Risk Assessment Methodology for incorporating uncertainties using Fuzzy concepts: A Case Study for Construction Industry

Abstract

 The rapid developments in science and technology have led to the availability of improved techniques in the construction industry. However, even as the technology has progressed, the hazards and risks associated with the construction sites have still persisted. Amongst the various risk assessment tools available for the purpose of risk assessment, the Decision matrix risk assessment (DMRA) technique is a widely used approach for the purpose of Occupational Health and Safety (OSH) assessment. The risk factor value was evaluated by the use of two hazard parameters namely the likelihood of hazard and the severity associated with the hazard. To deal with the shortcomings of a crisp risk factor value calculation and to address the inconsistency in decision making of DMRA technique, this paper presents a framework for risk assessment of activities in the construction site using fuzzy set theory, fuzzy logic approximation and composition. The parameters associated with risk likelihood and severities were analyzed and were given as linguistic variables. This proposed model was applied for evaluating and assessing the risk factor values of the activities in the construction site in Chennai Metropolitan Area and also throws light on the advantages of the fuzzy-DMRA methodology when compared to a standard DMRA technique