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How to Identify and Mitigate Workplace Hazards

Hazard means a source or a situation with a potential for harm in terms of human injury or ill health, damage to property, damage to the environment or a combination of these.

Important Terms and Definitions

Before we go further, it is important to understand the basic terms and definitions below.

Term Definition
Hazard Control The process of implementing measures to reduce the risk associated with a hazard.
Hierarchy of Control The established priority order for the types of measures used to control risks.
Hazard Identification The identification of undesired events leading to the materialization of a hazard and the mechanism by which those events could occur.
Risk A combination of the likelihood of an occurrence of a hazardous event within a specified period or circumstances and the severity of injury or damage to health, property, or the environment caused by the event.
Risk Assessment The process of evaluating risks to safety and health arising from hazards at work.
Risk Management The total procedure associated with identifying a hazard, assessing the risk, implementing control measures, and reviewing the outcomes.
Incident An occurrence arising out of or in the course of work that could or does result in injury and ill health, sometimes referred to as an accident.
Near Miss An incident where no injury and ill health occur but has the potential to do so, for example, a falling hammer near people.
Consequence Direct or indirect result, outcome, or effect of a particular action, event, or situation. Consequences can be positive or negative, and they often have varying degrees of significance or impact.

What is the Purpose of Hazard Identification?

The goal of hazard identification is to pinpoint the most important parts of a job, specifically the tasks that could be risky for the health and safety of workers. It also aims to bring attention to dangers related to equipment, like those caused by energy sources, working conditions, or specific activities.

Hazards fall into three main categories: things that can harm your health, things that can cause accidents, and things that can harm the environment.

What is Health Hazards?

An occupational health hazard refers to anything that can make a person sick. This hazard can lead to either serious and immediate effects (acute) or cause long-term problems (chronic).

It might impact all or just a part of the body. People with occupational illnesses may not notice the symptoms right away. For instance, someone might not realize they have noise-induced hearing loss until it has progressed significantly.

Health hazards may encompass, but not limited to:

  1. Chemicals (e.g., battery acid and solvents)
  2. Biological hazards (e.g., bacteria, viruses, dusts, and molds)
  3. Physical agents (energy sources with the potential to harm the body, like electric currents, heat, light, vibration, noise, and radiation)
  4. Work design (ergonomic) hazards.

What is Safety Hazards?

A safety hazard is any powerful force that can result in injury or property damage. Injuries caused by safety hazards are typically clear and evident, such as a severe cut suffered by a worker. Safety hazards become harmful when workplace controls are insufficient or lacking.

Some examples of safety hazards include, but are not limited to –

  1. Elements that can cause slipping/tripping hazards (such as wires run across floors);
  2. Fire hazards (from flammable materials);
  3. Moving parts of machinery, tools and equipment (such as pinch and nip points);
  4. Work at height related (such as work done on a substandard scaffolds);
  5. Ejection of material (such as from molding);
  6. Pressure systems (such as steam boilers and pipes);
  7. Moving vehicles or machineries either slow or fast (such as forklifts and trucks);
  8. Lifting and other manual handling operations; and
  9. Working alone.

What is Environmental Hazards?

An environmental hazard involves releasing substances into the environment that can cause harm or negative effects. This release may not be immediately apparent.

For instance, a worker who drains a glycol system and lets the liquid flow into a storm sewer might not be aware of the impact on the environment. The toxic waste that goes into the environment will be returned back to humans by the force of the ‘environment’ itself.

For instance, look at what happened with the Mercury Pollution in Minamata, Japan. Also, consider our own famously known Kim Kim River pollution incident.

Environmental hazards lead to harm when proper controls and work procedures are not followed.

On top of the three hazard groups mentioned above, they can be further broken down into following types:

Hazard Type Example
Biological Bacteria, insects, viruses, plants, animals, birds, humans, etc.
Chemical The toxic, chemical and physical properties of the material
Ergonomic Posture, workflow, workstation design, poor equipment design, improper workstation setup, heavy or awkward lifting, repetitive movements, etc.
Physical Loud noises, extreme pressures, magnetic fields, radiation, fire, poor lighting, unsafe machinery, misused machinery, obstructions in walkways, slippery floors, etc.
Psychological Violence, stress, constant low-level noise, threats of danger, discrimination, harassment, public relations, intense workloads, shift work, etc.
Safety Equipment malfunctions, equipment breakdowns, inappropriate machine guarding, tripping and slipping hazards, etc.

How to Identify Hazards at the Workplace?

Sometimes, it can be challenging to identify hazards at the workplace. Here are certain aspects to consider when identifying hazards at your workplace:

  1. Any hazardous occurrence investigation reports.
  2. First aid records and minor injury records.
  3. Workplace health protection programs.
  4. Results of workplace inspections.
  5. Employee complaints and comments.
  6. Government or employer reports, studies, and tests concerning the health and safety of employees.
  7. Reports made under the regulation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, 1994.
  8. Record of hazardous substances.
  9. Any other relevant information.

To carry out hazard identification, various techniques can be employed. Examples of these techniques include, but are not restricted to:

  1. Workplace inspections.
  2. Task safety analysis or job hazard analysis.
  3. Preliminary investigations.
  4. Identification of potential accident factors.
  5. Failure analysis.
  6. Accident and incident investigations.

It is advisable to customize your own process and identification techniques to align with your management procedures and the scale of your business. In fact, the identification method may differ based on the size and nature of the workplace.

What are the Common Misconceptions in Hazard Identification?

Some individuals may find it challenging to accurately identify the concepts of ‘work activity,’ ‘hazard,’ and ‘consequence,’ potentially resulting in the mismanagement of risks in the workplace.

There may be a tendency to mistakenly use these terms interchangeably, but it’s important to recognize that they have distinct meanings and should be applied appropriately.

Let’s understand a simple example below.

Terms Example Explanation
Work Activity Working at a height This is the general activity or task being performed.
Hazard Working at a height without a body harness The hazard is not using a body harness while working at a height, introducing the risk of falling.
Consequence Falling from a height Falling from a height represents the potential outcome or consequence of not addressing the hazard, emphasizing the importance of using safety measures like a body harness when working at heights.

Read
HIRARC Guidelines by DOSH