Risk assessment study in A firm operating in the food-beverage sector

Risk assessment is a process that includes the activities of identifying existing and potential sources of danger in working environments, identifying and evaluating the risks related to these hazardous sources, and planning the measures to be taken. Since this process is closely related to occupational health and safety, it must be carefully managed in all sectors. However, determining risk magnitudes using quantitative risk assessment methods is also important in terms of defining precaution priorities more precisely. When the literature is examined, it has been observed that there are limited number of risk assessment studies carried out in the service provision process in businesses operating in the food and beverage sector. In this context, the study aims to evaluate the types of risk that may cause occupational accidents or occupational diseases in a business operating in the food and beverage industry, by considering different risk factors. The risks identified in the business are divided into three main categories: risks pertaining to the cafeteria, risks pertaining to the general working environment and risks pertaining to the kitchen department. The risk types in these categories have been evaluated by considering six risk factors. These risk factors are determined as probability, severity, frequency of occurrence in the last year, number of affected employees, number of lost working days, number of injured workers. In the evaluation, the Preference Selection Index (PSI) was used in the calculation of the importance weights of the risk factors, and the Complex Proportional Assessment (COPRAS) methods were used in the prioritization of the risk types. The study is considered to be able to contribute to the literature and practitioners in the food and beverage industry in terms of using Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods in risk assessment and evaluating risk types by considering different risk factors. KEYWORDS: Food and Beverage Industry, Risk Assessment, Occupational Health and Safety, PSI, COPRAS.