Fuzzy risk assessment on safety operations for exclusive container terminals at Kaohsiung port in Taiwan

Abstract

Because risk assessment of safety operations in exclusive container terminals at Kaohsiung port involves a host of complex considerations and uncertain information, we therefore use a fuzziness-based method to minimize the effect of such adverse factors and clarify the assessment process in this article. This article therefore uses fuzzy risk assessment steps to evaluate safety operations in exclusive container terminals at Kaohsiung port in Taiwan. This article first employs three risk assessment steps and then identifies a total of four dimensions with 16 risk factors from the literature and interviews with experts. After proposing a systematic fuzzy risk analysis and evaluation steps in order to determine risk levels, this article conducts an empirical study of Kaohsiung port by means of a survey. The empirical results reveal that (1) the leading factor influencing risk frequency is “communication misunderstanding,” (2) the leading factor influencing risk severity is “human negligence and error,” and (3) three risk factors are located in the high-risk area, while the other 13 risk factors are in the medium-risk area, and no risk factors are in the low-risk area. Furthermore, the analysis of the various risk factors suggests the adoption of three risk management strategies.