Establishing an FMEA-HACCP based access management system for university laboratory projects

University laboratories serve as core venues for scientific research, teaching, and talent cultivation. Their safety management directly impacts research continuity, teaching stability, and personnel safety. However, laboratory accidents frequently occur in Chinese universities, primarily during the use and storage of hazardous chemicals, as well as during equipment operation. The root causes of these accidents lie in fragmented risk identification, lagging control measures, formalistic access mechanisms, and the inherent limitations of a “post-incident remediation” model. This study establishes a scientific and operational access management system for experimental projects, targeting university research initiatives. The core objective is to “prevent experimental risks at their source and ensure the safe execution of projects.” This transforms laboratory safety management from a reactive response to proactive prevention, thereby guaranteeing secure experimental implementation.

First, by reverse engineering the root causes of university laboratory incidents and integrating core requirements from the University Laboratory Safety Inspection Checklist (2025 Edition), we established five-dimensional prerequisites for experimental project access: personnel, equipment, materials, methodology, and environment. Building upon this foundation, we innovatively fused failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) with hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) theory (fusion termed FMEA-HACCP) to construct a “risk identification–quantitative assessment–critical control point (CCP) determination–access verification” coordinated system, where the three-dimensional quantitative model of FMEA (risk priority number (RPN) = severity × occurrence × detectability) quantifies risk grading, whereas HACCP theory identifies CCPs, establishing control plans with key thresholds, monitoring protocols, and dynamic corrective actions to create a closed-loop management mechanism.

After two years of practical implementation in the Agricultural Experiment Teaching Center, this access management system demonstrated significant outcomes: among 62 initial risk points, the high-risk points (RPN ≥ 301) decreased from 18 to 0; the average RPN across the entire process dropped from 286 to 123, representing a 57.0% reduction; three newly identified potential risk points, including “mixed storage of experimental waste liquids” and “operation of new instruments,” were controlled at low-risk levels (RPN ≤ 85) through early intervention, with no safety incidents occurring throughout the process. The compliance rate for CCPs rose from 68.0% to 98.5%, with hazardous chemical accounting, instrument calibration, and firefighting equipment achieving 100% compliance. Minor deviation frequencies decreased from an average of 5 incidents per month to 0.3 incidents, while the corrective response time shortened from 30 to 8 min. At the personnel level, undergraduate safety exam pass rates rose from 75.0% to 98.2%, graduate operational assessment pass rates reached 97.8%, and noncompliant operation incidents decreased by 91.7%. The management model successfully transitioned from “post-incident rectification” to “pre-emptive prevention–process control–post-verification,” thereby reducing the hazard rectification cycle from 72 to 24 h.

Overall, this study successfully establishes an FMEA–HACCP-based access management system for university laboratory projects by leveraging the comprehensive quantitative assessment of FMEA with precise control from HACCP. Centered on the five-dimensional prerequisites: “personnel, equipment, materials, methods, and environment,” this system enables comprehensive systemic risk prevention and control. Its operability, traceability, and scalability are fully validated through practice. The system effectively addresses the shortcomings of traditional management models, significantly reducing experimental risks while enhancing the safety literacy of relevant personnel. Ultimately, it provides a scientific paradigm for university laboratory safety management that can be extended to various laboratory types.