Publication
Risk management has become an essential element in the functioning of modern society. Correct risk identification and assessment are undoubtedly crucial to improving overall safety; nevertheless, often, it is accompanied by the wrong selection of corrective actions. To ensure that safety intentions reach their final objective â making the working environment safe for people both inside and outside, nature and organization, the whole process of safety management must be set correctly. It includes three main stages: risk analysis, decision-making, and follow-up. While the two first steps are closely connected in the time frame, the last step can be significantly extended and represented by a continuous process. University laboratories are often mistakenly considered a safe place; however, frequent accidents demonstrate otherwise. There are plenty of different efficient risk management methods. However, they are not applicable in the academic environment or require significant modifications. Different limitations: not standardized and modified processes, diversified laboratory hazard pool, limited budget planning, organizational decentralization, other specific characteristics of the university setting require a different approach. This dissertation aims to investigate existing approaches further and propose a solution suitable for the mentioned environment. It involves reviewing further risk analysis and decision-making methods and setting a list of objectives for the required safety management method ideal for academic laboratories. These objectives are met by designing LARA+D (Laboratory Assessment and Risk Analysis + Decision-Making), a method that enhances previously applied in Swiss Universities LARA tool. The application of the LARA+D for process risk analysis and decision-making illustrates that it is a helpful tool for process risk assessment and decision-making. It is sufficiently flexible for a diverse multi-hazardous environment of the research laboratories and precise to the extent possible in the environment with no historical data. Integrated decision-making tool assists involved stakeholders with selecting optimal safety solutions, considering various objectives. This tool considers different types of human involvement in the risk analysis and decision-making stages, diminishing the harmful effects and designing a proper safety environment.