CSP question for October 26, 2026

The CSP question of the day for Monday, October 26, 2026, on risk matrix and fault tree probability. Pick an answer to see the explanation and its source.

CSP Domain 3: Risk Management

A hazard analysis for a new conveyor loading line at a distribution warehouse finds that the worst credible mishap could cause a worker an injury with one or more lost work days. Its likelihood for an individual conveyor line is "will occur several times in the life of an item." MIL-STD-882E severity categories are 1 Catastrophic (death or permanent total disability), 2 Critical (permanent partial disability or hospitalization of 3 or more), 3 Marginal (injury with lost work days), 4 Negligible (no lost work day); probability levels are A Frequent ("likely to occur often in the life of an item"), B Probable ("will occur several times in the life of an item"), C Occasional ("likely to occur sometime in the life of an item"), D Remote ("unlikely, but possible to occur in the life of an item"), E Improbable ("so unlikely, it can be assumed occurrence may not be experienced in the life of an item"); and its risk matrix (severity 1/2/3/4) reads A: High/High/Serious/Medium; B: High/High/Serious/Medium; C: High/Serious/Medium/Low; D: Serious/Medium/Medium/Low; E: Medium/Medium/Medium/Low. What is the Risk Assessment Code and risk level?

Show answer and source: MIL-STD-882E, DoD Standard Practice: System Safety (2012), Tables I-III

Answer: A. 3B, Serious

For the conveyor line, the consequence matches severity category 3 (Marginal) and the likelihood matches probability level B (Probable). The RAC combines one severity category and one probability level (3B), and Table III assigns Serious.

On the job

A safety coordinator at a cold-storage facility reviews a hazard on a pallet wrapper. The worst credible outcome is an injury with lost work days, and the event is likely to occur sometime in the life of an item. She pairs severity category 3 with probability level C, forms the code 3C, and finds Medium in the matrix. That level sets how much management attention and mitigation the hazard gets.

Study aid, not site-specific safety advice. The official rule controls.

Answer A comes from

MIL-STD-882E, DoD Standard Practice: System Safety (2012), Tables I-III

“Assessed risks are expressed as a Risk Assessment Code (RAC) which is a combination of one severity category and one probability level. For example, a RAC of 1A is the combination of a Catastrophic severity category and a Frequent probability level. Table III assigns a risk level of High, Serious, Medium, or Low for each RAC. [Table III, Probable (B) row, Marginal (3) column: Serious]”