Risk evaluation approaches in failure mode and effects analysis of marine laboratories

Abstract

Safety, raising awareness and preventing the occurrence of hazards are necessary in order to continue to improve the quality of laboratory activities and today it has been considered by scientific, research and industrial communities. Therefore, a study was conducted to determine the risk factor, potential hazards and provide practical programs in the marine laboratories of the Shrimp Research Institute. Safety hazards of eight laboratories were evaluated during the intervention study with the Failure Mode and Effects Analysis technique. In the first phase, the team of safety experts (HSE), by preparing and completing safety questionnaire forms, identify the current status of safety indicators and danger points of laboratories. Based on Risk Severity, Occurrence and Detection, the Risk Priority Number (RPN) was calculated, prioritized and corrective measures were proposed. After corrective measures, the safety questionnaire was completed again and the level of risk severity, probability of occurrence, probability of detection, risk priority number, risk number and percentage reduction of risk priority number of the studied laboratories were calculated and analyzed. Thirty-five hazard points were identified in the laboratories. The range of risk priority numbers ranged from RPN = 12 for the Plankton Laboratory to RPN = 210 for the Marine Microbiology laboratories and Marine Pollutants. After control measures, the risk number of marine microbiology laboratory was reduced to 180 and marine pollutants to 120 (P <0.05). The results showed that FMEA technique is appropriate to identify risk factors and reduce the risk of marine laboratories and is an efficient and effective way to assess, classify risks and provide control strategies to eliminate or reduce the risk of research environments.