Measuring the effectiveness of AHP and fuzzy AHP models in environmental risk assessment of a gas power plant

Risk assessment studies due to the renewed global concerns regarding the environment are more necessary than ever. Like this article, the ultimate goal of such studies is to protect the environment, reduce costs, and save time by utilizing better technologies of risk assessment. This article, first after evaluating activities and various processes of a power plant, identifies environmental risks, and potential human factors. Then, it applies two methods of Environmental Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (EFMEA) and Melbourne to conduct risk assessment. In the meanwhile, Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) are applied and combined with the methods toward a more logical and compatible analysis. In the model, weight of each activity is applied to Risk Priority Number (RPN). Results of combining AHP and FAHP with EFM & EA and Melbourne methods show that risks with same RPN get different values. Therefore, the proposed hybrid approach seems effective and could help more scientific decision-making. Moreover, the proposed hybrid methods compared to the original ones are more flexible and more realistic due to involving the experts' knowledge more.