One of the main roles of a safety leader is identifying, assessing, and mitigating workplace hazards. Whether it\u2019s an obvious occupational hazard or more implicit safety hazards, safety leaders must do all they can to protect their people on the worksite. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Creating a proactive approach and implementing a process to keep your team safe is a priority, and our team at Alcumus is here to help you deliver better safety results. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)<\/a>, the most effective controls to mitigate workplace hazards include the following 5 steps: <\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Collect existing information about workplace hazards<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Inspect the workplace for safety and health hazards<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Identify health-related hazards<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. Conduct incident investigations<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. Identify hazards associated with emergency situations <\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s start off with the basics and define the term \u201csafety hazard\u201d. A safety hazard is any potential risk on the worksite that could cause a person harm. There are several types of hazards in the workplace, regardless of industry, and it\u2019s important to be able to identify and recognize them all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Hazards on site can come in several different forms. Here\u2019s a snapshot of some common categories according to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety<\/a> (CCOHS): <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mitigating and eliminating hazards on the worksite is a priority for all health and safety professionals, as it is their duty to create a safe working environment for team members. This includes implementing a proper process for hazard assessments and identification. Ready to dive in? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Your journey to creating a safer work environment starts here! <\/p>\n\n\n\n The first step to mitigating workplace hazards, according to OSHA, is to gather information about those which already exist on-site. This can be done in a multitude of ways including looking at hazards recorded in previous hazard assessments and inspections, analyzing job hazard analyses, speaking to front-line workers and team members about risks on-site, in addition to taking a deep dive into your Total Recordable Injury Frequency (TRIF), Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) and Days Away, Restricted or Transferred (DART) rates<\/a> over time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also collect information about hazards by looking at guidelines outlined by reputable organizations such as OSHA if you are located within the United States or Certificate of Recognition (COR) if you are within Canada. This will help ensure you are considering all possible safety hazards, even if they have never been recorded on your particular site. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Next, inspect your workplace for possible hazards which may appear after a certain amount of time has passed. For instance, new hazards can arise when procedures change, new tools are used, or job tasks are altered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is most certainly a team effort as all\u00a0sites and locations\u00a0need to be inspected for all types of health and\u00a0safety hazards.\u00a0Create a streamlined\u00a0list\u00a0and let your colleagues\u00a0know\u00a0what to look for\u00a0such as hazards related to slips, trips, and falls, general\u00a0housekeeping, and ergonomic issues,\u00a0to name a few.\u00a0Record all notable elements and start considering corrective actions that can be applied to mitigate risks.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t forget to inspect your equipment as well to ensure it is up to compliance standards. Check out our cutting-edge safety solution, Alcumus Field iD<\/a> to help you efficiently inspect assets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n After collecting information and inspecting your workplace, it\u2019s time to identify health hazards. These can be more difficult to single out as they may be invisible to the naked eye, such as the ever-present COVID-19 virus. Another element that makes this hard to identify is some hazards have immediate risks whereas others take time to appear. OSHA<\/a> recommends taking the following steps to efficiently identify health-related hazards, with those relating to the coronavirus explored more closely here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As we previously mentioned, there are several types of hazards that could be found on a worksite that fall into the categories mentioned above. Take the time to review each category such as chemical hazards, ergonomic hazards, safety physical hazards, etc. to pinpoint any harmful chemicals, job activities, physical elements and so on that may pose a risk to your team members. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Remember to also be aware of any preexisting medical conditions team members may have when assessing health-related risks on-site. If you find a front-line worker has back problems, for instance, be wary of asking them to lift heavy objects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, it\u2019s time to conduct incident investigations. This involves analyzing all incidents which have already occurred on-site and could potentially occur, ranging from near misses to actual injuries. The goal here is to establish what the source or root causes of the incident were and keeping an open mind that several factors could be at play. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Create a proper procedure to help pinpoint an occupational hazard, involving selected team members who conduct such investigations, recording all elements related to the incident. Once everything has been recorded such as what lead to the incident, what corrective actions were taken, how knowledgeable was the worker using these tools and carrying out this job task, etc., it\u2019s vital to be as transparent as possible and close the feedback loop with workers and management. Once everything has been analyzed, team members can take the proper measures to ensure this doesn\u2019t happen again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The final step to efficiently identify and assess workplace hazards is to identify hazards that may not always occur daily but instead may only arise during an emergency. For instance, what will happen if you have a COVID-19 outbreak on-site? This is something health and safety professionals have had to consider when modifying their health and safety programs and implementing new protocols. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In this step, consider scenarios that may be unlikely but could still happen. This includes an illness outbreak like COVID-19, a fire, an explosion, natural disasters, chemical spills, etc. If we have learned anything, it\u2019s that we must plan for the unexpected to efficiently protect our people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Our team at Alcumus wants to help you properly identify and assess workplace hazards, collect and gather the necessary data and information, and work to put the proper systems and procedures in place to create a safer work environment. Speak to a safety expert and find out how our full-business solution can help by filling out the form below! Safety excellence starts now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nWhat Are Safety Hazards At a Workplace?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
The most common workplace hazards<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Hazard Identification and Assessment <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Step 1: Collect Existing Information About Workplace Hazards<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Step 2: Inspect the Workplace for Safety Hazards<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Step 3: Identify Health-Related Hazards <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Step 4: Conduct Incident Investigations <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Step 5: Identify Hazards Associated with Emergency Situations <\/h4>\n\n\n\n