SAFETY RISK MANAGEMENT
Contents
1. INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................................3
2. EVOLUTION OF SAFETY RISK MANAGEMENT....................................................................4
3. WHAT IS SAFETY RISK MANAGEMENT? ..............................................................................4
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4. TYPES OF HAZARDS IN CHEMICAL INDUSTRY ...................................................................5
5.1. Risk Ranking Matrix ..............................................................................................................7
5.2. Risk Control ...........................................................................................................................7
6. SAFETY RISK MANAGEMENT AT ZIMPHOS.........................................................................8
6.1. SHEQ Department .................................................................................................................8
6.2. Policy ......................................................................................................................................9
6.3. ISO Standards Certified .........................................................................................................9
6.4. Hazard identification and Assessment of Risks .......................................................................9
6.5. Resources................................................................................................................................9
6.6. Legal Compliance ................................................................................................................. 10
6.7. Competence .......................................................................................................................... 10
6.8. Awareness............................................................................................................................. 10
6.9. Health and Wellness Day ...................................................................................................... 11
6.10. Communication .................................................................................................................. 11
6.11. Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan ..................................................................... 11
6.12. Planned Preventive Maintenance ........................................................................................ 11
6.13. Monitoring, Measurement, Analysis ................................................................................... 11
6.14. Audits ................................................................................................................................ 12
6.15. Incident and Accident Investigation.................................................................................... 12
7. RECOMMENTATIONS ............................................................................................................. 12
8. BENEFITS OF RISK MANAGEMENT ..................................................................................... 13
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1. INTRODUCTION
Many activities in the chemical industry involve handling hazardous chemicals, some of which
are major hazards. Incidents in which there is loss of containment of such chemicals can have
consequences which are potentially harmful to people and the environment. Hence there is the
possibility of some risk to people and the environment on or around certain process industry
activities. The same sort of incidents can also put business at risk. Wherever there is some
hazard and some exposure there is a finite level of risk and risk management is about ensuring
that that finite risk is very small. To ensure the necessary health and safety of people and the
environment, there must be proper management of the risk.
Risk management is not optional. It really is mandatory, for moral and legal reasons, and to
maintain a company’s reputation and licence to operate. But it is also necessary to safeguard the
business; good risk management is good business. It ensures that the potential safety, health and
environmental risks to the business are understood and dealt with in a positive way, by
prioritizing actions for risk reduction and control and maximizing the effective use of financial
and other resources.
Safety risk management encompasses the assessment and mitigation of safety risks. The
objective of safety risk management is to assess the risks associated with identified hazards and
to develop and implement effective and appropriate mitigations. Safety risk management is
therefore a key component of the safety management process
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2. EVOLUTION OF SAFETY RISK MANAGEMENT
The study of risk management began after World War II. Risk management has long been
associated with the use of market insurance to protect individuals and companies from various
losses associated with accidents. Other forms of risk management, alternatives to market
insurance, surfaced during the 1950s when market insurance was perceived as very costly and
incomplete for protection against pure risk. The use of derivatives as risk management
instruments arose during the 1970s, and expanded rapidly during the 1980s, as companies
intensified their financial risk management. International risk regulation began in the 1980s, and
financial firms and industries developed internal risk management models and capital calculation
formulas to hedge against unanticipated risks and reduce regulatory capital. It was realized that it
was too expensive to manage every risk with insurance so integrated risk management was
introduced, and the risk and safety managers’ positions were created. For example, training and
safety programs now considered insurance alternatives.
3. WHAT IS SAFETY RISK MANAGEMENT?
Risk management in Occupational Safety and Health is a formal process for identifying hazards,
evaluating and analyzing risks associated with those hazards, then taking action to eliminate the
hazards or control the risks that cannot be eliminated to minimize injury and illness potential.
Risk management is a critical step in any organization’s efforts to proactively mitigate risk
before an injury or catastrophe occurs
Hazard identification is the first step in risk management but to identify hazards, there is need to
know and identify hazards in the workplace. Hazard is any source, situation, or act with a
potential for harm in terms of human injury or ill health. The team approach is the most effective
way of identifying hazards through consultation with employees to build ownership of the
outcome. Hazards are classified into the types so that it becomes easy and segregate according to
the types of hazard in the workplace.
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4. TYPES OF HAZARDS IN CHEMICAL INDUSTRY
Chemical Hazard: Handling of chemicals job is directly related to the chemical hazard in the
industry. Hazardous chemicals can even damage the body severely and can even result in
fatality. Chemical hazards include exposure to chemical fumes through inhalation and burns
through skin contamination, Exposure to chemical dust during transportation, handling, use and
disposal can result in pneumoconiosis. Coal dust from Boiler plant can result in lung cancer.
Chemicals such as Sulphuric acid vapor may cause conjunctivitis and upper respiratory tract
irritation.
Biological Hazard: Biological Hazard includes the harm caused by a virus, bacteria fungi or
parasites. These viruses and bacteria enter the body and harm the human body by causing
diseases. These hazards are known as biological hazards. Biological hazards are of three types
that is infections, allergy or poisoning
Physical Hazard: Physical Hazard is mainly environmental factors that can harm the people
working in the plant. These environmental factors don’t mean to have physical touch, factors like
noise, temperature radiation. Examples include exposure to laser light form welding and cutting
during designing and maintenance. Exposure to noise: noise levels exceeding 90 dB
Ergonomic Hazard: Ergonomic hazard includes physical factors such as working condition,
posture, and type of work that gives strain to the body. These hazards may cause musculoskeletal
injuries. Injuries from ergonomic hazard can’t be spotted immediately as it shows the effect after
a couple of hours. These injuries sore-muscle on short exposure time but can also turn into some
serious issues on a long exposure. These hazards are very hard to observe and required deep
observation and these includes, improper placement of equipment, less available space to work,
repetitive movements, poor design of equipment, workstation design and manual handling.
Psychological Hazard: Hazards that had impact on employee and worker’s mental health and
well-being comes under psychological hazards. This includes stress, anxiety, and depression and
sexual harassment. Shift work and long hours of work can result in loss of concentration.
Quantity of work, human relations, unclear goals and remuneration can also result in stress.
Mechanical Hazards: These hazards involves moving machine parts, unguarded parts of
machinery, stabbing or puncture, friction or abrasion, crushing, shearing, cutting, severing or
trapping.
Electrical Hazards: Electric shock and burns from live naked wire contact, fires from faulty
wiring, overloading circuits, electrocution or burns from lack of PPE.
The most important area in hazard identification is to understand the characteristics of the
workplace that is:
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Know the nature of the business, Understand all processes and operations, Identify the raw
materials used and what is produced, Identify other products that are formed in the process
During Hazard identification the following tools and manuals that will assist in finding hazards,
assessing the risks and determining control measures must be in place:
Hazard identification and risk assessment forms, Hazard identification check list, Job Hazard
Analysis forms, Manufacturer’s operating instructions, manuals and safe work procedures,
Product labels and Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), Past incidents/accidents to see what
happened and whether the incident/accident could occur again, Test or monitor for exposure
(occupational hygiene testing such as chemical or noise exposure).
4.1. Hazard Identification tools
Workplace inspection: to identify obvious visible hazards by walking around the area.
Job Safety Analysis: Involves identifying each stage involved in undertaking the task. When
each step of the process has been identified, then the hazards associated with each step can more
easily be identified.
Safety Audits: Measure what happens against what should happen benchmarking using a certain
standard criteria.
Accident and Incident data analysis: A study of accident statistics may reveal a pattern of
injuries or type of accident and therefore, identify a particular accident.
A checklist: Is the basic inspection component used to note and record health and safety
inspections. Each inspection checklist is specific to an inspection process; for example, a ladder
checklist will contain details specific to inspecting a ladder.
5. RISK ASSESSMENT
Risk assessment involves considering the possible results of a hazard and the likelihood of its
occurrence. How severe a risk is, whether existing control measures are effective, what action
should be taken to control a risk and how urgently action needs to be taken. A risk is the
likelihood and the severity of a negative occurrence (injury, ill-health, damage, loss) resulting from
a hazard.. Some factors affecting this evaluation include the duration and frequency of exposure,
number of persons affected, competence of those exposed, the type of equipment and its condition,
and availability of first-aid provision and/or emergency support. The main purpose of risk
assessments are:
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To identify health and safety hazards and evaluate the risks presented within the workplace
To evaluate the effectiveness and suitability of existing control measures
To ensure additional controls (including procedural) are implemented wherever the remaining risk
is considered to be anything other than low.
To prioritize further resources if needed to ensure the above.
Some common types of risk assessments include:
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5.1. Risk Ranking Matrix
After assessing the risks, the Risk Ranking Matrix is used to assess the likelihood and the
severity or consequences of each hazard and to give it a risk rating. Depending on likelihood and
severity, risks can be categorized as high, moderate, or low.
5.2. Risk Control
Having identified the hazards at workplace, assessed their risks and reviewed the existing
controls, all hazards must be managed before employees are hurt, become ill or there is damage
to plant, property. All hazards that have been assessed should be dealt with in order of priority.
The Hierarchy of Controls ranks control options from highest level of protection and reliability
to lowest. This should be used to determine the most effective control/s.
Elimination
The best way to control a hazard is to eliminate it and remove the danger. This can be done by
changing a work process in a way that will get rid of a hazard such as having workers perform
tasks at ground level rather than working at heights; and other methods that remove the hazard
all together.
Substitution
The second best way to control a hazard is to substitute something else in its place that would be
less or non-hazardous to workers. For example, a less toxic chemical could be substituted for a
hazardous one or replacing a piece of cutting equipment with one that has fewer exposed sharp
edges.
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Engineering Controls
Engineering controls physically separate workers from the hazard. This could include methods
such as designing efficient machines, planned preventive maintenance, using noise dampening
technology to reduce noise levels; enclosure, use of guardrails, partitions, automated machines,
mechanical lifting devices; or using local exhaust ventilation that captures and carries away the
contaminants before they can get in the breathing zone of workers.
Administrative Controls
They may consists of policies, induction and training, standard operating procedures/guidelines,
personal hygiene practices, work scheduling, job rotation to restrict hours worked on difficult
jobs, induction and raining, pre and periodical medical examinations, signage and rotation. For
example, workers could be rotated in and out of a hot area rather than having to spend eight
hours per day in the heat.
Personal Protective Equipment PPE/C
PPE/C is used as a last line of defence and is the least effective method for protecting workers
from hazards and should be used only while other more effective controls are being developed or
installed. PPE/C is a way of controlling hazards by placing protective equipment directly on
workers' bodies. Examples of personal protective equipment include: respirators, gloves,
protective clothing, hard hats, safety shoes, goggles and ear plugs.
5.3. Monitoring and Review
Hazard identification and risk assessment and control is an on-going process. Therefore,
regularly review the effectiveness of hazard assessment and control measures is required. Make
sure that hazard and risk assessment is undertaken when there is a change to the workplace
including when work systems, tools, machinery or equipment change. Provide additional
supervision to new employees. Change in work patterns such as overtime or shift work, the
needs of pregnant/nursing employees and those with special needs must also be included.
6. SAFETY RISK MANAGEMENT AT ZIMPHOS
Zimbabwe Phosphate Industries (ZimPhos) is a subsidiary of Chemplex Corporation wholly
owned by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC). It is a chemical manufacturing
government owned company located in Msasa Industrial area in Harare. The Company
manufactures Aluminium Sulphate, industrial chemicals and phosphate fertilizers.
6.1. SHEQ Department
The organization has a stand on Safety, Health, Environmental and Quality department
responsible for ensuring that the need and expectations of all stakeholders are satisfied. It
identifies all the safety risks and threats and creates safe opportunities through implementing
SHEQ management system programs in line with the company’s intended goals
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6.2. Policy
The company has an Integrated Business Management Policy and the Policy is a declaration of
leadership commitment to lead by example to sustainable SHEQ management. Management and
Employees support the implementation of the Business policy in ensuring that risks and
opportunities are identified and adequately addressed and maintaining a high standard in the
manufacture and delivery of quality industrial, agricultural chemicals and services in a
sustainable manner and includes
6.3. ISO Standards Certified
ZimPhos has adopted and certified to ISO International Standards that is ISO 9001 of 2015
(Quality), ISO 45001 of 2018(Safety and Health) and ISO 14001 of 2015(Environment). The
purpose of these management systems is to provide a framework for managing OH&S risks and
opportunities
Safety, health, environment and quality management systems at ZimPhos are integrated to create
an integrated management system modeled according to the requirements and guidelines of these
standards. The standards promote risk based thinking approach meaning the organization should
accept accountability for their risks and develop controls and risk strategies.. The management
system approaches applied in these documents are founded on the concept of Plan-Do-CheckAct (PDCA). This concept is an iterative process used by organizations to achieve continual
improvement.
6.4. Hazard identification and Assessment of Risks
Procedure BMSP/02 provides guidance on hazard identification, risk opportunities and risk
assessment. During Hazard identification the following tools and manuals are in place:
Hazard identification , risk assessment and control procedure that will assist in finding hazards,
assessing the risks, determining control measures to eliminate or minimize the level of the risks,
Hazard identification and risk assessment forms, Hazard identification check list, Job Hazard
Analysis forms, Manufacturer’s operating instructions, manuals and safe work procedures,
Product labels and Safety Data Sheets (SDS), safe work clearance certificates, Past
incidents/accidents to see what happened and whether the incident/accident could occur again.
Posters, signage or instructions at the entrance of risk areas are also in place.
6.5. Resources
Financial Operating and capital budgets are drawn up at the beginning of each year and reviewed
as the year progresses. On infrastructure resources ZimPhos has developed, acquired and
installed infrastructural resources (Buildings, plant and machinery, transport, ICT and others)
required for the operation of the business processes and activities. On human resources, People
Recruitment and selection procedures are structured to identify and engage competent staff. In9|Page
house training programs are drawn up on yearly basis in order to develop staff to enable them to
perform their jobs better and adjust to changing environment; to be aware of environment,
occupational health and safety consequences of their work. Raw materials are sourced
competitively from suppliers anywhere in the world provided they meet our specifications
6.6. Legal Compliance
A register of compliance obligations applicable to ZimPhos was generated. The register is
updated whenever there are new laws and other requirements applicable to ZimPhos. Register
certificates pertinent to our operations are kept and permits, licenses such as EMA licenses are
renewed every year before the expiry dates The register indicate responsibilities for acquiring
these and deadlines for such among other things. Policies, procedures, frameworks, code of
conduct are part of legal requirements..
6.7. Competence
The recruitment and selection process ensures that minimum competence requirements are
defined and met for new employees and various training interventions are utilized for existing
employees. Skills and competence requirements for routine and strategic activities are
determined from operational hazards and risks in the organization, performance measurements,
personal requests, skills gap audits and other factors. Various techniques are used to acquire the
required skills and competence levels, including: On the job training, targeting individuals or
groups internally, Apprenticeship Training, versatility training, Internship /Graduate Traineeship,
Register forms and course evaluation forms are in place.
6.8. Awareness
New employees, as well as subcontractors, are introduced to issues to do with SHE through
induction, this equips them to be observant and cautious as they carry on their duties later on in
the plant. The program involves rigorous discussions with the new employees and factory tour.
The program equips employees with a better understanding of the context of the organization on
safety and health issues.
Ten minutes’ safety talks are another awareness practice method at ZimPhos to ensuring risks
and opportunities are identified. In these talks workers mention about near misses of the previous
day, these are done to caution workers and promote identification of hazards. The meetings
produce minutes that are kept for future records.
Safety signs play a large part in keeping facilities compliant and employees knowledgeable. It is
critical for workers to be aware and understand the types of hazards in the workplace, the level of
risk the hazard presents, and what precautions to take. This is done through information
billboards.
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6.9. Health and Wellness Day
In order to show the importance of SHE issues at the company, a day in the calendar year can be
set aside for health and wellness. Experts will be invited to this important function and the
experts may include: Ergonomics experts, Opticians, Food and nutrition, Cancer screening, HIV
testing and counseling. These experts will come and interact with workers educating them on
methods in their field of expertise. This gives workers information and exposure to options
available if one is diagnosed with an ailment. The day may end with sporting activities which
include athletics, tug of war, football, tennis and netball to promote the importance of exercising
to employees.
6.10. Communication
Communication plays an anchorage factor in preventing risks at ZimPhos. The company is
committed to ensuring effective top-down and bottom-up communication within the company
and various methods are used. These include the following, Documented and verbal reports ,
Team briefing , Daily, weekly and monthly safety meetings, Use of notice boards, Scheduled and
unscheduled departmental and interdepartmental meetings , Scheduled Company events, SHEQ
awards, sports days, etc. On External Communication ZimPhos has identified various Interested
Parties that are external to its operations which it has to communicate with Statutory and
Regulatory authorities, Suppliers and contractors, Customers, Neighbors, Trade Unions, Industry
bodies and Emergency response services providers.
6.11. Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan
ZimPhos has an emergency preparedness and response plan, procedure ZPIBMSP/07 to identify
potential emergencies and response to accidents, emergency situations and to prevent and
mitigate the hazards, risks and environmental impacts that may be associated with them. Drills
are planned so as to identify the response of workers. Training of firefighters and first aiders at
each section.
6.12. Planned Preventive Maintenance
All Manufacturing plants at ZimPhos are under a planned maintenance program which is
managed by the Engineering department. Maintenance procedures are documented and enforced
to contain environmental impacts, reduce downtime, to avoid risks and to ensure production
targets are achieved in order to satisfy customers’ requirement. The maintenance program
includes the following: annual shut-down for major plants and equipment , condition monitoring
of critical equipment , total preventive maintenance, General maintenance ,weekly, daily, trip
tests, Danger tags, danger strips and clearance certificates are always in place.
6.13. Monitoring, Measurement, Analysis
Procedure ZPI-BMSP/08 guides on performance, measurement and monitoring General
Measurement data is important for making fact-based decisions and various methods of
collecting data are in place at ZimPhos. These include: Plant log sheets ,Process reports, Process
(on-line) charts, Analytical reports on product quality compared to specifications, Efficiency
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reports , Market information and customer feed-back, Information from trade associations,
Incident reports.
6.14. Audits
Self-assessment audits to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the business management
system are carried out according to procedure ZPI-BMSP/12. The audits are planned and
scheduled at the beginning of each year by the SHEQ Manager. Audits are performed according
to schedule, which is based on the importance of the activity and the results of previous audits.
All auditors are trained, and training records are kept The type of audits includes : Safety and
housekeeping audits, Annual audited stock takes, Internal group systems audits, Audits by
regulatory bodies such as MCAZ, NSSA, SAZ. External Audits Organizations such as Standards
Association of Zimbabwe, which is a certification body, audits the ZimPhos business
management system at least once a year.
6.15. Incident and Accident Investigation
ZimPhos procedure ZPI-BMSP/10 on Incident investigation, nonconformities, Corrective and
preventive action defines responsibility and authority for handling and investigating nonconformances, taking action to mitigate impacts, initiating and completing corrective action and
preventive action to avoid reoccurrence. Incident investigation kit includes: Incident
investigation forms and checklists, Warning tags, Barricade tape to close off the incident area,
Personal Protective Equipment appropriate to the work site such as rubber gloves, goggles, dust
masks, ear muffs and the provision of Accident Register
7. RECOMMENTATIONS
ZimPhos has not been spared in this harsh economic environment meaning some of the safety
risk management controls that were put in place are now compromised. The issue of lack of
resources to fund safety programs is now becoming the song on safety meetings in all
departments. When funds permits, the following grey areas should be urgently rectified:
 Currently there is always shortage of personal protective clothing putting workers at risk
of injuries and illnesses.
 The SHE Steering Committee is the highest Board where all safety solutions are
concluded. The SHE steering Committee are scheduled to meet every month, their last
meeting was in February 2020 so the workers are urging the management to revisit these
SHE steering committee meetings on visual.
 The banding walls at the Sulphuric acid storage tanks are now corroded, the company is
now sitting on a time bomb that may result in acid flowing to the environment in case of
spillages.
 Although some of the machines at the plant were satisfactory in terms of maintenance,
the same cannot be about some of the dilapidated building structures. There is a need to
replace the metal and steel structures and to regularly maintain the roofing structures
New design is needed in the storage of Bauxite or to temporarily cover it with tents to
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prevent dust. Fencing is needed at the Aluminium Sulphate effluent dams to avoid the
risk or eminent danger of drowning to employees.
 The company is still using the shouting method as a form of Fire Alarm. The organization
needs to improve the Alarm system by using a Fire siren to alert employees . Some of the
fire Assembly point needs maintenance e.g. tall grass which will end up being a source of
fire outbreak. The urgent need to train firefighters, first aiders and peer educators.
8. BENEFITS OF RISK MANAGEMENT
Promotes Participation: The purpose of risk management is to minimize the potential negative
consequence of risks. By working with Risk/SHEQ managers, employees can make smart risk
decisions to improve the chance of reward.
Makes jobs safer: Risk management use data analysis to identify loss and injury trends and
implement strategies to prevent them from reoccurring.. This clearly benefits employees in
physical work environments, such as construction, but can also help office employees and those
in similar positions through methods such as ergonomics.
Enables project success: No matter the department, risk managers can help employees succeed
with their projects. Just as they assess risks and develop strategies to maximize organizational
success, they can do the same for individual projects. Employees can reduce the likelihood and
severity of potential project risks by identifying them early. If something does go wrong, there
will already be an action plan in place to handle it. This helps employees prepare for the
unexpected and maximize project outcomes.
Reduces unexpected events: Most people don’t like surprises, especially when it has an
organizational impact A risk manager’s goal is to map out all potential risks and then work to
prevent them or best manage them.
Creates financial benefits: The SHEQ department should not be viewed as a cost centre for the
organization. In fact, it directly creates value. Incidents will be less likely to occur and have less
of an impact when they do, potentially saving the organization thousands if not millions of
dollars.
Improves communication: Horizontal and vertical communication is essential for
organizational and employee well-being. They promote understanding of internal and external
issues and help everyone work together effectively.
Guides decision-making: Risk management data and analytics can guide employees in making
wise strategic decisions that will help meet and exceed company objectives. They can also advise
on the strengths and weaknesses of a decision alternative and provide recommendations on what
risks pursuing and which to avoid.
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9. CONCLUSION
A safety risk assessment is a crucial process to ensure the safety of the workplace and to
protect the health of your employees. During the process of this job risk assessment, the
workplace will be examined to identify possible hazards, assess the likelihood of injuries,
and implement safety measures to reduce the risks in the workplace. It is the employers’
responsibility to ensure the health and well-being of your employees
It can be a costly lesson for a business if they fail to have necessary controls in place. They could
face not only financial loss (through fines, civil actions, etc) but also loss in respect of production
time, damage to equipment, time to train replacement employees and negative publicity amongst
others. Therefore every conceivable risk has to be investigated carefully and hazard potentials
have to be reduced as much as reasonably possible. Risky work places undermine workers’
safety and health therefore safe working practices and prioritization of occupational health and
safety issues should be incorporated into the working environment
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