The use of multi-criteria decision-making methods to support risk prioritisation

Abstract

The risk evaluation process assists decision-making concerning the prioritisation of risks. In practice, risk prioritisation decisions highly rely on the estimation of risk scores. Risk scoring is a semi-quantitative approach to analyse risks. Often, a score from 1 to 5 is assigned for the likelihood and consequence of the risk. Consequently, a risk score from 1 to 25 is calculated by multiplying two scores. However, the sole use of risk scoring might not be useful to prioritise risks. Multiple factors should be considered to make prioritisation decisions. At this instant, Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) methods have been widely used by researchers to prioritise alternatives by given conflicting criteria. This study used expert judgement, MCDM methods and Risk Priority Number (RPN) to prioritise ten actions recommended for the treatment of five risks. The findings provided different ranking orders for the prioritisation of the recommended actions, except for the first one. This study discusses the potential benefits and limitations of the use of expert judgement, MCDM methods and RPN in risk prioritisation. © IEOM Society International.