Abstract
The adoption of hydrogen as an energy carrier for road transport has been recognized as a promising approach to minimizing negative environmental impacts. However, some inherent hydrogen properties, such as its high flammability and propensity to permeate and weaken structural materials, pose significant challenges to its handling and storage. As a result, regular inspection and maintenance are crucial to ensuring the integrity and reliability of components with prolonged exposure to hydrogen. Despite this necessity, guidelines for inspecting and maintaining hydrogen refueling stations are not yet finalized, which gives the responsibility for determining the suitable inspection procedures to manufacturers instead. The absence of a standardized regulatory framework, combined with limited operational experience with hydrogen technologies, increases the risk of human error, which can lead to catastrophic safety incidents. Hence, the study assesses the probability of human errors occurring during inspection procedures in hydrogen refueling stations. To measure the probability of unsafe or improper actions, the Petro-HRA method has been applied. A thorough analysis of the results allows this research to provide recommendations for enhancing safety protocols and minimizing the risk of accidents in the hydrogen industry.