Background and Objective: Identifying key performance evaluation indicators in the fire department of the gas company, as one of the main pillars of safety management, plays an important role in optimizing processes and reducing potential risks. Considering the complexity of operations in the gas industry, the development of these indicators can improve productivity and safety culture of employees. This study aimed to identify and rank key performance evaluation indicators of the fire department of the National Iranian Gas Company.
Methodology: This study was conducted using a combined approach of content analysis and fuzzy DEMATEL. In the first stage, content analysis and semi-structured interviews with 12 fire and HSE experts with at least 10 years of work experience were used, and with the help of ATLAS-TI 8 software, 13 key indicators were identified. To increase validity, the interviews were recorded and then converted to text, and supplementary questions were asked to resolve ambiguity. In the second stage, the fuzzy DEMATEL technique was used to examine causal relationships and rank the indicators. Data were collected through a paired comparison questionnaire from 15 gas refinery fire chiefs, and its reliability was confirmed by calculating the inconsistency coefficient (0.0247). Calculations were performed with MATLAB R2024b and Excel LTSC 2021 software.
Findings: The 13 identified indicators include effective human resource management, infrastructure management, training and skill development, organizational motivation, standards and guidelines, incident control, accident prevention, readiness of personnel, modern technologies, group participation, evaluation and monitoring, and effective communication with HSE management. The fuzzy DEMATEL results highlighted accident prevention and reduction, training and skill development, and incident control as the most critical indicators. Increased motivation and organizational commitment were the most influential, while accident prevention and reduction had the highest susceptibility.
Conclusion: The combined approach revealed that accident prevention and reduction is the most critical indicator, requiring effective management of causal factors. Training and skill development, ranking second, emphasizes enhancing workforce expertise. Coordinated focus on these indicators can significantly improve performance and safety in firefighting units.