Criticality Matrix

To identify safety critical items, a criticality matrix is an effective tool that presents a visual representation of risk.

For this, each item is assigned a probability of failure as well as a severity rating.

The overall risk for each item is calculated by multiplying the probability of failure with the severity, and is plotted on a criticality matrix, as shown below.

The risk associated with each safety critical item must be taken into account when writing the procedure.