Rank: Forum user
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What is a hazard? We ask workers to look for them, but really are we clear about this as a profession? Maybe there's a link to this question and some of the headlines 'elf and safety gets?
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We should be! But in most discussions they usually get mixed up with risks.
It should be the basis of our profession to know the occupational health and safety hazards,and to identify and advise on their controls.
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Rank: Super forum user
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A hazard is something that could Potentially cause harm, The risk assessment should tell you what corrective actions to put in place to reduce the hazard or illiminate the hazard. If you ask employees to look out for hazards then ask them to fill out a safety alert and get the supervisors and the H & S advisor and maybe get the H & S committee involved to discuss the hazards and put actions in place. The health and safety at work act 1974 sect 7 states that it shall be the duty of every employee while at work to take reasonable care for the health and safety of himself and of other persons who may be affected by his acts or omissions at work. I use thew safety alert system if you want a copy send me your E mail address
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Rank: Super forum user
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Paul
There is often some confusion between the related principles of hazards, risks, tasks, outcomes etc. It really does often come down to nothing more than semantics. A hazard is tangible, such as electricity, if you come into contact with the hazard then you are likely to get hurt or worse - simples.
A risk is the probability of coming into contact with the hazard, with or without some form of protection ie PPE, combined with the severity of the contact with the hazard; which using electricity as an example, could be a minor burn/shock to a fatality.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Rank: Forum user
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Try to keep it simple when defining:
Hazard - something with the potential to cause harm
or if they need something more specific:
Hazard - a physical situation with a potential for human injury, damage to property, damage to the environment or some combination of these
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Rank: Super forum user
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Shamelessly taken from the HSE's 5 steps...
a hazard is anything that may cause harm, such as chemicals, electricity, working from ladders, an open drawer etc;
the risk is the chance, high or low, that somebody could be harmed by these and other hazards, together with an indication of how serious the harm could be.
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The example I teach is...
Hazard - Damaged electrical cable
Danger - electrocution
Risk - Severe (a product of "Very likely" and "fatal")
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David Jones wrote:Try to keep it simple when defining:
Hazard - something with the potential to cause harm
or if they need something more specific:
Hazard - a physical situation with a potential for human injury, damage to property, damage to the environment or some combination of these A hazard is "ANYTHING with the potential to cause harm" so not only physical situations but also working practices, e.g. working at height without edge protection etc. Harm could be economic loss as well, e.g. a fire causing closure of the business with consequential job losses.
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Rank: Forum user
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Thanks for your interesting posts. I think that the usual definition of "anything with the potential to harm" is a problem because hazard is contextual. I appreciate the risk assessment process is the means to quantify the significance of the hazard but wonder if this definition is too open ended? Recognising when an object is a hazard agent is as important as defining hazards as a hazard is related to the way in which the hazard can be released. I think that what we are usually asking people to identify is not actually the hazards (whats) but rather the means (hows)? I remember first being taught the concept of hazard and risk as a tiger in a cage being a potential hazard (leaving the cage unlocked being the unsafe act!). I think sometimes in the workplace when something goes wrong the "zoo keeper" gets reminded about what he already knows and the "lunch" gets the blame for not recognising the tiger was dangerous - avoiding the root of the problem?
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Dear all,
If a hazard is "something" with the potential to cause harm, it by its very definition is everything! Therefore this definition is as useful at teats on a bull!
A better definition is "an event or situation with the potential to cause harm." This is better as it makes it clear that a hazard is contextual.
In the example given above by Paul, a tiger in a cage is not a hazard as it is contained; going inside the cage with the tiger, or the tiger getting outside the cage with you are hazards! The risk being that it will eat you.
When identifying hazards do not ask people to look for something; ask them to think what can go wrong and hurt themselves or others. If you ask them to look for things, you will constrain their imaginations, so the process is limited. The evaluation of risk is the point when hazards can be discounted.
Regards
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The tiger is hazard!
The cage is a control measure!
The cage was installed when a risk assessment showed that without one the risk of someone being mauled was high and the severity of injury severe to fatal.
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The tiger is a hazard!!
Reminder to myself, do not rely on spellchecker!! ;-)
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It's something I've often grappled with, and when you think about it it's amusing that after all these years this is still a very pertinent question.
I think that the problem with the phrase 'potential to cause harm' is that people automatically start thinking about the degree of risk - which we prefer to relate to strength of controls etc.
I prefer to think of a hazard as being an activity/situation which can 'harm to any extent'. When we do an initial 'ranking of hazards' this will be done on the extent of the harm: death, major injury etc. The 'potential' is given a score/ranking on the risk side of the equation.
Although it can be confusing (because clearly for people to consider hazards in the first place there needs to be, in common parlance, a 'risk') I still think it's a useful exercise to break the two down...so I don't like using the word 'potential'! Kevin
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Rank: Super forum user
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This question has resulted in me looking up the term hazard and I find it to be something that could be dangerous. For example a fragile roof is a hazard as there is a potential for somone to be injured when walking on it. J E Channing in Safety at Work defines Hazard as something presented by a substance with a potential to cause harm. It is nothing to do with risk. Risk is simply the likelihood that the hazard will be realised. An old example is the hole on the moon it is a hazard buy the likelihood of the risk being realised is very very low indeed. There are many hazards in this world and many can be ignored as they are unlikely to be a risk to anyone.
To put my foot in it as I expect some responses, H&S professionals are less concerned with hazards than the risk of the hazard resulting in an accident etc, hence the need to undertake risk assessments rather than hazard assessments.
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Rank: Super forum user
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It's interesting all this. I'm in the final stages of a Dip in Risk Management, and in no other area of risk is the term hazard used much, if at all, only in OH&S. BS ISO 31000 defines risk 'the impact of uncertainty on objectives', but makes no mention of hazard, even though OH&S risk management is explicitly included in there.
For the risk registers we use at work, the non-OH&S ones that is, I have borrowed a freely available format from the internet which uses a standard risk phrase: 'the problem is x caused by y resulting in z'. this can be used perfectly in a OH&S setting, and all mention of hazards disappears. Leads to much clearer thinking,
John
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Rank: Forum user
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Picking up on Adrian's post re everything being a potential hazard, in theory yes I suppose you could say that, but this would only apply if the term hazard was being used in isolation.
When it is used in conjunction with "risk" then it is the likelihood of an event realising the potential to cause harm that becomes the issue
Again following the tiger analogy, the tiger will always have the potential to cause harm, so short of shooting the tiger (eliminating the hazard!), what we have to identify and control is the event, or series of events that would allow the tiger and people to come into contact.
I would have also thought that being eaten by the tiger was a consequence of the hazard realising its potential to cause harm rather than being a risk.
Ah the joys of the old IOSH Managing Safely Course:-)
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Rank: Forum user
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Dear all,
The problem with hazard is that it is a high level abstraction.
Consider a brick; is a brick a hazard? It is an inanimate object with no will of its own. It cannot move, but it can kill if I throw it your head or drop it on you. Therefore it is not the brick that is the hazard but the event of me dropping on you or throwing the brick at you.
Going back to the tiger, if the tiger is the hazard and not the event of the tiger getting out or the event of you getting in the cage, consider the control options that are missed. In the first case you forget to close the door, because the item of focus is the tiger, and not the tiger getting out, and in the second case, knock out the tiger or put a barrier between you and it.
Regarding the fragile roof, as you quite rightly state the hazard is walking on it; the risk of injury being dependant how far and on what you fall!
My view is that a risk assessment is an a priori accident investigation i.e an investigation before the fact and the hazard identification is the scenario setting aspect. The risk assessment being the evaluation of outcomes and how likely they are to occur, given that the hazard is realised (i.e. the event occurs.)
It should be not forgotten that risk assessment is a process to identify the measures to prevent risk, protect individuals and comply with the law.
If Risk is the probability/possibility of harm, and hazard is an event causing harm then risk = P(O/E) i.e. Probability of outcome given event. This is also consistent with the definition of risk used by the courts.
Regards
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Rank: Super forum user
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Hi all, I have (sadly) recently offended some with my comments regarding ‘competence,’ mainly in light of the imminent consultant accreditation scheme.
This thread, however, reinforces the problem (to me). I question - how can simple questions (based on a NGC syllabus) be so difficult for, what appears to be ALL levels of experience within our fraternity, to answer reassuringly?
What is a Hazard?
Surely, such a simple question – key to carrying out a competent risk assessment, should be ‘bread and butter’ to all in the H&S arena?!
Maybe the question of competence isn’t one of mainly academic ability or even professional achievement, but one of the ability to correctly interpret or truly understand the rational behind H&S law?!
Your thoughts - go gentle!.
Simon
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Rank: Super forum user
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Simon
Whilst I empathise with your comments and agree the process of identifying a hazard should be relatively easy for a h&s practitioner, it is simply a case that many wish to put their own slant on it. As my previous post indicates, it is really a matter of semantics in most cases...we are all saying much the same thing but in different ways. God only knows how many comments it would take to resolve if it was a really complicated subject!
Time to move me thinks.
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Rank: Super forum user
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I've been taught two different and incompatible definitions of hazard [hazard = something that has the potential to cause harm, eg electricity; hazard = the harm that could result, eg electrocution], and two different and incompatible definitions of risk [risk = likelihood; risk = likelihood x severity], sometimes in the same lesson! The problem is not one of understanding or competence, but of inconsistent terminology.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Honestly, I think BSi & ISO have it right, and HSE are just causing confusion. Forget the idea of hazard. Risk is the 'effect of uncertainty on objectives' (ISO Guide 73 as reflected in BS ISO 31000), if your objective is occupational safety and health then what are the uncertainties in your workplace (the things which you cannot manage or which are inadequately managed) and what effects are they likely to have. ISO Guide 73 talks about the 'source' of risk, which is the nearest it gets to a hazard, but source is a much wider category than hazard, and explicitly encompasses behaviours as well as physical things.
It works, hazard isn't really necessary, and the extent to which seriously well qualified, intelligent and experienced practitioners can differ on what is a hazard only illustrates the extent to which HSE has cast dust in people's eyes here,
John
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Dear all,
Language in Thought and Action (Samuel Ichiye Hayakawa) is well worth a read as it shows that the definition of words is important, so the semantics of what exactly a hazard is, is important.
Like John, I think HSE have confused the issue of risk assessments with the concept of hazards. However, we are where we are.
Risk has been defined by the courts on several occasions and they say that risk is the possibility of danger, and when considering risk you must consider the severity of injury, and the likelihood of the injury in fact occurring. i.e. Risk = Possibility of injury given that the event has occurred. The courts have also said that we do not have to consider hypothetical or fanciful risks. It should be noted that risk is a function of Severity and Likelihood and not the product of Severity times Likelihood; this confusion causes more problems than not.
When teaching risk assessment, I do not talk about hazards but about events with the potential to cause injury, using the APE ISLE model. APE ISLE is Activity, Persons, Environment (Physical and Psycho-social), and Injury, (Severity & Likelihood), from an Event. This Model forces a person to implicitly consider all factors to carry out a risk assessment.
Regards Adrian
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Adrian Watson wrote: Like John, I think HSE have confused the issue of risk assessments with the concept of hazards. However, we are where we are.
Regards Adrian It is interesting that OSHA do not have regulations for Risk Assessment in the USA, they have Job Hazard Analysis.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Adrian said: 'A better definition is "an event or situation with the potential to cause harm." This is better as it makes it clear that a hazard is contextual.'
This is very true, as anything can become a hazard in certain circumstances - a table becomes a hazard if we decide to move it (manual handling load) but otherwise it just sits there... (just like Adrian's brick).
In another post he mentions that "risk is the possibility of danger" and it seems odd to me that there isn't more emphasis on danger. The only reference in H&S legislation that I am aware of is in the Electricity at Work Regulations which uses the term 'to prevent danger'.
I think that one of the problems we face is that our relatively narrow definition of the terms is out of alignment with generally accepted meanings of the words, where hazard is defined as a 'danger' or a 'risk', which really muddies the waters so far as our use is concerned. This means that hazardous means 'risky' or 'dangerous' in most people's language.
Following on from Kate's post - risk is taken to mean either 'involving exposure to danger' (I wouldn't risk doing that) or 'the possibility that something unpleasant will happen' (there is a risk that it will rain later) (COD).
When training, I use the usual definitions because that is what is in the legislation and luckily I have never (yet) been seriously questioned about it. Having watched this thread though, I wonder how long it will be... :- (
Alan
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Rank: Super forum user
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I was taught that to define a hazrad you had to state the harm that would result. I often find now many refer to the harm as a risk e.g. there is a risk of drowning in deep water. I prefer to say that drowning in water is the hazard and then keep risk for the probability that this will happen. In my view this helps you focus on the controls.
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