All Employers have a responsibility to protect workers against health and safety hazards at work. Workers have the right to know about potential hazards and a responsibility to work safely with hazardous materials. Health and safety hazards exist in every workplace. Some are easily identified and corrected, while others create extremely dangerous situations that could be a threat to your life or long-term health. For hazard management strategies in the workplace to be effective the ability to recognize hazards is essential.
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Hazard Identification
Abstract ....................................................................................................................... 0
Introduction ................................................................................................................. 3
Definition of a Hazard ................................................................................................. 3
Why Report Hazards ................................................................................................... 3
Classes of Hazards...................................................................................................... 4
Safety Hazards ......................................................................................................... 5
Health Hazards ........................................................................................................ 5
Health Hazard Categories ..................................................................................... 5
Types of Hazards ......................................................................................................... 6
Visible Hazards ......................................................................................................... 6
Hidden Hazards ....................................................................................................... 6
Developing Hazards ............................................................................................... 7
Barriers to Identifying Hazards .................................................................................. 7
Using limited Experience ........................................................................................ 8
Not Feeling Involved or Effected .......................................................................... 8
Site Blindness ............................................................................................................ 8
Other Barriers to Consider ...................................................................................... 9
Methods to Identifying Hazards ................................................................................ 9
Employee Feedback ............................................................................................ 10
Reports .................................................................................................................... 10
Specific Inspections .............................................................................................. 10
General Inspections ............................................................................................. 10
External Inspections .............................................................................................. 10
Toolbox Meetings .................................................................................................. 10
Take 5...................................................................................................................... 11
JSA........................................................................................................................... 11
Industry Information .............................................................................................. 11
Other Sources ........................................................................................................ 11
Training ................................................................................................................... 11
Accident Experience ........................................................................................... 11
Brainstorming ......................................................................................................... 12
Summary of Hazard Identification ........................................................................... 12
Final Thought ............................................................................................................. 13
References ................................................................................................................ 13
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Hazard Identification
© Copyright [2016] South Metropolitan TAFE (formally Challenger Institute of
Technology)
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Hazard Identification
To ensure a safe workplace, hazard identification is essential. Hazard identification is very much a part of the overall safety management system, as one of the methods to reducing risks, such as, the likes of injury, environmental and damage to plant and equipment.
There are many types of hazards that exist in and around the workplace.
Some are fixed hazards, some are obvious and many are developing or hidden. The ability to identify all types of hazards is paramount in the process to eliminating potential harm or reducing the risk hazards can impose.
‘Is Anything that has the Potential to Cause Injury, Harm or Damage to
Persons, Plant, Equipment or the Environment’
The Term ‘Anything’ – describes a (hazardous) condition, situation or process.
The Act requires all employees to report hazards to their employer, this is a legal obligation. Reporting hazards will reduce the likelihood of injury or damage, this is underlying and fundamental reason to report hazards in the workplace, and carries great importance.
The importance of reporting hazards can be explained in a concept developed by US safety researcher in 1969, Frank E Bird. Subsequently, the name of the concept is the Bird Triangle or Bird Theory. His study looked at the issue related to the damage aspect inherent in accidents.
Simplified, for every disabling injury there was an amount of minor injuries, an amount of property damage and even a larger amount of near misses.
An example of the theory - take a brick on a high platform on a building site, if the brick falls (hazard – fall from height, object) 400 times, the following may occur:
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Hazard Identification
F IGURE 1.
B IRD T HEORY D IAGRAM
Any report and subsequent change to the conditions will reduce the frequency of the action of the brick falling (the hazard) and in-turn; reduce the frequency of all other elements.
An example of this, is to remove the brick (remove the hazard), thus eliminating the risk of the brick falling and subsequently eliminate any possible injury harm or damage.
Note The equation is not fundamentally correct; however, the principle applies across all hazard events.
The type industry and the work performed, in the workplace, will contribute to the frequency of exposure to hazards. Lack of experience and training to identify hazards is also a contributing factor, thus many hazards in the workplace remain unidentified.
To confidently and competently identify all hazards in the workplace, we must first understand the characteristics of the hazards that exist. The following applies to all workplaces;
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Hazard Identification
Hazards associated with workplaces can be divided into 2 main classes, they are;
Examples of safety hazards include,
 Unguarded Machinery
 Failure to Tag Unsafe Equipment
 Poor Maintenance
 Lack of Instruction, Training and Supervision
 Poor Housekeeping
Examples of health hazards include,
 Handling Hazardous Substances
 Manual Handling
 Working in noisy areas
 Exposure to bacteria from uncontained waste
 Bullying, Stress and Harassment
Can be further divided into 4 distinct categories;
– Noise, Lighting, Radiation (x-ray, welding),
Ergonomics, Repetitive Motion, Extremes – hot or cold,
Vibration, Dust.
– Dusts (asbestos, silica, wood), acids/caustics, solvents, combustion bi-products, metals (lead, arsenic, mercury), pesticides, Resins, Gases.
– Infectious diseases (human and animal),
Bacteria, Spores, Plants, Unsanitary conditions (sewage),
Viruses, Spiders/insects.
– Discrimination, Harassment, Bullying, Stress,
Low Pay, Threats of Violence, Shift work, Deadlines,
Boredom, Lack of Recognition.
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Hazard Identification
When identifying hazards in a workplace, we need to consider the 3
types of hazards that exist for both Safety and Health hazards, to minimise the risk of overlooking them, these are;
 Visible Hazards
 Developing Hazards
 Hidden Hazards
Often referred to as obvious hazards because they are usually hazards we can see and are generally identified, however this is not the case and human behaviour plays a large part in this misconception.
Visible or obvious hazards are in-fact hazards that are perceived by the
senses. Therefore, they are hazards that we are able to See, Hear, Smell,
Taste and Touch. Some examples of visible hazards could be:
 Leaking hydraulics
 Slip or trip hazards (oil spills, clutter)
 Exposed electrical cables
 Hot surfaces
 Leaking Gas
 Noisy machinery
 Suspended loads
 Exhaust fumes
 Inadequate lighting
Often these types of hazards these are overlooked due to inexperience and knowledge to detect them. Hidden hazards are hazards that are not
perceived by the senses or hidden from the senses by either, barriers to identify them or the body’s inability to detect them. Some examples of hidden hazards include;
 Odourless gasses
 Radiation
 Bacteria and viruses
 High frequency vibration electronic radiation (mobile phones)
 UV exposure
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Hazard Identification
In most cases these types of hazards may have been adequately controlled at some a point, meaning the risk of injury, harm or damage was greatly reduced to an acceptable level. When the risk control measures begin to break down, the risk of exposure to the hazard increases and they become developing hazards. These types of hazards need to be constantly monitored, maintained or considered with changing environment/company circumstances, to ensure effective control measures to reduce the risk are still adequate. Examples of hidden hazards are;
 Wear on lifting equipment
 Deterioration of ventilation equipment
 Degradation of light levels
 Corrosion of pressure vessels or pipes and valves
 Build-up of harmful bacteria in water coolers
 Human behaviour
Workplace hazards are very real; some are more difficult than others to detect by using the senses alone. This does not mean that any set of hazards are more important than others, nor is there intent to imply this, merely stating that they exist.
Implementing satisfactory processes and systems to manage hazards like this need to be in place and monitored to ensure effectiveness of control measures. The organisation may require specialised equipment or seek the services industry specialists in order to identify and monitor particular workplace hazards.
Why hazards are not controlled or simply overlooked in workplaces can occur for a variety of reasons. However, one aspect of hazard management is for certain, the requirements of WHS legislation and the duties it places on the stakeholders of the business. For instance, the employer’s duty to provide safe work activities, equipment and workplace, free from hazards, and the employees requirements to report all hazards to the employer. For these requirements to be successful, systems such as policies, procedures and other hazard management activities need to be developed and implemented, more importantly used and monitored. There will be a range of differences across industries and workplaces for the reasons why hazards are not identified, some of the barriers to identifying hazards are listed below and it is highly important for the success of hazard management that all barriers are identified and overcome.
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Hazard Identification
We often subconsciously screen out hazards that we consider trivial, with respect to our own experience. Whereas these trivial hazards may have reached their full potential and resulted in a catastrophic disaster elsewhere and possibly caused injuries or death. Such as:
 Access to confined spaces
 Boiling liquid expansion volumetric explosion (gas tank explosion)
 Legionnaires disease
 Over complexed process
The further away from the hazard we are, in geographical terms, the less likely we are to recognising the significance. This is evident with companies who may have people who make the decisions working in an office of a large city and the workers are located on remote sites. The barriers here may be mirrored, for example, the management may not understand the hazards associated with working on the remote sites, because they are not exposed to them and the employees may believe, its normal work practices and conditions or management doesn’t care or assume the risks are adequately controlled. Regardless the barriers need to be identified and overcome. Examples of not feeling involved or affected;
 Working in a noisy, dirty industry
 Being exposed to radiation
 Eating in a dirty crib room
 Working in extreme conditions
 Dangerous environment (ocean)
Is self-explanatory, this barrier to identifying hazards generally occurs from performing over repetitive work activities or over familiar with the workplace. There is a tendency in these situations to not notice the hazards around you because, they have always been there, haven’t previously been an issue or did not realise the hazard was there.
Prolonged timeframes and complacency are contributing factors to the inability to recognise hazards in a working environment and there is a need to identify and overcome these barriers. Examples of site blindness;
 Repetitive or continuous driving, vehicle speeds
 Performing the same work every day
 Employed at the workplace for many years
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Hazard Identification
 Continuously stepping over clutter on the floor
 Items stored on top of bookshelves/filing cabinets
 Unreported torn or lifted carpet on an office floor
 Poor housekeeping culture
 Simply walking around or avoiding a hazard
Other areas that may impact on the ability to identify hazards may include;
 Cultural backgrounds
 Lack of training, supervision
 Workplace safety culture/attitude, responsibility
 Stress, bullying, lack of focus
 Workloads, deadlines, time management
 Rosters, shift work, working alone, sick and annual leave
 Management commitment, awareness and planning
 Limited information, resource availability
 Costs, budgets, consultant availability
 Workplace design, location, industry
There are many methods to identifying hazards that exist in the workplace and the work activities. Despite legislative requirements stating all hazards need to be identified and controlled, there is very little the legislation provides about how to do this. Guidance material will assist in developing strategies to overcome barriers to identify hazards as well as providing information on best practices to control the risks of hazards.
Identifying the hazards initially may be a contributing factor in poor hazard management.
There is a vast variety of systems, procedures and WHS activities that many organisations use or have developed to contribute to identify hazards associated with their workplaces, plant, equipment, substances and work practices.
The more involved the workgroup are in identifying hazards and hazard management, the increase potential for a safer working environment, worker commitment, workplace relationships, participation, consultation and assisting with the employers’ obligations under the Act.
Some areas where hazards may be identified;
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Hazard Identification
Simply having a conversation with the workgroup is an extremely valuable source of information. Regardless if communicating in a formal meeting or just one on one, on the shop floor or in the crib room at morning tea. A conversation may lead to identifying potential hazards existing in the workplace. Additional to this, obtaining feedback from an employee on WHS matter is just as valuable.
Most organisations would have a reporting strategy in place, to report hazards and to document the outcomes of hazard and risk management activities. Other documentation such as incident and accident reports, audits and evaluation reports should be kept and filed in a central location. Reports are a wealth of information, some best practice WHS activities such as, Hazard Hunting rely of assessing various reports to identify hazards and developing trends in the workplace.
Some particular situations may require an inspection to be conducted to assist in the identification of particular hazards or type of hazards, examples would include Health Monitoring, Hazardous Substance Audits,
Safe Work Method Statement reviews.
Form part of any workers’ role, with effective inspection tools, such as workplace inspection checklist, work station pre-start inspection, standard operating procedure check or vehicle pre-start checklist, these inspections can assist in the identification of hazards.
Are generally conducted by an outside consultant, industry specialist or a safety professional are understandably very useful in identifying hazards and developing processes to identify hazards and come equipped with proven skills, knowledge and ‘Fresh Eyes’ effectively will reduce site blindness. Examples would include Emergency/Evacuation
Systems Inspection, Fire Equipment Inspection, Testing and Tagging and
Noise Monitoring.
A very useful tool that can open up communication and consultation links between the employers and the employees. Encourages
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Hazard Identification participation and a great method for employees to voice their concerns on WHS matters, and potentially identify hazards.
This is a useful tool generally used in industries with high risk work. Workers use a Take 5 to step out the work task and identify any hazards associated with each step, then implement the controls to eliminate or reduce the risk of the hazards. Generally used just before the worker commences the work activity or if any new hazards arise during the task.
Effective hazard management tools for identifying and controlling hazards immediately.
A Job Safety Analysis, also known as JHA, JTA or Safe Work Method
Statement, is useful for identifying hazards and assessing the risks in each step of a job task. Same principles as a Take 5, but usually involves a work group toolbox meeting, discussing the task together before they start the job, often changes in identified hazards on a JSA during the work task will be adjusted using a Take 5.
There are an abundance of industry groups offering a wealth of hazard related information specific to their workplace, which can be an asset for similar workplaces of industries.
Media releases including local TV, Newspapers and internet subscriptions, can provide information on hazards. Networking with social media groups, such as ‘LinkedIn’, can be another valuable source.
Training is vital and will always increase your level of knowledge and ability to identify hazards. Logically, hazard management training, Safety
Representative training and competency training for high risk work licences are essential to hazard identification, however training involving a new process, procedure, plant operation or upgrade/refresher training is beneficial due to hazards associated with the training are identified.
A thorough and competent accident investigation identify hazards that contributed to injury, harm or damage. Outcomes also give a good indication of possible consequences. Implementing corrective actions
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Hazard Identification must include improvements to systems related to hazard management process.
Team meetings that consider hazard potential and “what if” questions can be very useful for identifying potential hazards, if they are well structure and focused. Activities similar to this are often used by accident investigation teams to analyse factual evidence against the WHS
Management System elements to determine the contributing factors of causation, the results often identify hazards and weaknesses in Hazard
Management processes.
Some tips for improving hazard identification in the workplace and promoting a positive safety culture;
 Everyone has a duty to manage workplace hazards, it’s not someone else’s job
 Be involved in hazard identification activities, this will help develop knowledge of workplace hazards
 Make a point to understand the hazards that exist in the workplace and how they are controlled
 Source workplace and/or external information about the hazards that exist, e.g. hazardous substances, manufacturers manuals
 Hazards are not always obvious so LOOK for all types and classes of hazards in the workplace and work practices performed
 Ask questions – do not ignore …… if you are unsure…. Then ask some more
 Recognise within yourself and others the barriers to identifying hazards and Make the changes to overcome the barriers
 Provide others with positive encouragement, to report hazards
 Positively recognise those who have reported hazards - explain the
benefits achieved and the importance of reporting
 Know and promote the hazard reporting procedure of your workplace and use it
 Listen out for hazards in conversations with colleagues, they may have identified a potential threat without knowing it
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Hazard Identification
Hazards exist in workplaces and if they are not controlled, as far as reasonably practicable, can cause a catastrophic event, remember
‘Every Hazard has the Potential to become a Catastrophe’. When a hazard reaches its full potential, extensive damage occurs, communities perish, people are seriously injured and lives are lost. Recent statistics released by Safe Work Australia specified, between 2013 and 2015, there has been an average of 187 workplace fatalities per year across
Australia. This isn’t including the accidents that caused ‘extensive
injuries’, meaning the person injured will never fully recover. That’s almost a workplace death every 2 days. There is no particular way to describe the magnitude and massive impact this has on, the workplace, work colleagues and families, employer, communities and most of all, the children, wives, husbands, girlfriends, boyfriends, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, extended families, friends and of course, the injured person themselves……………………. Not to mention the financial burdens imposed by an event like this.
What would it have taken to effectively identify and control the hazard to prevent the catastrophe? ………………………………….. Very little to be compared to devastation it caused!
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Hazard identification, risk assessment and control measures for Major Hazard
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WA – Worksafe WA institute.safetyline.wa.gov.au
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Worksafe WA institute.safetyline.wa.gov.au
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