Hazard Management

A hazard is a situation in the workplace that can harm the health and safety of people or damage plants and equipment. The situation could involve a task, chemical, or equipment used. Hazard management is a continuous process that is used to improve the health and safety of all workplaces.

Hazard management is essentially a problem-solving process aimed at defining problems (identifying hazards),

Gathering information about them (assessing the risks) and solving them (controlling the risks).

Where control has been used to address an identified hazard, this should be reviewed by checking the control's effectiveness (evaluation). The whole hazard management process should also be reviewed after a period of time or

when something changes.

Step 1: identifying hazards

The first step in the risk management process is to identify any hazards in the workplace.

To identify hazards, you may:

• walk around your workplace and look at what could cause harm
• ask your workers or their health and safety representatives what they think – they may have noticed things that are not immediately obvious to you
• check manufacturers’ instructions or safety data sheets for chemicals or equipment
• be aware of any workplace incidents or ‘near misses.’ Examples of hazards include unsafe manual handling tasks,

unsafe use of chemicals, and electrical plant use in wet areas. Remember to think about long-term hazards, such as high noise levels or prolonged exposure to a harmful substance, as well as immediate safety hazards.

Step 2: assessing the risks

The second step is to assess the level of risk associated with each hazard. This includes considering:

• the severity of any injury or illness that could occur – for example, establish whether it is a small isolated hazard that could result in a minor injury or if it is a significant hazard that could have wide-ranging and severe effects
• the likelihood or chance that someone will suffer an illness or injury – for example, consider the number of people who could be exposed to the hazard. A risk assessment will assist in determining the control measure that should be implemented by:
• identifying which workers are at risk of exposure to a hazard
• determining what sources and processes are causing that risk
• Identifying if and what kind of control measures should be implemented
• checking the effectiveness of existing control measures.

Step 3: controlling the risks

The third step is to control any hazards. Some control measures are more effective than others. Control measures

can be ranked from the highest level of protection and reliability to the lowest. This ranking is known as the hierarchy of control