A safety management system includes the expectation that there will be hazards and risks in the workplace. Some workplaces have more potential for hazards and risks. For instance, the construction industry is often viewed as an industry prone to occupational hazard. That is the reason most construction sites require workers and visitors to wear hard hats for example. However, there are some workplaces that people do not think have much risk, but they may be surprised. For instance, the retail industry is susceptible to hazards and risks—some more potentially damaging than others. The way to identify the risks as part of the safety management system is to do an assessment, identify the hazards and risks, assess the risks, and analyze the risks for their potential to do harm. Of course, the next step is to alleviate the hazards and risks, but that comes after the preliminary steps of assessing, identifying, and analyzing take place.
The best way to do a risk assessment is to conduct a safety inspection of the entire facility in question. McKinnon (2017) says, “Risk Assessment can be defined as: the evaluation and quantification of the likelihood of undesired events and the likelihood of injury and damage that could be caused by the risks” (McKinnon, 2017, p. 36). Besides just looking for risks, a safety inspection looks for the consequences of not addressing the risk or alleviating the hazards that are found. Some risks may be so small that they are not worth addressing immediately or at all. Risk assessment involves determining what can be done with the least effort and biggest impact to address the risks and hazards.
Hazard identification is a proactive approach to the issue of potential risks posed by hazards in the workplace. This contrasts with the reactive approach where someone is injured and then the hazard is addressed. The Columbia Southern University Unit V Study Guide (2019) says, “Proactive approaches are preferred as they recognize and address hazards before an incident or accident occurs” (Columbia Southern University, 2019, p. 3). The proactive approach then is to do a safety inspection and identify the hazards within the workplace before they can injure someone.
Hazards can be classified using a simple A, B, C. method McKinnon (2017) describes as “A. Likely to cause death, permanent disability, extensive property damage, or even catastrophic results B. Likely to cause serious injury but less serious than an A class hazard, substantial property loss, or damage to the environment C. Likely to cause minor injury, relative property damage, and minor disruption” (McKinnon, 2017, p. 37). While doing the inspection and identifying hazards, it is expedient to classify them at the same time.
To determine the risk levels of potential hazards, there are many methods to use. McKinnon (2017) says, “The two main techniques are the fundamental and the comparative methods” (McKinnon, 2017, p. 38). Fundamental methods include: Hazard and Operability studies (HAZOP), Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA). Failure Mode, Effect, and Critical Analysis (FMECA), So What if it Happens (SWIFT), Event and Fault Tree Analysis, Past Accidents and Near Miss Incidents, Lessons Learned, Single Root Cause Analysis, Critical Task Identification, Safety System Audits, Brainstorming, Delphi Technique and Human Reliability Analysis. “Comparative techniques use checklists based on industry standards or existing codes of practice. They could involve comparing the plant in question with similar plants” (McKinnon, 2017, p. 38). The inspection done for this assignment used HAZOP and FMECA methods.
Risk evaluation involves identifying the potential hazards, and determining what could happen if the risk became a hazard that caused an accident or injury, and then evaluation the outcomes (Columbia Southern University, 2019, p. 3). In order to identify and assess hazards, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) (2019) suggest the following steps: