INTRODUCTION: Reducing human error is an important factor for enhancing safety protocols in various industries. Hence, the analysis of the likelihood of human error in nuclear industries such as radiopharmaceutical production facilities has become more essential.
METHODS: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted to quantify the probability of human errors in a 99Mo/99mTc generator production facility in Iran. First, through expert interviews, the production process of 99Mo/99mTc generator was analyzed using hierarchical task analysis (HTA) method. Then, the standardized plant analysis risk-human (SPAR-H) method was applied in order to calculate the probability of human error.
RESULTS: Twenty tasks were determined by using HTA. All of the eight performance shaping factors (PSFS) were evaluated for the tasks. The mean probability of human error was 0.320. The highest and the lowest probability of human error in the 99Mo/99mTc generator production process, related to the "loading the generator with the molybdenum solution" task and the "generator elution" task, were 0.858 and 0.059 respectively.
CONCLUSION: The required measures for reducing the human error probability (HEP) were suggested. These measures were derived from the level of PSFS that were evaluated in this study.
Language: en
Keywords
99Mo/99mTc generator production facility; SPAR-H technique; human error probability; radiopharmaceutical