Root Cause Analysis of fire in waste facilities: A case study of Tromsø municipality

Abstract

The amount of waste produced in Norway has been increased considerably in the past decades as a result of population and economic growth. Therefore, the role of waste management companies in society has become more important. One of the significant challenges in the waste facilities is the fire that occurs regularly and causes various problems for the waste management companies. Several causes can ignite the fire in waste facilities, such as friction, improper storage of waste, technical and electrical failure, and human error.

This master’s thesis investigates the main source of fire and its root causes at Remiks waste facility located in Tromsø municipality in Norway. Fire has become a frequent problem at Remiks waste facility, and a total of 31 fire incidents have been recorded in the past five years. For identifying the main source of fire and its causes at Remiks, historical data of fire incidents at Remiks together with expert judgment are collected and analyzed. All causes of fire at Remiks are identified and classified using the cause-and-effect chart. The identified causes of fire are further analyzed through the Root Cause Analysis to determine the root causes of fire at Remiks. Further, several measures are proposed to reduce the number of fire incidents at Remiks waste facility.