Integrative Research Approach for a Risk Evaluation Ontology Design

The present article describes a systemic approach to better support the decision making process by creating a tool based on an ontology for integrative analysis of health and safety risks that can occur in a workplace activity development. The designed ontology creates the possibility to show and characterize the potential work accidents and/or diseases and decide better for an appropriate preventive or corrective measure. The ontology is a structure in four chapters/sub-ontologies (human being subsystem, work duty subsystem, machine subsystem and work environment subsystem) and its content allows the classification of all the concepts used in the health and safety risk evaluation process (risk characterization, impact, health problems, measures etc.), including important relationships between the concepts. In addition, each class will be enriched with different properties that will be used for defining the decision-making tool, to better identify the significant health and safety aspects in a risk evaluation process and to appreciate their impact in order to provide efficient/effectiveness corrective measures (for eliminating or minimizing risk impact). The research results will increase companies’ competitiveness by optimizing the resources dedicated to different management systems.