A method for the core accident chain based on fuzzy-DEMATEL-ISM: An application to aluminium production explosion

The occurrence of accidents is often influenced by many factors, which result in the complexity of the causes of accidents. Therefore, clarifying the accident chain of the explosion accident is of great significance for the daily management of safety. In this study, a novel method of the core accident chain based on the traditional fuzzy-DEMATEL-ISM method was proposed. This method can clarify the importance of each accident chain and rank them accordingly by calculating their weighted centralities. Then, the explosion accident caused by the contact of molten aluminium and water, which has caused heavy casualties and property losses, is analyzed systematically. In order to clarify the impact relationships and hierarchical structure of the various factors in the complex explosion accident systems, and establish the accident system models, twenty-two factors were summarized, and the evolution process of explosion accident were obtained by the fuzzy-DEMATEL-ISM approach. The results reveal that equipment damage or failure has the most direct impact to the explosion accidents. The core accident chain that national policy (aluminium market demand)→incomplete safety management system→disordered on-site management→insufficient lighting→physical discomfort→improper operation→equipment damage or failure is obtained, which has the most significant influence on the occurrence of explosion accidents. The result analysis is employed to give some advice. This research is helpful for safety practitioners to develop accident prevention strategies and make aluminum production safer.