Hazard identification is the first step in the HSE’s five steps to risk assessments, and it is without a doubt one of the most important steps too. Hazards are the root cause of health and safety risks, so it’s impossible to keep workplaces safe without identifying them. Risk assessments will be carried out based on the hazards you identify in this first step.
Read more: How often should risk assessments be reviewed
As hazard identification and management is such an important stage in the risk management process, we’ve put together this article to help you successfully prevent accidents at work.
What Are Hazards?
If you’re new to the world of risk management, you might be unfamiliar with what hazards and risks are, and the differences between them.
Hazards can be defined as factors that have the potential to cause harm or ill-health to anyone from workers and site-visitors to members of the public. They are a source of danger. For example, potentially dangerous equipment such as heavy machinery — forklifts, hydraulic presses, abrasive wheels etc. — are hazards because they’re a source of health and safety risks.
Hazards can be broken down into the following categories:
- Item (eg. a knife or piece of equipment)
- Substance (eg. chemicals, fumes, vapour, gases or germs)
- Material (eg. Asbestos)
- Source of Energy (eg. electricity or radiation)
- Condition (eg. a wet floor or dark room)
- Process (eg. welding, cutting or soldering)
- Practice (eg. working at a height)
- Behaviour (eg. disregard of control measures or poor treatment of workers)
Despite being closely linked to risks, hazards and risks aren’t the same things. Risks are defined as the chance that a hazard will cause someone harm.
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How to Identify Hazards in the Workplace?
Hazard identification involves not just spotting hazards and making a note of them, but also considering how they might harm someone or cause adverse health effects. You can record your findings using a risk assessment template so that all the information is contained in one document. This makes it easy to refer to during the later stages of the risk assessment.
When identifying hazards, some will be more difficult to spot than others, so you may need to take several different approaches to identify all the potential hazards in your workplace.
Inspect the Workplace
Some hazards will be visible and possible to spot with a simple workplace inspection. During the inspection, take note of anything around the workplace that could cause harm or ill-health.
Consult Workers
Risk assessments aren’t a one-person job. Chances are, your workers will have a better understanding of the hazards they face, so make sure to consult them during the hazard identification and management stage.
You’re also legally required to consult workers.
Review Equipment and Product Manuals
Instruction manuals from products and equipment will often indicate any risks involved in working with these items. Using these manuals, you can gain better insights into hazardous equipment or substances, and how they might cause harm.
Investigate Accident and Injuries
Look back over your records of accidents and ill-health to see if there are any patterns. By working backwards, you may be able to identify and manage the hazards that caused previous incidents.
How to Effectively Manage Hazards and Implement Risk Controls
Once hazards have been identified, you’ll need to take steps to manage them and implement risk controls. Where possible, hazards should be eliminated completely. Dangerous equipment or procedures should be replaced with safer alternatives. If no alternatives are available, you’ll need to consider whether or not hazardous processes are necessary.
It won’t always be possible to eliminate hazards, in which case you will need to implement control measures. Control measures could include restricting access to hazardous areas, offering training on how to use equipment or complete tasks safely, and issuing protective equipment to employees and contractors.
It’s worth noting that your risk controls should be proportionate to the level of risk posed by hazards. When hazards are very likely to cause harm, or when the dangers imposed by hazards are serious — potentially even life-threatening — more extensive control measures will be needed.
To determine which hazards will need extensive control measures, consider how hazards might cause harm or ill-health, and the likelihood of risks being realised.
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