Safety & Workforce worked example

Ergonomic Risk Score with severity factor of 20 score: a worked example

What does the result look like when severity factor reaches 20 score? The full calculation is worked below with real intermediate numbers. Use it when ergonomic risk in safety and workforce needs a defensible ranking against other safety and workforce risks for the next review.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Severity factor: 20 score (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 8)
  • Occurrence factor: 6 score (unchanged)
  • Detection factor: 7 score (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Weighted score = severity × 0.40 + occurrence × 0.35 + detection × 0.25) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 11.85 score for ergonomic risk score, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 20 score for ergonomic risk severity score.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 6 score for ergonomic risk occurrence score.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 7 score for ergonomic risk detection score.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where severity factor sits at 8 score and the headline result is 7.05 score, this scenario comes in 68.09% above the baseline at 11.85 score.
  • A figure at this level is achievable when severity factor is genuinely sustained, not just peaked for a shift. It is a relative prioritization index, not a validated exposure assessment — it does not replace RULA, REBA, NIOSH lifting equation, or the Liberty Mutual tables for quantifying actual biomechanical load.

Results at a glance

  • Ergonomic risk score: 11.85 score (headline result)
  • Ergonomic risk severity score: 20 score
  • Ergonomic risk occurrence score: 6 score
  • Ergonomic risk detection score: 7 score

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Ergonomic Risk Score calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.