Why are people unsafe

Source excerpt

# Hazard and Risk - Hazard Control (cont.) ## What is a hazard control program? (cont.) For example, in the case of a noise hazard, temporary measures might require workers to use hearing protection. Long-term, permanent controls might use engineering methods to remove or isolate the noise source. ## Why should a workplace implement hazard controls? In all cases, the employer has a duty of due diligence and is responsible for 'taking all reasonable precautions, under the particular circumstances, to prevent injuries or incidents in the workplace'. Some hazards and their controls will be specifically outlined in legislation. In situations where there is not a clear way to control a hazard, or if legislation does not impose a limit or guideline, you should seek guidance from occupational health professionals such as an occupational hygienist, ergonomist, engineer, or safety professional about what is the "best practice" or "standard practice" when working in that situation. Unsafe Safe There is NOT a fine line between Safe and Unsafe Figure 1 ## Remember! A legal limit or guideline (such as an occupational exposure limit) should never be viewed as a line between "safe" and "unsafe". The best approach is to always keep exposures or the risk of a hazard as low as possible. ## What are the main ways to control a hazard? The main ways to control a hazard include: - Elimination: remove the hazard from the workplace. - Substitution: replace the hazard (e.g., hazardous products, machines, etc.) with a less hazardous one. - Engineering Controls: includes designs or modifications to plants, equipment, ventilation systems, and processes that reduce the source of exposure. Hazard and Risk - Hazard Control CCOHS

Source excerpt

# Causation Models (cont.) ## Task (cont.) To seek out possible causes resulting from the equipment and materials used, investigators might ask: - Was there an equipment failure? - What caused it to fail? - Was the machinery poorly designed? - Were hazardous products involved? - Were they clearly identified? - Was a less hazardous alternative product possible and available? - Was the raw material substandard in some way? - Should personal protective equipment (PPE) have been used? - Was the PPE used? - Were users of PPE properly educated and trained? Again, each time the answer reveals an unsafe condition, the investigator must ask why this situation was allowed to exist. ## Work Environment The physical work environment, and especially sudden changes to that environment, are factors that need to be identified. The situation at the time of the incident is what is important, not what the "usual" conditions were. For example, investigators may want to know: - What were the weather conditions? - Was poor housekeeping a problem? - Was it too hot or too cold? - Was noise a problem? - Was there adequate light? - Were toxic or hazardous gases, dusts, or fumes present? ## Personnel The physical and mental condition of those individuals directly involved in the event must be explored, as well as the psychosocial environment they were working within. The purpose for investigating the incident is not to establish blame against someone but the inquiry will not be complete unless personal characteristics or psychosocial factors are considered. Some factors will remain essentially constant while others may vary from day to day: Incident Investigation CCOHS

Source excerpt

# Hazard and Risk - Hazard Identification (cont.) ## What types of hazards are there? (cont.) - Biological - bacteria, viruses, fungi, insects, plants, and animals. - Chemical - depends on the physical, chemical, and toxic properties of the product - Ergonomic - repetitive movements, improper setup of workstations, etc. - Physical - radiation, magnetic fields, temperature extremes, pressure extremes (high pressure or vacuum), noise, vibration, etc. - Psychosocial - stress, violence, harassment, etc. - Safety. - slipping or tripping hazards, inappropriate machine guarding, equipment malfunctions or breakdowns. ## How do I know what is a hazard? Another way to look at health and safety in your workplace is to ask yourself the following questions. These are examples only. You may find other items or situations that can be a hazard. List any item that should be examined. During the risk assessment process, the level of harm will be assessed. What materials or situations do I come into contact with? Possibilities could include: - Electricity. - Chemicals (liquids, gases, solids, mists, vapours, etc.). - Temperature extremes of heat or cold (such as working outdoors, bakeries, foundries, or meat processing). - lonizing and non-ionizing radiation (such as x-rays, ultraviolet (sun) rays). - Asphyxiants (oxygen deficiency) - Working on or near water or ice-covered water. What materials or equipment could I be struck by? - Moving objects (such as forklifts, overhead cranes, vehicles). - Flying objects (such as sparks or shards from grinding). - Falling material (such as tools and equipment from above). What objects or equipment could strike or hit my body, or that part of my body might be caught in, on, or between? - Stationary or moving objects. - Protruding objects. - Sharp or jagged edges. Hazard and Risk - Hazard Identification CCOHS

Source excerpt

# Hazard and Risk - General (cont.) ## What is a hazard? (cont.) Workplace hazards can come from a wide range of sources. General examples include any substance, material, process, practice, etc. that has the ability to cause harm or adverse health effect to a person or property. See Table 1. <table><tr><th colspan="3">Table 1 Examples of Hazards and Their Effects</th></tr><tr><td>Workplace Hazard</td><td>Example of Hazard</td><td>Example of Harm Caused</td></tr><tr><td>Thing</td><td>Knife</td><td>Cut</td></tr><tr><td>Substance</td><td>Benzene</td><td>Leukemia</td></tr><tr><td>Material</td><td>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</td><td>Tuberculosis</td></tr><tr><td>Source of Energy</td><td>Electricity</td><td>Shock, electrocution</td></tr><tr><td>Condition</td><td>Wet floor</td><td>Slips, falls</td></tr><tr><td>Process</td><td>Welding</td><td>Metal fume fever</td></tr><tr><td>Practice</td><td>Hard rock mining</td><td>Silicosis</td></tr><tr><td>Behaviour</td><td>Bullying</td><td>Anxiety, fear, depression</td></tr></table> Workplace hazards also include practices or conditions that release uncontrolled energy like: - an object that could fall from a height (potential or gravitational energy), - a run-away chemical reaction (chemical energy), - the release of compressed gas or steam (pressure; high temperature), - entanglement of hair or clothing in rotating equipment (kinetic energy), or - contact with electrodes of a battery or capacitor (electrical energy). Please see the OSH Answers on Hazard Identification for more information. ## What is risk? Risk is the chance or probability that a person will be harmed or experience an adverse health effect if exposed to a hazard. It may also apply to situations with property or equipment loss, or harmful effects on the environment. For example: the risk of developing cancer from smoking cigarettes could be expressed as: "cigarette smokers are 12 times (for example) more likely to die of lung cancer than non- smokers", …

Source excerpt

# Causation Models (cont.) ## Personnel (cont.) - Did the worker follow the safe operating procedures? - Were workers experienced in the work being done? - Had they been adequately educated and trained? - Can they physically do the work? - What was the status of their health? - Were they tired? - Was fatigue or shiftwork an issue? - Were they under stress (work or personal)? - Was there pressure to complete tasks under a deadline, or to by-pass safety procedures? ## Management Management holds the legal responsibility for the safety of the workplace and therefore the role of supervisors and higher management and the role or presence of management systems must always be considered in an incident investigation. These factors may also be called organizational factors. Failures of management systems are often found to be direct or indirect causes. Ask questions such as: - Were safety rules or safe work procedures communicated to and understood by all employees? - Were written procedures and orientation available? - Were the safe work procedures being enforced? - Was there adequate supervision? - Were workers educated and trained to do the work? - Had hazards and risks been previously identified and assessed? - Had procedures been developed to eliminate the hazards or control the risks? - Were unsafe conditions corrected? - Was regular maintenance of equipment carried out? - Were regular safety inspections carried out? - Had the condition or concern been reported beforehand? - Was action taken? Incident Investigation CCOHS

Source excerpt

# How do I "identify potential hazards"? (cont.) <table><tr><th>Sequence of Events</th><th>Potential Incidents or Hazards</th><th>Preventive Measures</th></tr><tr><td>1. Park vehicle</td><td>a) Vehicle too close to passing traffic b) Vehicle on uneven, soft ground c) Vehicle may roll</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2. Remove the spare tire and tool kit</td><td>a) Strain from lifting spare tire</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>3. Pry off the hub cap and loosen lug bolts (nuts)</td><td>a) Hub cap may pop off and hit you b) Lug wrench may slip</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>And so on</td><td>a)</td><td></td></tr></table> Again, all participants should jointly review this part of the analysis. ## How do I "determine preventive measures?" The next step in a job safety analysis is to determine ways to eliminate the hazards or control the risks identified. Hazards should be controlled using the hierarchy of controls. The hierarchy of controls is a step-by-step approach to eliminating or reducing workplace hazards. For more information, please see the OSH Answers on Hierarchy of Controls. Following the same principles as the hierarchy of controls, you would implement preventive measures in the following order of preference: ## 1. Eliminate the hazard Elimination is the most effective measure. These techniques should be used to eliminate the hazards: - Choose a different process - Modify an existing process - Substitute with less hazardous product - Improve environment (e.g., ventilation) - Modify or change equipment or tools In the hierarchy of controls, these would be elimination or substitution controls. 2. Contain the hazard Job Safety Analysis CCOHS

Source excerpt

# Hazard and Risk - Hazard Identification (cont.) ## What is hazard identification? (cont.) - Identify hazards and risk factors that have the potential to cause harm (hazard identification). - Analyze and evaluate the risk associated with that hazard (risk analysis, and risk evaluation). - Determine appropriate ways to eliminate the hazard or control the risk when the hazard cannot be eliminated (risk control). Overall, the goal of hazard identification is to find and record possible hazards that may be present in your workplace. It may help to work as a team and include people familiar with the work area, as well as people who are not -this way, you have both experienced and fresh eyes to conduct the inspection. ## When should hazard identification be done? Hazard identification can be done: - During design and implementation - Designing a new process or procedure - Purchasing and installing new machinery - Before tasks are done - Checking equipment or following processes - Reviewing surroundings before each shift - While tasks are being done - Be aware of changes, abnormal conditions, or sudden emissions - During inspections - Formal, informal, supervisor, health and safety committee - After incidents - Near misses or minor events - Injuries ## How are hazards identified? There are many ways a workplace can identify hazards, including: Workplace inspections Hazard and Risk - Hazard Identification CCOHS

Source excerpt

# Hazard and Risk - Hazard Control (cont.) ## What are the main ways to control a hazard? (cont.) - Administrative Controls: controls that alter how the work is done, including timing of work, policies and other rules, and work practices such as standards and operating procedures (including training, housekeeping, equipment maintenance, and personal hygiene practices). - Personal Protective Equipment: equipment worn by individuals to reduce exposure, such as contact with chemicals or exposure to noise. These methods are also known as the "hierarchy of controls". For more information, please see the OSH Answers document Hierarchy of Controls. ## Where are controls used? Controls are usually placed: 1. At the source (where the hazard "comes from"). 2. Along the path (where the hazard "travels"). 3. At the worker. Air Path Dip Tank Source Worker Figure 2 The best strategy is to control the hazard at its source. Control at the source and control along the path are sometimes also known as engineering controls. ## Why is it important to monitor and review your hazard control program and methods? It is important to monitor both the hazard and the control method to make sure that the control is working effectively and that exposure to the hazard is reduced or eliminated. Some tools include physical inspection, testing, exposure assessment, observations, injury and illness tracking, incident investigations reports, employee feedback or input, occupational health assessment and other methods. Be sure to answer the following questions: Hazard and Risk - Hazard Control CCOHS

Source excerpt

# Hazard and Risk - General (cont.) ## What is risk? (cont.) These risks are expressed as a probability or likelihood of developing a disease or getting injured, whereas hazard refers to the agent responsible (i.e. smoking). Factors that influence the degree or likelihood of risk are: - the nature of the exposure: how much a person is exposed to a hazardous thing or condition (e.g., several times a day or once a year), - how the person is exposed (e.g., breathing in a vapour, skin contact), and - the severity of the effect. For example, one substance may cause skin cancer, while another may cause skin irritation. Cancer is a much more serious effect than irritation. ## What is a risk assessment? Risk assessment is the process where you: - Identify hazards and risk factors that have the potential to cause harm (hazard identification). - Analyze and evaluate the risk associated with that hazard (risk analysis, and risk evaluation). - Determine appropriate ways to eliminate the hazard, or control the risk when the hazard cannot be eliminated (risk control). The OSH Answers document on Risk Assessment has details on how to conduct an assessment and establish priorities. ## Are there other terms used to describe these processes? It is common to see the process of identifying hazards and assessing the corresponding risk to be described in various ways, including "hazard assessment", "hazard and risk assessment", "all hazards risk assessment", etc. Regardless of the terminology used, the critical steps are to make sure the workplace has taken a systematic approach that looks for any hazards (existing or potential), has take appropriate steps to determine the level of risk of these hazards, and then taken measures to control the risk or eliminate the hazard. Documentation from CCOHS will use the terms "hazard identification and "risk assessment" to describe the process of first looking for hazards, then determining the level of risk from that hazard. Hazar…

Source excerpt

CCOHS CCHST Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Centre canadien d'hygiène et de sécurité au travail Hazard and Risk # Hazard and Risk - General ## On this page What is a hazard? What are examples of a hazard? What is risk? What is a risk assessment? Are there other terms used to describe these processes? What is an adverse health effect? Will exposure to hazards in the workplace always cause injury, illness or other adverse health effects? What types of hazards are there? ## What is a hazard? The meaning of the word hazard can be confusing. Often dictionaries do not give specific definitions or combine it with the term "risk". For example, one dictionary defines hazard as "a danger or risk" which helps explain why many people use the terms interchangeably. There are many definitions for hazard but the most common definition when talking about workplace health and safety is: A hazard is any source of potential damage, harm or adverse health effects on something or someone. Basically, a hazard is the potential for harm or an adverse effect (for example, to people as health effects, to organizations as property or equipment losses, or to the environment). Sometimes the resulting harm is referred to as the hazard instead of the actual source of the hazard. For example, the disease tuberculosis (TB) might be called a "hazard" by some but, in general, the TB-causing bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) would be considered the "hazard" or "hazardous biological agent". What are examples of a hazard? Hazard and Risk - General CCOHS

Source excerpt

# Effective Workplace Inspections (cont.) ## Are there other types of reports that may be useful? (cont.) Ongoing inspections: Supervisors and workers should conduct ongoing inspections as part of their job responsibilities. Such inspections identify hazardous or unusual operating conditions as they occur during the course of work. A hazard report may be generated to either correct the issue immediately or to request further corrective action. Hazard Reports about unsafe working conditions and hazards may be submitted directly or anonymously by workers, and by the health and safety committee or representative. Reports may include corrective action recommendations from the committee. Incident and investigation reports include a detailed inspection of the work area where the incident occurred and a root cause analysis. Being aware of how and why an incident occurred can help inspectors to identify the same hazard elsewhere. Incident trends can help to prioritize specific hazards, for example, if there have been several slip-trip-fall incidents or musculoskeletal (MSD) injuries in recent months. Inspection compliance orders and tickets (fines) may be given by inspection officers from the jurisdictional health and safety regulator, fire department, electrical authority, and other regulatory bodies. Inspection may occur at any time, for a targeted blitz, or in response to a reportable incident, fatality, or complaint. These legal orders must be complied with and receive immediate priority. Pre-operation checks are performed by workers at the beginning of their shift, before they begin to use the machine, vehicle, equipment, or process. Daily checks by users assure that the equipment meets minimum acceptable safety requirements. The frequency of these inspections varies with the amount and conditions of equipment use. Several pre-operation checklists may be completed each day by different workers. These checks are also done after workplace shutdowns, provided no mod…