topic hazard 4 identification -...

� INTRODUCTION

We are exposed to hazards in our daily life. Hazards exist everywhere, on the roads, at home, schools, institutions and at the workplace. Driving to work can be also considered as a hazard. There are large numbers of workers who ride motorbikes or drive to work. Take the example of salesmen, who are required to drive to perform their work by visiting clients out of the office. They should be reminded at all times to practice safe driving ethics and to ensure their vehicles � whether private or supplied by the company � are in good condition to minimise any possibility of accidents due to lack of improper maintenance of the vehicle. Employers should also take necessary steps to enforce safe driving practices and to have a proper or standard operating procedure.

TTooppiicc

44 � Hazard

Identification

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this topic, you should be able to:

1. Define hazard;

2. Describe the six categories of workplace accidents;

3. Briefly explain the hazard reporting system;

4. Identify the responsibilities of the worker, the supervisor and themiddle management in the hazard reporting system;

5. Describe the importance of a safety and health audit; and

6. Explain the importance of accident investigation.

� TOPIC 4 HAZARD IDENTIFICATION

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Workplace hazards could also arise from the machinery, material or the environment at the workplace. All these factors may potentially cause injuries. The severity of a potential injury could be as low as only requiring first aid or it could be as high as fatality. Examples of workplace hazards include confined space, electricity, gas leak and heights. Figure 4.1 illustrates an example of a workplace hazard.

Figure 4.1: Example of a workplace hazard � hazardous chemicals, fumes or gas leak

Source: http://www.npl.co.uk

The management of a company, an organisation or an employer, is responsible for ensuring that all workplace hazards are identified, assessed and controlled. Hazard identification and control should be the core activity of a safety and health programme, the benefit of which includes the reduction of occupational injuries or illnesses.

TOPIC 4 HAZARD IDENTIFICATION �

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HAZARD DEFINED

Before we go further, let us take a look at the definition of hazard.

Hazards exist when safety is not taken into consideration and is not being practiced. A careless act of a worker flicking his/her cigarette butt onto the floor instead of throwing it into an ashtray may result in a fire. Workplace hazards exist from various sources, such as machineries, tools and equipments and the work environment. Table 4.1 that follows shows the classification of workplace hazards.

Table 4.1: Classification of Workplace Hazards

Classification of Hazards Potential Source of Hazards

Mechanical Sharp points and edges, overload or forcing a tool beyond its capabilities and grinding wheel without guarding.

Electrical Damage to electrical cord insulation, broken or missing electrical face plate and fan cord insulation pulled loose.

Chemical Exposure to carcinogen chemicals, sensitizers and corrosive chemicals.

Biological Exposure to airborne and blood borne viruses, bacteria and fungus.

Ergonomics Repeated exposure to unnatural postures and unnatural movement, wrong design of workstation, tools and task.

Psychological Stress, sexual harassment and violence at work.

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

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CATEGORIES OF WORKPLACE ACCIDENTS

When an organisation fails to identify potential workplace hazards and take the necessary precautions to prevent accidents from happening, or when employees are careless and do not adhere to safety rules and regulations, accidents will happen. Workplace accidents are categorised into six categories as shown in Table 4.2.

Table 4.2: Six Categories of Workplace Accidents

Category Description

Slips and Trips Due to materials spills that are not cleaned up promptly.

Falls Falls from ladders, scaffolding, platforms and stairwells.

Burns Commonly due to chemicals used in industrial settings such as labs or factories.

Back or Neck or Repetitive Strain Injury

Occurs in almost any work setting that involves heavy lifting and any repetitive motion of the joints.

Cuts Cuts can be caused by a wide range of equipment and any machinery with moving parts.

Hearing Loss Excessive noise exposure, which results in significantly reduced hearing.

HAZARD REPORTING SYSTEM

The hazard reporting system as shown in Figure 4.2 is a worker-oriented process involving three steps � Identify, Explain and Suggest. Workers are encouraged to identify and report workplace hazards and suggest ways in which the hazards could be minimised, controlled or eliminated. Being the ones who actually perform risky or potentially risky work, workers are in the best position to identify hazards.

4.3

4.2

1. Explain four categories of accidents that normally occur at theworkplace.

2. Which category of accident is caused by harmful chemicals andgases?

SELF-CHECK 4.1


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Figure 4.2: The hazard reporting system


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While the responsibilities of a worker, supervisor and middle management may differ in an organisation, they are also somewhat similar and each plays an important role in the system. Figure 4.3 demonstrates an example of the responsibilities of each level in the hazard reporting system.

Figure 4.3: The responsibilities of the worker, supervisor and middle management in the

hazard reporting system


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A sample of a Hazard Identification Form is shown in Figure 4.4.

Figure 4.4: Hazard Identification Form


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Hazards reporting is very important in every organisation. However, the hazard reporting system is not limited to hazard identification. It should also include hazard assessments of the workplace, the process for reporting hazards and an incident investigation.

Hazard identification requires employeesÊ involvement and participation. The cooperation of employees is needed to ensure that the process achieves its objective � which is workplace safety for all.

SAFETY AND HEALTH AUDIT

The safety and health audit is important in ensuring the safety of a plant, environment, workplace or equipment and that workers are working safely. Audits are normally performed for the following reasons:

(a) To identify hazards;

(b) To ensure compliance with company rules and regulation;

(c) To ensure compliance with the relevant authorityÊs requirements (OSHA, FMA, and many others);

4.4

1. Explain the importance of the Hazard Identification Form.

2. Explain the importance of the hazard reporting system in ensuringsafety in the workplace.

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(d) To determine the safety and health condition of a workplace;

(e) To determine the safety and health condition of equipment and machineries;

(f) To determine the safety and health condition of operational processes;

(g) To evaluate the performance of safety and health management;

(h) To evaluate supervisorsÊ awareness towards safety and health;

(i) To evaluate employeesÊ performance in regards to safety and health;

(j) To evaluate the progress and effectiveness of safety and health issues and problems; and

(k) To determine the effectiveness of hazard control at a new workplace, with new equipments or new processes.

The occupational safety and health audit is not a fault finding process. The audit is a systematic process to determine the conformance of occupational safety and health activities and that the results to these arrangements are implemented effectively. The safety and health audit is also aimed at ensuring that the organisation's policy and objectives are being practised. The audit process also focuses on long-term plans involving the evaluation of company-wide safety and health management system. The audit is usually conducted by a qualified personnel.

The process of auditing has to be systematically planned, beginning with the initiation of the audit and ending with the submission of the audit report. Figure 4.5 displays areas to consider prior to an audit.


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Figure 4.5: Key areas to consider and determine prior to the safety and health audit


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The audit team has to decide on the audit topics prior to the actual audit, taking into consideration the following:

(a) The workplace to be inspected;

(b) Workplace procedure and process;

(c) Previous accident history at the workplace;

(d) Company policy; and

(e) Workplace operations.

Typical audit topics include:

(a) Fire protection;

(b) Confined spaces;

(c) Hazardous chemicals;

(d) Heavy equipments;

(e) Ventilation;

(f) Doors; and

(g) Electrical equipments, and more.

Safety and health inspection is part of the audit process, as shown in Figure 4.6. The audit process focuses on the organisationÊs safety and health objectives and documentations, while the inspection focuses on matters such as machineries, equipment and tools. The inspection team should strive to identify potentially risky equipment or conditions and recommend corrective and preventive actions to eliminate or control the risk.


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Figure 4.6: The relationship between safety and health audit and safety and health

inspection

Inspections may be formal or informal. Informal inspections are normally carried out by employees and worksite supervisors on a regular basis (daily, monthly, weekly or annually). However, in informal inspections, only areas that result in problems being identified are reported. However, all inspections are recommended to be recorded for future reference.

Formal inspections on the other hand are carried out to ensure workplace safety and they should be carried out annually.

1. Explain the purpose of safety and health audit and inspection.

2. List three types of audit.

3. List the criteria for determining the frequency of audit.

4. Explain the relationship between audit and inspection.

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ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION

An accident is an unexpected or unplanned event in a sequence of events that occur through a combination of causes, resulting in:

(a) Physical injury, illness or disease to an individual;

(b) Damage to property; or

(c) A combination of the above.

Why do accidents happen? The percentages of general categories of causes which resulted in fatal work injuries as shown in Figure 4.7, can answer this question.

Figure 4.7: Percentages of general categories of causes which resulted in fatal work

injuries Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2000)

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According to the Malaysia Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), the manufacturing sector made up the highest number of workplace accidents (774 cases), comprising of fatal cases (30 cases), permanent disabilities (61 cases) and without permanent disabilities (683 cases) up to June 2014. Nowadays, accidents have become a major concern to us. Therefore, a proper and systematic risk assessment and accident investigation is required.

Accident investigations must be conducted for any accident or near-miss incident. A near-miss incident is an incident which does not result in injuries or property damage, but has the potential of turning into an accident. While injuries or damage to property is not reported in near-misses, it should not be taken lightly, as any injury or damage to property is only avoided by chance in these incidents.

Every organisation should have a comprehensive incident or accident investigation procedure, which is clearly communicated to everyone in the organisation. The procedure should outline the necessary steps to be taken to identify the root cause of the accident or incident. At the end of the investigation, the investigation team must provide a written report detailing the cause of the accident or incident and recommendations of actions to be taken to avoid any occurrences in the future. Figure 4.8 illustrates a sample of an accident investigation form.


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Figure 4.8: Sample of an accident investigation form

Accident investigation report form Accident number ________________________

Company _______________________________ Address ____________________

_____________________________________________________________________

Who was injured, ill or died?

Name of injured _________________Social security number ________________

Sex ________ Age ________ Date of birth ________ Date of accident __________

Home address ____________________________ Telephone __________________

Employee's usual occupation ___________________________________________

Occupation at time of accident __________________________________________

Length of employment ________ Time in occup. at time of accident __________

Employment category _______________________ (i.e., full time)

Type of injury ____________________ Part of body ________________________

Severity of the injury __________________________________________________

Name of others injured in same accident

________________________

________________________

________________________

When did the accident occur?

Date of accident ______________________ Time of accident _________________

Shift ___________________________

Where did the accident occur?

Location of accident ___________________________________________________

On employer's premise ________________________________________________

Activity at time of accident _____________________________________________

Supervisor in charge __________________________________________________

What happened or caused the accident?

Describe how the accident occurred

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________


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An accident investigation is important as it helps organisations to continually improve workplace safety. The purposes of accident investigations are as follows:

(a) Prevent the reoccurrence of a same or similar accident;

(b) Continuous monitoring and measuring of the organisationÊs safety and health performance;

(c) Find ways or measures to prevent recurrences;

(d) Find methods to determine the root cause of the accident; and

(e) Provide a structured method of investigating accidents.

The accident investigation is also an important tool in accident prevention programmes as it provides the following benefits:

(a) Understanding of the problem statement;

(b) As a mechanism to organise and gather information for present and future reference;

(c) As a way to gauge the effectiveness of corrective and preventive measures;

(d) A detailed document for employee compensation; and

(e) Identify new potential hazards.

Identifying the root cause of an accident may be complicated due to various contributory causes, such as direct cause, indirect cause and basic cause. A comprehensive accident investigation procedure depends on the nature and result of the accident. Generally, someone should be responsible for leading the investigation process using accident investigation procedures as a guide.

The accident investigation procedure should focus on fact finding. This can be done by gathering information from:

(a) Witnesses;

(b) Photographs;

(c) Reports;

(d) Procedures;

(e) Diagrams;


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(f) Checklists;

(g) Graphs; and

(h) Records.

One important activity of accident investigation is interviews. A lot of information can be gathered through interviewing those involved in the accident or witnesses of the accident. Once all the required information have been obtained during the investigation process, a detailed report consisting of the following should be prepared:

(a) Background information;

(b) Account of the accident;

(c) Discussion (analysis of the accident); and

(d) Recommendations to prevent recurrence.

� A hazard is a source that could cause injuries or adverse health effects to a

person, or loss of damage to the property of an organisation.

� Workplace accidents can be categorised as slips and trips, falls, burns, back or neck or repetitive strain injury, cuts and hearing loss.

� The hazard reporting system is a system that encourages employees to be pro-active in ensuring workplace safety by playing an important role in identifying hazards and potential hazards, reporting these hazards and providing recommendations to control or eliminate these hazards.

1. What is an accident?

2. What is the result or outcome of an accident?

3. List five purposes of conducting an accident investigation.

5. List three causes of accidents.

SELF-CHECK 4.4

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