**1. Introduction**

Risk management for work accidents and occupational diseases is of utmost importance considering the high toll paid each year in human life, human suffering and the social and economical costs resulting from work accidents and work-related disorders. According to European Agency for Safety and Health at Work every year 5,720 people die in the European Union (EU) as a consequence of work-related accidents (EASHW, 2010). The same Agency points that the International Labour Organisation estimates that an additional 159,500 workers die every year from occupational diseases in the EU. Taking both figures into consideration, it is estimated that every three-and-a-half minutes somebody in the EU dies from work-related causes. EUROSTAT performed the Labour Force Survey 2007 regarding the situation on accidents at work and work-related health problems for the 27 EU Member States (EU-27). The main findings were (Eurostat, 2009):


The same source notes that among workers who had an accident, 73% reported lost work days after the most recent accident, and 22% reported time off that lasted at least one month; hence, due to an accident at work, 0.7% of all workers in the EU-27 took sick leave for at least one month.

Within the context of their general obligations, employers have to take the necessary measures to prevent workers from exposure to occupational risks. This is a quite basic principle in the law of many countries. For instance, within the European Community, such principle was established by the Council Directive of 12 June 1989 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work (Directive 89/391/EEC – the Framework Directive), and then adopted by Member States' national legislations.

Applications of Fuzzy Logic in Risk Assessment – The RA\_X Case 23

hierarchy order, first prevention measures and after protection measures (NSW, 2011) (Harms-Ringdahl, L., 2001). The safety control measures to be implemented should be based on the current technical knowledge, and good practices. Part of the risks could be transferred to insurance companies. In EU is mandatory that employers have an insurance coverage for work accidents for each worker. This way part of the risk is transferred to the insurance companies. It is very important that employers know where the risks are in their organizations and control them to avoid putting at risk the employees, customers and the

Fig. 1. Phases of the risk management process (Nunes, I. L., 2010b)

workers, since workers must know the risks they are exposed to.

Further, in EU is a legal requirement that information and training courses are provided to

The standard risk assessment approach, for different risks (e.g., falls, electrical shock, burn, burying due to trench collapse, crushing) is based in the evaluation of the risk level, which results from the combination of two estimated parameters. One is the likelihood or probability of an occurrence of a hazardous event or exposure(s); and the other is severity of injury or ill health that can be caused by such event or exposure(s). These estimations are based on data regarding the presence of the hazards or risk factors in the workplace and the adequacy of the control measures implemented (prevention and protection measures).

organization itself.

For this purpose employers must perform risk assessment regarding safety and health at work, including those facing groups of workers exposed to particular risks, and decide on protective measures to take and, if necessary, on protective equipment to use. Risk assessment is according to (BSI, 2007), the process of evaluating the risk(s) arising from a hazard(s), taking into account the adequacy of any existing controls, and deciding whether or not the risk is acceptable. According to OSHA an acceptable risk is a risk that has been reduced to a level that can be tolerated by the organization having regard to its legal obligations and its own occupational health and safety (OHS) policy (BSI, 2007).

In a work situation a hazard is, according to (BSI, 2007), a source, situation or act with a potential for harm in terms of human injury or ill health or a combination of these, whereas risk is defined by the same standard as a combination of the likelihood of an occurrence of a hazardous event or exposure(s) and the severity of injury or ill health that can be caused by the event or exposure(s).

Risk assessment should be integrated in a more comprehensive approach, designated as risk management, which includes also the process of performing the reduction of risks to an acceptable level. This can be achieved through the implementation of safety measures or safety controls considering the following hierarchy: engineering controls to eliminate the risk, to substitute the source of risk or at least to diminish the risk; organizational/administrative controls to diminish the workers exposure time or to sign/warn risks to workers and; as a last measure, the implementation of personnel protective equipment usage. A key aspect in risk management is that it should be carried out with an active participation/involvement of the entire workforce.
