A multicriteria analysis of the working environment at Open Pit Mine loading and transport

The working conditions in the loading and the transport sectors in mines are quite difficult. Operators and drivers are exposed to both physical and chemical hazards. Accordingly, the ranking of the workplaces at loading and transport in the mine was conducted in order to determine the workplace characterized by the most difficult working conditions. Five workplaces in the Open Pit Mine “Veliki Krivelj” were analyzed on the basis of the regularly measured parameters of the working conditions there (measures have done in 2018 year). The AHP/PROMETHEE methods were used as the ranking method. The AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) method enables us to determine the criteria weight of coefficients and the PROMETHEE (Preference Ranking Organization Method for the Enrichment of Evaluations) method enables the final ranking of the workplaces. The three scenarios were considered, as follows: the ranking of the loading workplaces, the ranking of the transport workplaces and the ranking of all the workplaces. The results indicate that the workplace of the Marion Excavator Operator is the most difficult workplace at loading. The workplace of the Euclid R 170 Truck driver is the most difficult workplace at transport. Finally, a comprehensive analysis of all the workplaces generated the results indicative of the fact that the workplace of the Marion Excavator Operator is the most difficult workplace. The obtained results indicate a clear distinction between the old and the new equipment. The results clearly suggest the importance of having modern equipment, which is the key element in taking care of the workers’ health.