Hazard identification: methods of identification

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

In any production accidents are possible. In order to avoid emergencies, organizations must establish a quality hazard identification. It is about such a system that will be discussed in this article.

Hazards at work

There are many different classifications of hazards. However, many companies now use a single, most generalized register of occupational risks and hazardous situations.

Each enterprise where there is a risk of a threat to human life or he alth should be guided by a special document that fixes the main types of organizational risks and methods for identifying the danger. The first thing that should be fixed in such a document is all the necessary information about the organization. The name of departments or divisions, the names of professions, certain types of labor duties, etc., in accordance with the assigned functions that workers perform, the main types of risks and dangerous situations are also determined. By what criteria can they be classified? This will be discussed later.

Main hazards

So, what kind ofa unified system for determining the main production risks? Identification of hazards, risks and emergencies is carried out according to a special scheme. There are four main groups of industrial hazards. These include:

• Physical risks. Various machines, mechanisms and other equipment can cause significant harm to the human body. Vibrations, noises, strong brightness and many other negative factors have an extremely negative effect on the human body.



• Chemical hazards. May not be present in all productions; they do, however, extremely significant harm to the human body. This includes various kinds of toxic, carcinogenic and other irritating substances.
• Biohazards. Bacteria, viruses, animals and other living organisms can have a very negative impact on human he alth.
• Psychophysiological dangers. Here the main object is the worker himself. There are many different factors that can have an unhe althy effect on a person's mental or physical state.

On the basic rules for hazard identification

So what is hazard identification? What is this procedure and how is it carried out? There are several special methods and rules for assessing production risks. It's worth starting with the rules.

Firstly, the presented procedure should not be reactive, but preventive. Often in productionhappens exactly the opposite. It is because of the incorrect organization of the risk identification system that people suffer.

Secondly, hazard identification, as a clearly structured and well-built system, must be documented and properly formatted. A quality ranking must be ensured, thanks to which the system in question will work effectively.

Organizational procedures

Finally, it is worth talking about the procedures themselves, which relate to the concept of "hazard identification". What are their characteristics, how are they organized?

First, the procedures must take into account all unplanned or scheduled activities. It should also be noted that for the qualitative implementation of measures to identify the danger, it is necessary to take into account the behavioral characteristics of people. It is worth taking into account the character traits of employees, their mental and physical characteristics, etc.

Secondly, all persons, one way or another involved in production, should be involved in the procedures for identifying hazards. Likewise, any item of equipment maintained by the organization should be considered as a source of danger.

There are several other rules that procedures such as hazard identification and risk management should fall under. You can read more about this in any labor protection manual.

About the hazard elimination process

How should an organizationeliminate hazards? Of course, it all depends on the level and magnitude of a possible emergency. However, there are several basic measures that are used most often, and, in fact, are considered the main and most common.

What can be highlighted here?

• Complete elimination of the source of danger. This may include, for example, the removal of some inappropriate items of equipment that can cause harm to the he alth or life of an employee.
• Replacement work. A certain mechanism or piece of equipment is removed, and a new one is mounted in its place.
• Implementation of repairs.

What about a process like hazard identification? Hazardous situations are identified through risk assessment.

Risk assessment

Risk assessment is a basic concept in the field of hazard identification. This is a whole system that includes many different elements and data. What exactly can be highlighted here?

For a competent risk assessment, it is necessary to make a qualitative statistical calculation of all accidents over a certain period of time. In addition, experts should be involved in the work. They must evaluate the equipment and determine how reliable and serviceable it is. Another important factor is the certification of workplaces.

This also includes a comparison of all labor functions of employees with possible risks.

SoThus, hazard identification is a very long and difficult process. There are several methods to simplify this process. The most important of them will be discussed below.

Classic hazard identification method

It is worth describing the most common method in any industry for identifying hazardous situations. A special formula is calculated: R=P x S, where R is the risk, P is the probability of the hazard, and S is the severity of the hazardous consequences. In order to determine the probability of occurrence of emergencies, it is necessary to use numerical coefficients - from 1 to 5.

As a rule, all necessary calculations are carried out by specially authorized persons or management. However, the worker himself can make a competent identification of the danger. The process of qualitative risk assessment will help, in which case, to challenge the incorrect calculations of the authorities and demand replacement equipment or fair compensation.

About assessment results

According to the results of all the work carried out, it is necessary to compare the resulting data with a special table in which risks are classified into low, medium and high.

• If R<6, then the risk is considered insignificant, that is, low. In this case, it is necessary to take all necessary measures to eliminate them.
• R=6-12 risks are considered medium (or moderate). If they are not removed in a timely manner, significant damage may be caused to the property of the organization, as well as to human life and he alth.
• R>12 - indicator of highdanger level. Everything that needs to be done in this case is prescribed by labor protection.

The identification of hazards is thus a very complex and extensive process. It is worth noting that this is also a purely individual procedure. For each enterprise or production, this process is built specifically and separately.