Design and Development of a Hazard Identification Tool for Laboratory Fire Risk Assessment using Delphi Technique

The prevalence of fire in laboratories is high due to the potential sources of the fire hazards, including the use of various equipment and chemicals, as well as the possibility of human error. Accordingly, this study was designed and conducted with the aim of developing a tool to identify hazards and assess laboratory fire risk. In the present study, we used the Delphi technique in three rounds in 2020 with the participation of 17 experts in the fields of safety engineering, occupational health engineering, chemistry, and chemical engineering. The scattering index of coefficient of variation (CV) was higher than 20% and the acceptance criterion for each item was considered with an average of ≥4. In addition, the validity and reliability of this tool were evaluated using content validity ratio (CVR), content validity index (CVI), and Cronbach's alpha reliability index. After three rounds of Delphi study, the hazard identification and risk assessment questionnaire for laboratory fire were developed with 45 items, including chemical materials and compounds, electricity, and fire response. The coefficient of variation (CV) in this Delphi study was equal to 0.05. The results of the validity and reliability evaluation of this tool showed that the content validity index (CVI) and Cronbach's alpha coefficient were equal to 0.902 and 0.88. The questionnaire of the present study indicated an acceptable validity and reliability for identifying hazards and assessing laboratory fire risk. Therefore, this tool provided a quick, easy, and practical way to identify hazards and assess the risk of laboratory fires.