INTEGRATED RISK ASSESSMENT IN RAMP HANDLING OPERATIONS: RISK MAPPING FOR TURKISH AIRPORTS

<p>Ramp handling acts a vital role in sustainable airport operations. The ramp related services provided to aircraft and their passengers at the airports are related to the landing, take-off, unloading and loading of the aircraft. Human resource is a key component in ramp handling operation and errors by employees cause significant accidents or incidents. The main purpose of the current study is to prioritize critical risk factors in ramp handling operations by using an integrated risk management approach and optimizing human performance while minimizing both failures and errors by employees. In this study, an integrated qualitative and quantitative risk assessment method is carried out by considering the factors that affect the possibility of ramp handling personnel errors. Initially, 113 risk factors are identified by using the academic literature, documents prepared by international organizations, and then by consulting expert opinions. Subsequently, a prioritization by professionals working on the ramp handling operations, based on the principles of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method resulted in the final selection of the 41 most important risks. Then, a risk assessment approach is applied by designing a matrix, based on three dimensions; probability, severity (impact) and relation ratio which ultimately resulted in risk index generation and a risk map model is developed. Finally eleven (11) risk factors are identified as they have higher probabilities to occur and possible higher negative consequences. Thanks to the integrated risk assessment applied in this study, it is aimed to ensure that all systems of the organization operate in a safe way and that an efficient safety culture is formed. Allocating a single resource to many risks, instead of facing the risks of the ramp personnel one by one, leads to more efficient use of resources and higher performance of ground handling companies.</p>