Modern organizations may choose to complement their SMS with safety management software that assists in standardizing safety procedures and ensuring that they are implemented consistently. Scalability is one of the advantages of an SMS, and it can be tailored to suit the size of the organization. A modern system allows you to put safety tools in the hands of your employees, which enables you to track safety performance while giving management visibility into workplace safety performance.
Who is Responsible for Conducting a Hazard Assessment?
It is important to keep employees safe and healthy by ensuring that you know who is responsible for conducting a hazard assessment. But who is responsible for conducting a hazard assessment? Are there any legal consequences for failing to conduct a hazard assessment? Why is a hazard assessment important?
1. HSE managers and safety officers- When conducting danger evaluations, safety officers and HSE managers are typically at the forefront. They possess the knowledge and experience needed to conduct danger assessments and create efficient control strategies. These people are in charge of creating safety rules, conducting routine audits, and making sure the plant complies with regional and global safety regulations. For example, a safety officer may conduct a hazard assessment at a manufacturing company to identify the dangers associated with operating machinery. This involves identifying the hazards associated with mechanical failure, worker ergonomic problems, and creating control measures including safety guards and employee training.
2. Supervisors and Team Leaders- Supervisors and team leaders greatly influence the assessment of the hazard, as they provide unique insights about the particular team or operation they supervise. They may be the first line of defense in recognizing possible dangers in the work group or area. For example, a construction site supervisor could identify unsafe working practices from the workforce and report these to the HSE manager. Now with this first-hand experience, they are in a better place to assess the risk and offer valuable information towards overall hazard assessment.
3. Employees- Employees themselves also have a responsibility within the hazard assessment process. Workers often know most about the real hazards they are facing every day. Involving your employees in hazard assessments nurtures a safety culture and personal responsibility. The involvement of employees can be carried out through a variety of means: safety committees, focus groups, or regular feedback sessions. For example, in laboratories, technicians may provide valuable information related to handling and storage of chemicals that outside assessors may easily overlook or not recognize.
4. External Consultants- Some organizations may employ the services of safety consultants to perform hazard assessments. The consultants possess vast experience and a neutrality that enhances the process. They can identify hazards that may not be easy for internal personnel to find and recommend industry best practices. This can include, for example, the engagement of a consultant when an agency is contemplating introducing new technology that may introduce new, potential hazards, to review the technology for the agency to ensure that risks are dealt with appropriately before introduction.
How to Conduct a Hazard Assessment?
Understanding the different types of hazardous situations is very important in hazard identification and risk management. Hazards can be broadly classified as-
1. Collecting Existing Information on Workplace Hazards- Information about workplace hazards already exists and is readily available for employers and workers to use. This information may be internal and external to an employer’s organization. Managing and collecting information about workplace hazards from the information that exists may be an effective way to go about collecting this information.
2. Look for risks of safety hazards at work- Eventually, there might be risks and hazards during work processes due to changing work processes, outmoded machines, and a disorganized work environment, among others. Carrying out a regular check on activities might be very advantageous. By doing so, you might be able to identify any issues before they cause accidents or any hazards. Ensure you look into your day-to-day activities first. Make sure you involve all your employees while conducting this process. By allowing your employees to spot hazards where they have identified them, you might get valuable information. To help you remember what needs to be checked, you should always write down everything, including filming or taking a picture where necessary.
3. Determine the health risks- Health hazards are difficult to identify when compared to physical hazards and risks. Some of the health hazards like gas or vapors are undetectable, as they are not visible or can be identified by smell. Some of the chemicals, physical elements, biological elements, and ergonomic factors that can cause health hazards are paint, heat, infectious diseases, heavy lifting, or doing chores.
4. Conduct incident investigations- Sometimes what happens at work, such as what caused an injury or illness, can give you a very clear idea of where potential hazards might be hiding. By looking at what has been reported, potential hazards can be identified. The secret to any kind of investigation is to get to the root causes, which is often a combination of things, and to do this in a way that ensures they are not repeated again in the future. The first thing to do is to develop a good plan for incident investigations. This includes being clear about who is involved, what kind of communication will take place, what materials and supplies are needed, and report forms. Your team should be trained to be objective and open-minded. A thorough investigation is about much more than pinning down the underlying cause of an event.
As you carry out your investigation, ensure that it involves management and worker representatives. Do not forget to investigate near misses. They can offer you very useful information, too. What matters here is to ensure that you are able to focus on identifying and analyzing root causes by addressing possible problems that may have developed.
5. Discuss hazards related to emergency and non-routine operations- Hazards involving emergencies can sometimes be a problem to a number of people. Non-routine operations, such as equipment start up and shutdown, also pose a hazard. It is important to have procedures for dealing with the problems involved.
6. Describe the nature of the identified hazards- The next step is to evaluate the nature of the hazards we have identified and understand the kinds of possible incidents that could occur due to the identified hazards. This information will help us formulate our temporary control measures and state the order in which we should address the controls. To do this, we have to examine our identified hazards and understand their consequences, the possibility of an incident occurring, and the number of employees that could be affected. Temporary control measures have to be in place as a way of safeguarding our team.
Final Thoughts
A proper hazard assessment guarantees that the work environment continues to be a healthy and safety-friendly workplace. This involves identifying and evaluating all conceivable hazards that may be physically, chemically, biologically, and ergonomically harmful to all workers. This approach not only is the law, but it also helps to make the employees feel that they are appreciated. This is because when everybody is involved in ensuring that there is a concentration of safety, there are no accidents, which will improve the morale of the employees as well as the productivity of the workplace.
