Hazard, Risk, and Danger in the Workplace

Hazard, Risk, and Danger

• Hazard: Any source of potential damage, harm, or adverse health effects or something under certain conditions at work.
  • Example: Electrical hazard (source of energy) → Shock, electrocution (harm)
• Risk: The chance or probability of harm actually being done.
  • Example: Smoker has a potential to get cancer or lung infection (risk)
• Danger: Relative exposure to a hazard. A hazard may be present, but there may be little danger because control measures are taken.
  • Example: Electrical hazard (danger) → Can be prevented by taking safety measures like switching off the main source of electricity.

On-Site Activities

• Excavation, piling, concrete works, demolition, brick laying, welding works, and handling/transportation of construction materials.
• Installation and operation of machinery, scaffolding, and form works.
• Painting works, installation, and dismantling of scaffolding, and clearing and cleaning works.

On-Site Equipment

• Machinery: Crane (tower/crawler), hoist (skip hoist), passenger hoist, gondola, bending machine, cutting machine, excavator, piling and structure, lorry, and concrete mixer.
• Hand tools and mobile power tools: Hammer, sledge, drill, ladders, scaffold (fixed and mobile), air compressor, hammer drill, generator set, and welding equipment.

Hazard Identification, Assessment, and Control

• Hazard identification: Review of documents and publications, inspection and observation of workplace, measurement of atmosphere, monitoring of environment, and medical surveillance of workers.
• Hazard analysis: Job Safety Analysis (JSA) and Job Hazard Analysis (JHA).
• Risk assessment approaches: Qualitative and quantitative risk assessment.
  • Qualitative risk assessment: Determine likelihood and severity categories.
  • Quantitative risk assessment: Determine likelihood of occurrence and severity categories, and calculate risk level.
• Risk control: Measures taken to eliminate the hazard or minimize risk to an acceptable level.
  • Hierarchy of control: Elimination, substitution, isolation, and administrative control.

Hazard Types

• Physical hazards: Heat stress, noise, vibration, mineral dust, radiation, chemicals, and mechanical hazards.
• Health hazards: Chemical hazards, biological hazards, and ergonomic hazards.
• Psycho-social hazards: Social problems, accidents in the workplace/home, fear of failure, retrenchment, motivation, and lack of direction.

Conclusion

• Hazard is everywhere and needs to be identified.
• Hazard identification should be properly documented, even in simple situations.
• Risk assessment must include a careful assessment of both likelihood and severity/consequences.
• Control measures must be a good solution to avoid hazards becoming dangers.
• Hierarchy of control must be effective and needs to be reviewed if necessary.
• The risk management process is an ongoing process.

Hazards, Risks, and Dangers

• Hazard: a source of potential damage, harm, or adverse health effects, e.g., electricity, which can cause shock or electrocution.
• Risk: the chance or probability of harm actually being done, e.g., a smoker has a potential to get cancer or lung infection.
• Danger: relative exposure to a hazard, e.g., an electrical hazard is a danger to people directly attached to it, but it can be prevented with safety measures like switching off the main source of electricity.

On-Site Activities and Equipment

• On-site activities: excavation, piling, concrete works, demolition, brick laying, welding works, trenching, and excavation, installation, and dismantling of scaffolding, form works, painting works, and installation and operation of machinery.
• On-site equipment: machinery like cranes, hoists, gondolas, bending machines, cutting machines, excavators, piling and structure machines, lorries, and concrete mixers, as well as hand tools, mobile power tools, ladders, scaffolds, air compressors, hammer drills, and generator sets.

Hazards in the Workplace

• Types of hazards: heat stress, mechanical hazards, noise, vibration, mineral dust (asbestos), biological hazards, working at height, cement, radiation, chemicals, and drowning.
• Physical hazards: noise, heat, vibration, radiation, pressure, plant/machinery, electricity, scaffold, power access, equipment and manual handling, ladder, roof work, and excavation.
• Health hazards: chemical hazards (gases, vapors, acids, alkali, poisons, aerosols), biological hazards (legionella, bloodborne pathogens, organic dust/fungi), and psycho-social hazards (social problems, accidents, fear of failure, retrenchment, motivation).
• Examples of physical hazards: scaffold, power access, equipment and manual handling, ladder, roof work, and excavation.

Hazard Identification, Assessment, and Control

• Risk assessment: qualitative (likelihood and severity/consequences) and quantitative (determine likelihood of occurrence, severity categories, and risk level).
• Qualitative risk table: fatal, major injury, minor injury, and negligible injury.
• Quantitative risk table: scale of risk (8-16: high risk, 4-7: medium risk, 1-3: low risk).
• Hierarchy of control: elimination, substitution, isolation and engineering, and administration.

Risk Control

• Risk control measures: eliminate the hazard or minimize the risk to an acceptable level.
• Hierarchy of control: elimination, substitution, isolation and engineering, and administration.