Improved DEMATEL methodology for effective safety management decision-making

• Published in: Safety science Vol. 127; p. 104705
• Main Authors: Yazdi, Mohammad, Khan, Faisal, Abbassi, Rouzbeh, Rusli, Risza
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Ltd 01.07.2020; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Bayesian analysis; Bayesian network; BWM; Complex systems; Decision analysis; Decision making; DEMATEL; Group decision-making; Hazard identification; Identification methods; Management decisions; Methodology; Occupational safety; Risk analysis; Risk assessment; Risk factors; Risk reduction; Safety; Safety management; Safety management system; Strong interactions (field theory); BWM; Safety management system; Group decision-making; DEMATEL; Bayesian network
• ISSN: 0925-7535; 1879-1042
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ssci.2020.104705

•A systematic approach is proposed to build causal decision-making models.•The proposed approach combined multi-criteria decision making tools and a Bayesian Network.•The resulting models are based on knowledge elicited from multiple experts.•The proposed approach is applied to a safety management system case study.•The model's advantages is evaluated with different available approaches. Decision-making is a critical step in safety and risk analysis. Decision-making is conducted according to the different sources of information often elicited from filed matter and subject matter experts. Many team-based decision-making methods are developed to identify hazards, determine intervention actions, and to prioritize the efforts to reduce the risk in given conditions. However, the majority of decision-making methods are based on idealistic assumptions such as risk contributing factor in a complex system and independency between the factors. In reality, there is strong interaction among the risk factors and also among the sources of information used in decision-making procedure. There is a requirement to use a decision-making framework that captures the dependency of the risk factors and the source of information. This is achieved by integrating DEMATEL (decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory) methodology with Best-Worst method (BWM) and Bayesian network (BN). The integration is considered at two different stages in the DEMATEL methodology. Application of the integrated DEMATEL is illustrated by adopting a case study of safety management in the high-tech industry.