Risk Assessment Matrices for Workplace Hazards: Design for Usability.

Roger C. Jensen,Royce L. Bird,Blake W. Nichols

doi:10.3390/ijerph19052763

Abstract

In occupational safety and health (OSH), the process of assessing risks of identified hazards considers both the (i) foreseeable events and exposures that can cause harm and (ii) the likelihood or probability of occurrence. To account for both, a table format known as a risk assessment matrix uses rows and columns for ordered categories of the foreseeable severity of harm and likelihood/probability of that occurrence. The cells within the table indicate level of risk. Each category has a text description separate from the matrix as well as a word or phrase heading each row and column. Ideally, these header terms will help the risk assessment team distinguish among the categories. A previous project provided recommended sets of header terms for common matrices based on findings from a survey of undergraduate OSH students. This paper provides background on risk assessment matrices, discusses usability issues, and presents findings from a survey of people with OSH-related experience. The aim of the survey was to confirm or improve the prior recommended sets of terms. The prior recommendations for severity, likelihood, and extent of exposure were confirmed with minor modifications. Improvements in the probability terms were recommended.

Highlights

This paper provides background on risk assessment matrices, discusses usability issues, and presents findings from a survey of people with occupational safety and health (OSH)-related experience
This paper provides background on the numerous variations in risk assessment matrix (RAM) designs, the means for characterizing level of risk, and options for helping the individuals who use
The project in this paper explored various insightful have been positive on the approach of using the framework terms Several for these column papers headers

Summary

Introduction

Risk management today involves several processes, repeated periodically, to identify hazards, evaluate the associated risks, and assess various tactics for preventing and mitigating harm from those risks [2–4]. A tool used for assessing and evaluating risks is referred to in the OSH field as a risk table, risk grid, risk matrix, or (our preference) risk assessment matrix (RAM) [2,3,5–11]. RAMs appear as a two-dimensional grid with one axis having categories of harmful consequence and the other axis with categories for likelihood or probability. The cells inside the grid are used to indicate risk. Risk-assessment teams use RAMs as part of an organization-specific risk management process [2,3,5,7,8,11]. The details differ somewhat, a risk-management process involves: (1) identifying hazards and the associated risks, (2) determining tactics for reducing/mitigating each risk, called risk treatment,

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