KUSELMAN I., KARDASH E., BASHKANSKY E., PENNECCHI F., ELLISON S.L.R., GINSBURY K., EPSTEIN M., FAJGELJ A., KARPOV Y. House‑of‑security approach to measurement in analytical chemistry: Human error quantification. *Accreditation and Quality Assurance*, 18, 459, 2013. <https://doi.org/10.1007/s00769...>.
 
20.
KUSELMAN I., GOLDSHLAG P., PENNECCHI F. Scenarios of human errors and their quantification in multi-residue pesticide analysis. *Accreditation and Quality Assurance*, 19, 361, 2014. <https://doi.org/10.1007/s00769...>.
 
21.
KUSELMAN I., PENNECCHI F., EPSTEIN M., FAJGELJ A., ELLISON S.L.R. Monte Carlo simulation of expert judgments on human errors in chemical analysis: ICP–MS case study. *Talanta*, 130, 462, 2014. <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tala...> PMid:25159436.
 
22.
KUSELMAN I., PENNECCHI F.R., FAJGELJ A., KARPOV Y. Human errors and reliability of test results in analytical chemistry. *Accreditation and Quality Assurance*, 18, 3, 2013. <https://doi.org/10.1007/s00769...>.
 
23.
AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR TESTING AND MATERIALS. Standard test methods for ammonia nitrogen in water (ASTM D1426‑15(2021)e1), 2021.
 
24.
STOJILJKOVIC E. *Human reliability assessment*; University of Niš, Faculty of Occupational Safety: Niš, Serbia, 2020 \[In Serbian].
 
eISSN:2083-5906
ISSN:1230-1485
Journals System - logo
Scroll to top