Fine & Kinney risk method

How NextSDS scores a product at a workplace with Fine & Kinney (RECESS), what each factor value means, and what each score band asks of you.

Fine & Kinney scores the risk of working with a product at one workplace. It multiplies three factors:

Risk = effect × exposure × probability

Effect is how harmful the product is. NextSDS reads it from the H-statements on the product's SDS.
Exposure is how often and how long people work with the product at that workplace.
Probability is how likely contact is, given the protective measures in place.

The product decides the effect. The workplace decides exposure and probability. That is why the same product can score differently in two workplaces.

In the app the method is also called RECESS: the risk assessments list shows the score in its RECESS column.

Effect

You do not choose the effect. NextSDS adds up a weight for every H-statement in section 2 of the product's SDS:

Weight	H-statements
3	H302, H312, H315, H319, H332, H335, EUH066
7	H301, H366, H373, EUH070
10	H311, H331, EUH071
15	H314, H317, H334, H341, H361, H371, H372, EUH208
40	H300, H304, H310, H330, H340, H351, H360, H362, H370

Any other H-statement, such as a physical hazard like H225, counts 1. A product whose SDS lists H302, H315 and H319 has an effect of 3 + 3 + 3 = 9.

The effect is never lower than 1. A product without a usable SDS cannot be assessed: there are no H-statements to read, so NextSDS leaves the score empty instead of storing a low one.

Exposure

Pick the value that matches how the product is used at this workplace:

Value	Exposure	How often	How long
0.5	Very low	1x per year	less than 5 min per week
1	Low	1x per month	5 to 15 min per week
1.5	Occasional	1x per month	15 min to 2 h per week
2	Regular	1x per week	2 to 5 h per week
3	Frequent	max 2 h per day	5 to 10 h per week
6	High	max 4 h per day	10 to 20 h per week
10	Continuous	8 h per day	20 to 40 h per week

Probability

Pick the value that matches the protection in place when people work with the product:

Value	Probability	What it means
0.2	Closed system	Fully enclosed process, no exposure
0.51	Adequate controls	Both technical and personal protection
1	Technical controls only	No personal protection measures
3	Personal protection only	No technical control measures
6	Inadequate protection	Unsuitable technical and personal measures
10	No protection	No control or protection measures

If you set only one of the two, NextSDS fills in the other with Regular exposure (2) or Personal protection only (3) until you change it.

Score bands

The score falls into one of five bands. Each band has its own page with what it asks of you and how to bring the score down.

Score	Band	What it asks of you
20 or less	Low	Very limited risk, acceptable
above 20, up to 70	Medium	Attention required
above 70, up to 200	High	Measures necessary
above 200, up to 400	Critical	Immediate measures required
above 400	Stop	Stop activities under current conditions

Lowering a score

Each factor gives you a different lever:

Probability is where measures act. Adding technical controls, personal protection or both moves the product down the probability scale. This is usually the quickest way down.
Exposure drops when the task is done less often or for a shorter time.
Effect only changes with the product. Replacing it with a product that carries fewer or milder H-statements lowers the effect for every workplace at once.

To find the probability that brings a score into a lower band, divide the band's upper limit by effect × exposure. With an effect of 16 and Regular exposure (2), a probability of at most 70 / 32, about 2.2, keeps the score in Medium, so Technical controls only (1) is enough.

Where to find it in NextSDS

Run the assessment for a product at a workplace from Assessments.
See every score across your team in Risk assessments.
For a route-by-route view of control measures, use EMKG and its protection guidelines.