Core risk factors influencing safe handling operations for container terminals at Kaohsiung port

Abstract

Safe handling operations for container terminals significantly determine whether cargos can be successfully delivered. However, the container terminals involve frequent container operations with heavy machinery and accidents occur quite often, causing financial losses, injuries and even deaths. Since various handling operations cannot guarantee absolute safety as well as many of these operations have substantial risks that can cause losses, we find safe handling operations a topic worthy of in-depth investigation. This study analyzed risk factors influencing safe handling operation problems with complicated cause–effect relationships and their correlations; hence, the main purpose of this article was to apply the Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory method to evaluate the core risk factors of the container handling operations at Kaohsiung port in Taiwan. This article first sorted out five major risk aspects with 17 risk factors through interviews with other scholars and direct investigation at Kaohsiung port. Then, based on the questionnaire surveys, we used the Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory method to analyze the cause–effect relationships of each risk factor. To clearly explain the relationship between each risk factor shown in the cause–effect diagram, the Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory results finally showed four quadrants and their corresponding risk factors. To achieve our research purpose, the seven core risk factors in the first quadrant are identified, including “individual experience,”“operation safety protocols,”“implementation of safety education,”“training and assessment of operation skills,”“personnel safety equipment conditions,”“establishment of a culture that values safety” and “delegation of work,” respectively. Furthermore, some suggestions concerning risk control strategies and financial strategies addressing the core risk factors are provided in this article. We hope the results of this research should prove beneficial to cargo-handling businesses in Taiwan.