Transitioning Workplace Risk Assessments from Qualitative to Quantitative

Details

• Personal Author:
  Jensen, Roger C.
• Description:
  This article compares qualitative and quantitative approaches for assessing the risks of occupational hazards. Both approaches need a means for comparing the risk of a process with an indicator of acceptability based on two components-severity of foreseeable hazardous scenarios and likelihood of occurrence. These two components are presented in a 2-dimensional grid, or matrix, with axes for severity and likelihood. The common design of risk matrices uses categories for row and column axes with their intersection being the point for defining risk into categories. This paper presents an innovative pathway for transitioning risk matrices from being categorical to being quantitative. This involves making the axes continuous variables and making their product serve as a risk indicator. The author describes how employers may use quantitative risk assessments as tools to complement traditional rule-based approaches to make employment safer. Description provided by NIOSH
• Subjects:
  • Occupational Health
  • Risk Assessment
  • Safety
• Keywords:
  • Risk assessment; Quantitative analysis; Analytical methods; Safety measures;
  • Author Keywords: Risk assessment; Risk rating; Risk measurement; Psychometric scales; Safety
• Source:
  Safety management and human factors. Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics and the Affiliated Conferences, July 26-30, 2025, Orlando, Florida. Arezes P, Garcia A eds. Orlando, FL: Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFE) International, 2025 Jul; 189:95-102
• ISBN:
  9781964867656
• ISSN:
  2376-4244
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Editor:
  Arezes, Pedro ; Garcia, Anne
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  Denver Region OSHA ; Montana
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  9 pdf pages
• Volume:
  189
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071653
• Editor(s):
  Arezes, Pedro ; Garcia, Anne
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• Performing Organization:
  Montana Technological University
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• End Date:
  20290630
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/259426/cdc_259426_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.41 MB]
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:69e004d205e3477fec5a45cf8d6d79b6277c1fc05c636f504892b184519d2d523e1b7e5ea382ef558e0c05af12087852f1e934296fc3016070f647766ce9fff6