HAZARDS RECOGNITION, ASSESSMENT AND CONTROL

INTRODUCTION

BEFORE HAZARDS CAN BE CONTROLLED, they must be discovered.

Monitoring - monitoring can be defined as a set of observation and data collection methods used to detect and measure deviations from plans and procedures in current operations.

Monitoring is an effective means of acquiring hazard information.

INTRO.

Monitoring can involve four functions:

- Hazard identification - Analysis - Inspection and - Accident Investigation All four means that monitoring is performed before the operation begins.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Hazard is a physical situation with a potential for human injury, damage to property, the environment or a combination thereof. Hazard Assessment is a systematic approach to identify hazards in order analyze and evaluate their overall effect on people, property and environment. Risk is a potential problem that exist when persons or properties are exposed to hazards. Accident is an unplanned, unexpected, unforeseen and unwanted event which resulted harm to person or damage to property. Near-miss is a situation which almost resulted in an accident.

CLASSIFICATION OF HAZARDS
A hazard classification system helps managers set priorities for actions to control all identified hazards and they are classified as follows:

Class A - a condition or practice likely to cause permanent disability, loss of life or body part, and/or extensive loss of structure, equipment or material. Example: A band Saw without guard. Class B - a condition or practice likely to cause serious injury/illness resulting in temporary disability or property damage that is disruptive but less than Class A Example: Incorrect position in handling a Radial Arm Saw.

CLASSIFICATION OF HAZARDS

Class C - a condition or practice likely to cause serious injury/illness resulting in temporary disability or non-disruptive property damage. Example: Carpenter observed handling rough lumber without gloves.

HAZARD CATEGORY
I. Catastrophic may cause death or loss of facility.
II Critical - may cause severe injury, severe occupational illness or major property damage.

III. Marginal - may cause minor injury or minor occupational illness resulting in lost workday (s) or minor property damage.

HAZARD.
IV. Negligible - probably would not affect personnel safety or health and thus less than a work lost day but nevertheless is in violation of specific criteria.

CAUSES OF ACCIDENT AND ILLNESS

ACCIDENT CAUSES (Traditional)

HAZARDOUS ACTS (90%)

HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS (10%)

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION OF HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS

Bio-physical Hazards Poor housekeeping Noise Poor lighting Extreme temperatures

Mechanical Hazards Points of operation Power transmission points In-running nip point Shear points Other moving parts

Electrical Hazards Wiring Grounding Power panels Outlets and Switches

Chemical Hazards Environmental Contamination

HAZARD ANALYSIS/ASSESSMENT

Hazard analysis is an orderly process used to acquire specific information pertinent to a given system. By locating those hazards that are the most probable and/or have the severest consequences, hazard analysis produce information essential in establishing effective control measures.

PRO-ACTIVE SAFETY MANAGEMENT

Managing health, safety and environmental protection has a great deal in common with managing other areas of responsibility. However, it differs in a very important way. What you are managing is PREVENTION and that requires taking a PRO-ACTIVE MANAGEMENT APPROACH. In most cases, less time, effort and money is required to prevent accidents than is required to react to their consequences.

THE PRO-ACTIVE SAFETY PROCESS (PSP)

It is a practical approach to the prevention of accidents. In PSP, the emphasis is in discovering what causes accidents and identifying where in the work process those causes are likely to occur. The application of PSP is a simple FOUR-STEP process. 1. Identification 2. Assessment 3. Intervention 4. Maintenance