Analysis of Occupational Health and Safety Risks in Beekeeping with FMEA Method

Contrary to popular belief, beekeeping, which dates back to prehistoric times and is one of the most important plant and animal production branches today, is not an innocent profession in terms of occupational health and safety. In this study, in order to determine the occupational health and safety risk factors in the beekeeping profession, Interviews with beekeepers were conducted in 10 apiaries operating in Bayburt, where especially wandering beekeeping is practiced. In light of the data obtained from the danger hunt applied by the occupational health and safety specialist, ergonomic, physical, biological, and chemical risks were revealed using the FMEA risk analysis method. The effect, probability, and detection values were found for each failure mode, and then Risk Priority Number values were calculated. As a result of the study, for the five basic stages of beekeeping, 15 processes, 39 failure modes, 72 potential effects, and 39 failure causes were determined. Failure modes with a Risk Priority Number value of 100 and above were evaluated as “situations where urgent action and axiom should be taken,” and preventive axioms were proposed for each relevant failure mode. The number of studies on the risk factors in the beekeeping profession is very limited in the literature. For this reason, it is predicted that this study will fill an important gap in the related field and make significant contributions to the literature.