A new approximation for risk assessment using the AHP and Fine Kinney methodologies

•AHP values normalized based on Fine Kinney risk classes.•Risk classes for AHP risk analysis are obtained based on Fine Kinney.•Risk analyses for a large manufacturing company is performed.•The risk classes of AHP and Fine Kinney are compared using t-test.

The most important stage in the field of occupational health and safety is the assessment stage, where the risk point of each identified hazard is calculated, and a determination is made as to whether the hazard level is acceptable or unacceptable. In the field of risk assessment, the Fine Kinney method is commonly used in practice. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) might also be used as an efficient method in determining the importance levels of the hazards in risk assessment studies, but the AHP method does not determine whether the hazards are at an acceptable level based on their risk points. In this paper, a risk assessment study has been conducted in a large manufacturing company in which the hazards were determined based on experience, and the past 10 years’ statistical records were categorized and each category has been prioritized using the AHP method. The hazards determined in the field have also been assessed using the Fine Kinney method. The relation between the assessment of the risk class in the Fine Kinney risk assessment and the AHP points has been examined and the risk class intervals for AHP have been determined. In the study, an approach has been developed based on the fact that the measure of the risk class in the Fine Kinney risk assessment method could be used with the results obtained using the AHP method; therefore, the importance levels and risk classes of the hazards might be able to be determined together with the AHP method.