title: Fuzzy approach for reducing subjectivity in estimating occupational accident severity.
abstract: Quantifying or, more generally, estimating the severity of the possible consequences of occupational accidents is a decisive step in any occupational risk assessment process. Because of the lack of historic information (accident data collection and recording are incipient and insufficient, particularly in construction) and the lack of practical tools in the construction industry, the estimation/quantification of occupational accident severity is a notably arbitrary process rather than a systematic and rigorous assessment. This work proposes several severity functions (based on a safety risk assessment) to represent biomechanical knowledge with the aim of determining the severity level of occupational accidents in the construction industry and, consequently, improving occupational risk assessment quality. We follow a fuzzy approach because it makes it possible to capture and represent imprecise knowledge in a simple and understandable way for users and specialists.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Nova Lisboa/FCT, Caparica 2829-516, Portugal. abel.fnpinto@gmail.com
authors.forename: Abel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pinto
authors.forename: Rita A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.forename: Isabel L
authors.initials: IL
authors.lastname: Nunes
mesh_terms: D000062:Accidents, Occupational / Q000145:classification* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D060389:Construction Industry / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003252:Construction Materials / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology; D004556:Electric Injuries / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology; D005264:Femoral Fractures / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology; D050815:Fractures, Compression / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology; D017143:Fuzzy Logic; D006801:Humans; D016272:Occupational Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013898:Thoracic Injuries / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology; D013978:Tibial Fractures / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000145:classification* / Q000453:epidemiology*