<p>The increasing incidence of occupational accidents and diseases, driven by technological advancement and industrialization, has highlighted the critical importance of Occupational Health and Safety Risk Assessment (OHSRA). While numerous OHSRA models have been developed to address challenges in risk evaluation and hazard prioritization, effectively managing the inherent uncertainties in expert judgments remains a challenge. The situation necessitates a robust uncertainty theory to systematically capture and represent expert knowledge. To bridge this gap, this study proposes an integrated framework that enhances the traditional William Fine method. Fuzzy sets are incorporated to flexibly model linguistic uncertainties and are combined with the Step-wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) method for criteria weighting and the Combined Compromise Solution (CoCoSo) approach for ranking alternatives. The applicability and efficacy of the proposed fuzzy SWARA-CoCoSo-William Fine framework are demonstrated through a case study conducted in a ceramic industry granule preparation unit. A Sobol sensitivity analysis is conducted, the results of which validate the robustness of the proposed framework.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>