SAFETY AND HEALTH

State the role of the employer

make sure that work areas, machinery and equipment are kept in a safe condition. organise ways of working
safely.

provide information, instruction, training and supervision of employees so they can work safely.

make sure that employees are aware of potential hazards.

provide protective clothing and equipment where hazards can't be avoided.
consult and co-operate with health and safety representatives and other employees at the workplace.

inform employees about hazards in the workplace, and improve their understanding of safe work procedures.
(The information does not always have to be written - it can be spoken, or in the form of videos and tapes.)
provide new employees with specialised induction training to help them become familiar with their new work
environment, procedures, equipment and materials so they can do their job safely. Induction should be much
more than having a chat with your supervisor, completing a few forms and being introduced to your
workmates.
provide information about hazards and the actions taken to control workplace risks (including the use of
personal protective equipment where necessary).
provide supervision to ensure that employees are not exposed to hazards. Supervision should include regular
checks to make sure health and safety instructions are being followed.

consult with employees to identify and control hazards in workplaces.

Employees who are experienced in a job will usually know what can go wrong, and why consult with
employees and health and safety representatives on health and safety matters make sure equipment and
materials are used, stored, transported and disposed of safely

Create safe working environment

Provide appropriate PPC/E

Enforce safety and health regulations

Avail necessary tools to promote safety and health at work

Duties of employee

 following health and safety instructions provided by the employer

 correctly using personal protective equipment and clothing
 taking care to use equipment safely and for its intended purpose
 reporting hazards and potential problems without delay
 reporting all work-related injuries and incidents that you think could result in harm to health
 co-operating with the employer on health and safety matters
Take reasonable care for their own health and safety

Take reasonable care for the health and safety of others who may affected by their acts or omissions

Cooperate with anything the employer does to comply with OHS requirements

Not 'intentionally or recklessly interfere with or misuse' anything provided at the workplace for OHS.
Follow safe work practices at all times

Obey safety regulations

Maintain clean working environment

Observe personal hygiene

Get authority to operate any machinery

State the duties of government

Formulate safety and health legislation

Enforce compliance to legislation

Carry out safety audits

Investigate occupational accidents

The areas of public health responsibility include

(1) Assuring an adequate local public health infrastructure,

(2) Promoting healthy communities and healthy behaviours,’

(3) Preventing the spread of communicable disease, ‘

(4) Protecting against environmental health hazards,

(5) Preparing for and responding to emergencies,

Personal Protective Clothing and Equipment

State the importance of protective clothing and equipment in promoting safety and health?

Protective clothing is any garment designed to increase the health and well-being of the wearer. First, the
PPE must correctly fit to protect a certain body part. Next, the garment or equipment is selected for its ability
to protect against the type of hazards that is present - chemical, electrical, biological, heat/fire, or physical.
And finally, the protective clothing must be strong enough to act in one of 3 ways:

 Act as total barrier against infiltration of harmful substances

 If infiltration does occur, to reduce the extent of injuries from serious to minor

 To protect workers long enough for them to escape the area or the hazard

Protective clothing can perform each of these duties when employee and workplace hazards are determined.
But, only if the right protective clothing and equipment is selected and worn. PPE includes hard hats, steel
toed shoes, safety vests, coveralls, protective gloves, earplugs, respirators, and full body suits. The right
personal protective items will reduce employee accident and injury. These include environmental, physical,
chemical, mechanical equipment, electrical, fire, or biological hazards in the workplace.

How Workers Are Injured On-The-Job

So why is it important to wear protective clothing and PPE? Consider these statistics by the National Safety
Counsel (NSC) concerning the rate of accidents in the workplace:

 A worker is injured on the job every 7 seconds - that's over 12,500 injuries per day!

 Over one million production days were lost to work-related injuries in 2017.
  26% of injuries were caused equipment struck-by or caught-in accidents.

 25,8% of all injuries were slip, trip, or fall accidents (including falls to a lower level)

 Service industries, manufacturing, and construction are in the top 5 accident-prone jobs

Employee injury can be avoided in the workplace when the right protective clothing is assigned to workers that
face hazards. These include possible contact with chemical solutions, biological hazards during clean-up
operations, physical hazards from the moving parts of equipment, and fire hazards for employees that work
around combustible materials.

Protection from Chemical Processes

There are many companies that use strong chemicals in their manufacturing processes that will require
chemical protective suits to minimize the risk of exposure. Manufacturers of detergents, light bulbs, fertilizer,
dyes, metals refining, and plastics processing are just a few of the many industries that store and use some
very strong and toxic chemicals. Protection from chemical processes can be complex.

First, different chemicals can can change form, from a solid, to a liquid, then release a toxic gas. These types of
chemicals can affect workers in multiple ways - inhalation, ingestion, direct skin contact, or by way of splashing
into the mouth or eyes. Secondly, when a chemical is released as a toxic gas, it can become a silent killer. For
these reasons, some workers will require full protection from chemicals which includes a hooded chemical suit
that has an attached breathing apparatus.

When workers are around harmful chemicals, the employer must supply eye protection such as goggles or face
shields, along with chemical protective suits to protect workers skin, if necessary. Finally, chemicals can change
in concentration when the environment changes. This includes UV light, high temperatures, sunlight, and
sometimes simply mixing the wrong chemicals can be catastrophic.

Safety in Food and Beverage Operations

The food and beverage industry operates with many factors that can make a workplace dangerous. These
include slippery floors, fast-moving machinery, biological hazards (meat and chicken processing), and eye and
respiratory injury when processing grains, spices, or flavorings. Add these other possible dangers present in
food and beverage operations:

 Working at heights

 Extreme temperatures

 Performing repetitive motions

 Inhaling sanitation chemicals

 Skin exposure to hot water or sub-zero freezers

 Confined space entry

For these industries, protection goes both ways. The employees must be protected from the process and the
production process must be protected from employee contamination. Safe food handling may include
disposable coveralls, gloves, arm covers, beard and hair coverings, smocks, disposable shoe covers, and anti-
slip shoes. The importance of protective clothing and PPE in the food and beverage industry is so high that the
health of all Americans depends upon it.

Disposable FR Clothing For Burn Hazards

Flame-resistant (FR) clothing is important to protecting employees that work in many jobs where sparks,
embers, or flame can happen suddenly during regular work tasks. Welders, cooks and grill masters, iron and
steel mills, electrical utilities, and certain manufacturing processes that use furnaces or boilers will all present a
heat or fire hazard to workers.

Disposable FR clothing can provide layered protection of primary FR garments in some industries, while in
other cases the FR coverall is worn with the normal work uniform. Fire resistant clothing will self-
extinguish once it has been removed from the source of fire. Instead of catching fire and bursting into flames,
the worker is allowed the time to recognize the fire and make a quick escape.

Read more at Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) - Why FR Clothing? Sometimes providing FR clothing is a
voluntary safety measure. At other times, OSHA will expect some industries and job activities to provide FR
clothing with the following:

 Must reduce burn injury and increase survival rates

 Is self-extinguishes and is difficult to catch fire

 The garment will not melt and drip onto the skin

 It provides some protection from heat stress

Personal protective equipment or PPE safeguards users against hazards or physical harms they may
encounter at the workplace. Such equipment may include hard hats, earplugs or other hearing
protection devices, safety glasses with side shields and face shields, gloves, boots, respirators, and
chemical-resistant clothing. These types of devices help keep employees safe while performing
occupational tasks.

However, many workers are not familiar with their application and proper use. Thus, we've prepared
this short yet comprehensive article to discuss why PPEs are crucial to the safety of workers. The top
benefits include:

Protection from Workplace Harms and Hazards

Personal protective equipment or PPEs can save lives by protecting workers from injury, illness,
burns, lacerations, and other occupational mishaps from machines and materials that can cause
severe damage. They also prevent the spread of infectious diseases like influenza and tuberculosis by
covering skin, mouth, and nose and reducing physical proximity between people.

At a minimum, the must-have PPEs at your workplace include:

 Safety glasses or goggles for an eye injury

 Gloves for hand injuries
 Hearing protection for noise exposure from loud machinery or other sounds at work
 A respirator for protecting workers against insufficient oxygen environments, contaminated
air, harmful dust, smoke, sprays, etc.
 Special footwear that protects against hazards like tripping or slipping on wet floors

What is a Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)?

In a nutshell, personal protective equipment or PPE, refers to any wearable device that an employee
might utilize to prevent any workplace hazards while on the job. This can include anything from
gloves and an apron for a cook to a full-body suit for a firefighter. PPE can include helmets, eye
protection, body protection, feet and hand protection, and any other equipment that serves the same
goal, depending on the nature of the job. Employers are also responsible for instructing employees on
how to utilize appropriate personal protective equipment and ensuring that they comply.

Types of Personal Protective Equipment

Since personal protective equipment differs by industry, specific types of protective equipment are
suitable for specific types of work. For example, construction workers must clearly wear helmets to
protect their heads and steel-toed boots to protect their feet. Much of this is influenced by the
frequency to which certain types of work-related injuries occur. Meanwhile, while working in a
biochemical lab, and the list of PPE employees that must be provided alters drastically. In that
circumstance, lab "moonsuits" are far more likely.

1. Protection of the Eyes (Safety Glasses)

Goggles and safety glasses are the most popular types of equipment for the eyes and facial area near
them. Eye protection is required even in office and lab work where there is a risk of flying debris or
airborne particles. It's interesting to note that it's also useful in other fields, such as cooking,
however, criteria differ and most commercial kitchens don't require eye protection.

2. Respiratory Protection

Breathing apparatus is required when employees are exposed to dangerous materials that can be
inhaled. This could be as basic as a mask with filters or as complex as a whole breathing system with
an oxygen tank connected to it. Furthermore, not only is training required for operation but the
respiratory protection equipment must be examined on a regular basis to ensure that it is working
properly.

3. Protection for the Ears

Employees who are subjected to a high level of sound exposure on a regular basis must be provided
with ear protection. While some businesses may prefer foam ear plugs, extreme noise levels need
professional ear muffs that cover the full ear. This can be seen in a variety of settings, including
airport tarmac maintenance, mining, and operating large, noisy vehicles.

4. Whole Body and Skin Protection

Full body protection like chemical protective clothing is essential in the case of continuous or recurring
exposure to hazardous surroundings. When entering a burning structure, firefighters, for example,
must be equipped with body and skin personal protective equipment in the form of a full suit as well
as breathing equipment. PPE includes a full suit, gloves, boots, helmet, goggles, face shroud, and a
personal shelter for emergency cover from a fire blast, even when working outside on a grass fire.

5. Protection for the Arms and Hands

Arm guards and medical gloves are regularly used to provide limb protection. People must still be
able to do their jobs, although leather protective material is frequently utilized to avoid laceration or
temperature-related injuries like burns.

Benefits of Personal Protective Equipment

Personal Protective Equipment has a number of advantages for businesses and healthcare workers, in
addition to immediate health protection. While providing it and maintaining compliance has a cost,
companies must keep in mind that a single major accident to an employee might cost far more than
the overall cost of personal protective equipment for the workplace for a year. As a result, while
evaluating PPE procurement, accident avoidance is a vital financial target to keep in mind.

Improved Employee Confidence and Satisfaction

Not only do the benefits mentioned above make personal protective equipment a vital part of any
workplace health program, but they also enhance worker morale and overall productivity. When
workers feel secure and comfortable at work, they experience less stress and exhibit positive
attitudes towards their jobs. In turn, this leads to a happier workforce, with fewer absences and
sickness days.

Occupational Safety in any Workplace Hazards

Imagine getting injured at the workplace, only to realize that you'll need to take care of the treatment
costs out-of-pocket because your employer or the employer's insurance policy marks it as negligence.
Unfortunately, that may be the case with such injuries as trips, falls, slips, exposure to hazardous
substances or potentially infectious material, cuts, stings, burns, bruises, etc. But the good news is, if
you get hurt while wearing proper protective clothing, it may be possible to collect compensation
from your employer's insurer. As a result, you can protect yourself from financial ruin by investing in
the appropriate protective equipment.

Reduction in Staff Turnover

Employees satisfied with their working conditions will often stay longer than those who don't enjoy
their jobs. That's why it's super critical to provide sufficient protection to your employees with the
best occupational safety devices, giving them no reason or excuse to leave their positions. Protecting
employees from workplace hazards also reduces staff turnover by limiting absenteeism due to injuries
or sickness. In other words, workplace safety means your company enjoys 100% capacity, increasing
productivity and profitability.

No More Prosecutions, Fines, and Legal Fees

As an employer, you have a legal obligation to provide personal protective equipment to your
employees with PPEs when it is necessary to protect employees from job-related injuries, illnesses,
and fatalities. And failing to comply with this OSHA regulation may lead to prosecution, hefty fines,
compensation pay-outs, or even jail time. So the only way to stay clear of potential lawsuits and
financial losses is by ensuring your employees wear appropriate PPEs at the workplace to prevent
injuries.

Good Reputation

When you invest in quality PPEs, you improve your company's image among partners and clients. And
the reward? Your customers will notice the difference and will be more than willing to recommend
your business to others. Likewise, you'll begin attracting investors and more returning clients,
propelling your growth.

Increased Efficiency

The use of personal protective equipment helps increase the efficiency of your operation. For
example, when you wear gloves during food preparation, you can handle large amounts of
ingredients without getting burned or cut. Similarly, when you wear goggles during welding, you can
see better and avoid eye injuries

List types of protective clothing and equipment

1. Hard Hats

Hard hats serve to protect industrial workers from head injuries caused by falling, flying, or fixed
objects. Protective hats must be penetration-, shock-, and water-resistant as well as being slow-
burning.

There are three industrial classes of hard hats:

  Class A: Provides impact and penetration resistance and some protection from electrical
hazards.
 Class B: As well as providing impact and penetration resistance, Class B hard hats provide
the highest level of protection against electrical hazards, including high-voltage shock and
burn protection.
 Class C: Provides some impact protection but no protection from electrical hazards.

OSHA regulations also require employers to ensure that their employees cover and protect long hair
to prevent it from being caught in machinery.

When a hard hat sustains damage or impact — even if the damage is not visible to the human eye —
it must be replaced.

2. Leggings, Foot Guards, and Safety Shoes

Leggings, foot guards, and safety shoes help protect workers from a range of workplace hazards
including falling, rolling, or sharp objects; wet, slippery, and hot surfaces; and electrical hazards.

This PPE includes:

 Protective leggings: Typically made from leather or aluminized rayon, protective leggings are
fitted with safety snaps for easy removal and serve to protect the wearer’s legs and feet.
 Metatarsal guards: These are strapped to the outside of the wearer’s shoes to protect the
instep.
 Toe guards: Typically made from steel, aluminum, or plastic, these fit over the wearer’s toes
to protect from impact.
 Shin guards: These protect the lower legs and feet.
 Safety shoes: A range of special-purpose footwear such as electrically conductive shoes,
which protect against static electricity build-up, can be acquired by employers.

3. Earplugs and Earmuffs

Earplugs and earmuffs are used to protect workers from exposure to excessive noise, which can lead
to irreparable hearing damage and increased stress.

In a workplace where employees are consistently subjected to high levels of noise, workers should be
fitted for specially molded earplugs. The louder and more constant the noise, the less time an
employee should be expected to work without adequate hearing protection.

4. Gloves

Gloves, finger guards, and arm coverings will protect employees from the skin damage caused by
cuts, chemical and thermal burns, and punctures.

Depending on the nature of the employee’s work and their risk of exposure, hand protection can
provide different levels of thermal protection and cater to different grip requirements. Gloves might be
made of leather, canvas, or metal mesh; fabric; chemical- and liquid-resistant materials; or insulating
rubber.

5. Eye Protection

Protective eyewear is important in certain workplaces to shield employees’ eyes from flying particles,
hot liquids, molten metal, chemical gases, and harmful radiation. This PPE must fit closely and
comfortably to the wearer’s face, be cleanable, and not restrict vision or movement.

Protective eyewear includes safety goggles or spectacles, welding shields, and laser safety goggles.
6. Surgical Face Masks

A surgical mask — often referred to as a face mask — is a loose-fitting, disposable device that covers
the wearer’s mouth and nose to create a physical barrier between them and people in their immediate
environment.

This PPE serves to protect the wearer from large particle droplets or splatters that could contain
germs as well as reduce the saliva and respiratory secretions the wearer passes on to others.

7. Respirators

Respirators have long been used in a manufacturing setting to protect employees from inhaling air
contaminated with harmful dust, fumes, gases, or sprays. This PPE must fit closely to the face and
cover the nose and mouth to be effective.

N95 filtering facepiece respirators are most commonly used and recommended by OSHA. Once
manufactured, a sample from each batch is tested for flammability, breathing and splash resistance,
particle filtration efficiency, and bacteria filtration efficiency.

More recently, N95 respirators have become essential PPE in the fight against COVID-19. When
unavailable, more intricate alternatives such as powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs), supplied-
air respirators (SARs), or high-efficiency particulate arrestance (HEPA) can be used.

8. Face Shields

Face shields consist of a visor, a lightweight plastic or metal frame, and a suspension system that
attaches the shield to the head of the wearer. Providing full face protection, this PPE is typically worn
on top of masks or goggles to prevent the inhalation of toxic substances or, as in the case of COVID-
19, virus-carrying aerosol droplets.

Employers looking to source PPE for their workforce must thoroughly research and evaluate
prospective suppliers to reduce the risk of purchasing counterfeit PPE. In the wake of COVID-19,
several manufacturers have retrofitted their businesses to help meet the increasing demand for PPE.

With this in mind, it’s more important than ever before to scrutinize PPE suppliers. Consult
government resource lists to find legitimate manufacturers, check supplier certifications, insist on
checking product samples for legitimacy and quality, and closely interrogate contracts.

9. Proximity Sensors

Proximity sensors are a new addition to the list of PPE, with their development spurred by the COVID-
19 pandemic.

This device is typically used to indicate the proximity of a user to a hazardous object but has been
updated by product developers to help manufacturing employees adhere to the six-foot separation
guidelines. This is also a means to track exposure to COVID-19 within the workplace.

10. Body Shields

In particularly hazardous conditions, workers might be required to protect their entire body. Body
protection comes in the form of jackets, aprons, lab coats, overalls, and full bodysuits. They are made
from a range of materials including fire-retardant wool or cotton, rubber, leather, and plastic.

Body protection of this kind must be carefully measured for each employee to ensure a proper fit.

 Respiratory protection - for example, disposable, cartridge, air line, half or full face
  Eye protection – for example, spectacles/goggles, shields, visors
 Hearing protection – for example, ear muffs and plugs
 Hand protection – for example, gloves and barrier creams
 Foot protection – for example, shoes/boots
 Head protection – for example, helmets, caps, hoods, hats
 Working from heights - for example, harness and fall arrest devices
 Skin protection – for example, hats, sunburn cream, long sleeved clothes
 Other personal protective equipment: This may include PPE for specific tasks such
disposable clothing for working with chemicals, radiation hazards, welding, painting.
Examples include: lead aprons for x-ray protection; sleeve protectors, aprons, coveralls when
using chemicals; leather jackets, trousers and spats for welding; thermal and cold protective
clothing for work near furnaces and cool rooms.

Demonstrate correct use of personal protective clothing and equipment

Select appropriate PPC/E for a given task

o Remove all loose-fitting clothing

o Remove wrist watches and other jewellery

However, even the strictest controls will not necessarily eliminate all the risks associated with most job tasks
and this is where the need for PPE must be evaluated. A hazard assessment can help identify which specialized
PPE will be required. There are numerous types of workplace safety equipment available depending on the
hazard exposure and work conditions. The following are basic PPE that can help protect employees:

Face and Eye Protection

PPE includes safety goggles and face shields and should be used for tasks that can cause eye damage or loss of
vision, sprays of toxic liquids, splashes, and burns.

Safety Tips:

 Check if safety glasses comply with the ANSI Z87.1 eye protection standard.

 Ensure that there are no cracks or deformities on the lenses.

 Ensure the strap is in good working condition and is firmly sealed to the cheek and forehead.

 Clean and disinfect after use.

Respiratory Protection

PPE includes full-face respirators, self-contained breathing apparatus, gas masks, N95 respirators, and surgical
masks are used for a task that can cause inhalation of harmful materials to enter the body. This includes
harmful gas, chemicals, large-particle droplets, sprays, splashes, or splatter that may contain viruses and
bacteria such as COVID-19, viral infections, and more.

Safety Tips:

 Ensure that the equipment is fit-tested and the employee has undergone proper training before
wearing one.

 Carefully read the instructions to determine if it is designed to help protect against the hazards you
may face.

 Change filters on half-mask or full-mask respirators frequently.

 Replace disposable respirators with every use.

 Surgical masks are not to be shared with anyone.

  Avoid touching the surgical mask after wearing it.

 Change surgical mask timely and should be disposed of after use.

 Replace the mask immediately if it is damaged or soiled.

Skin and Body Protection

PPE includes the following categories to protect employees from physical hazards:

Head Protection

PPE includes hard hats and headgears and should be required for tasks that can cause any force or object
falling to the head.

Safety Tips:

 Ensure that there are no dents or deformities on the shell and connections are tightened inside.

 Do not store in direct sunlight as extreme heat can cause damage.

 Choose appropriate cleaning agents as it can weaken the shells of hard hats and may eliminate
electrical resistance.

 Always replace a hard hat if it was used for any kind of impact, even if the damage is unnoticeable.

Body Protection

PPE includes safety vests and suits that can be used for tasks that can cause body injuries from extreme
temperatures, flames and sparks, toxic chemicals, insect bites and radiation.

Safety Tips:

 Ensure that they are clean and free from cuts and burns.
  Always get a good fit to ensure full body protection.

 Ensure bodysuit is heat-resistant clothing when working with high-temperature hazards.

Hands Protection

PPE includes safety gloves and should be used for tasks that can cause hand and skin burns, absorption of
harmful substances, cuts, fractures or amputations.

Safety Tips:

 Ensure hand protection fits perfectly with no spaces and is free from cuts, burns and chemical
residue.

 Always replace them if any sign of contamination was observed.

 Use rubber gloves when working with heat and electricity to reduce the risk of burn or electrical
shock.

Foot Protection

PPE includes knee pads and safety boots and should be used for tasks that can cause serious foot and leg
injuries from falling or rolling objects, hot substances, electrical hazards, and slippery surfaces.

Safety Tips:

 Ensure boots have slip-resistant soles that can protect against compression and impact.

 Ensure the sole plate is in good condition to prevent punctures.

Fall Protection

PPE includes safety harnesses and lanyards and should be strictly used for tasks that can cause falling from
heights and serious injury or death.

Safety Tips:

 Ensure that the straps are free from tears, deformities and burn marks.

 Check the buckles if connected securely and tightly.

 Dispose of the equipment if used after a falling incident.

Hearing Protection

PPE includes ear muffs and plugs and should be used for tasks that can cause hearing problems and loss of
hearing.

Safety Tips:

 Ensure the equipment fit the ear canal perfectly.

 It is recommended to use formable earplugs to fit on different sizes of ear canals.

 Use protectors that reduce noise exposure to an acceptable level to have a room for communication.

 Ensure earplugs are clean and in good condition.

 COVID-19 Prevention and Control

The global COVID-19 pandemic widely affects the economy, businesses, and living standards around the world.
The implementation of using PPE such as face mask and face shield while in public areas are mandatory in
different countries to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19. This protocol, however, doesn’t guarantee
that the ongoing risks have materially changed.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) set forth
guidelines on the proper way of wearing face masks to protect oneself from acquiring or spreading the virus.
Here are the Do’s and Don’ts of wearing masks.

Do’s Don’ts

 Wash or sanitize hands before wearing the mask

 Check the mask for damages

 Ensure the colored-side faces outwards

 Use the mask if damaged, wet, or dirty
 Cover the mouth, nose, and chin and adjust accordingly
without leaving gaps on the side  Wear a loose mask Wear the mask under the nose

 Ensure you can breathe properly while wearing a mask  Wear a mask that is difficult to breathe through

 Avoid touching the mask while using it  Touch the mask while using it

 Wash or sanitize hands before removing the mask  Remove the mask when talking to other people

 Remove the mask by the strap behind the ears  Share used masks to other people Reuse disposable masks
 Wash the mask preferably with soap and hot water at
least once a day

 Dispose of the mask properly after use

The battle against the global pandemic requires frontliners including doctors and nurses to wear isolation
gown to protect them from acquiring the virus. This would help lessen the chance of getting sick even if they
always interact with COVID-19 patients. Below are CDC guidelines they should follow in using PPE:

 All health workers should take comprehensive training about PPE including its appropriate usage,
proper don (put on) and doff (take off) procedures, limitations, maintenance, and disposal.

 Ensure the choice of gown size is appropriate to the body size.

 Perform hand hygiene prior to donning the isolation gown.

 Put on NIOSH-approved N95 filtering facepiece respirator or higher. Use a facemask if a respirator is
not available.

 Respirator straps should be placed on the crown of the head (top strap) and base of the neck (bottom
strap).

 Perform a user seal check each time you wear a respirator.

 Face mask ties should be secured on the crown of the head (top tie) and base of the neck (bottom
tie). If the face mask has loops, hook them appropriately around the ears.

 Select the proper eye protection such as face shield or goggles.

 Ensure the correct position of eye protection. It should not affect the seal of the respirator.

 Wear gloves, it should cover the cuff (wrist) of the gown.

 Prior to entering the patient area including the isolation room, PPE must be donned appropriately.

 While on duty, PPE must remain in place and be worn correctly especially in potentially contaminated
areas.

 When attending patients, do not adjust the PPE. For example, retying the gown or adjusting the
respirator or facemask.

 PPE must be removed slowly and deliberately in a sequence to prevent self-contamination.

 Ensure glove removal does not cause additional contamination of hands.

 Gloves can be removed using glove-in-glove or bird beak technique.

 When removing the gown, carefully reach up to the shoulders and pull the gown down and away
from the body.

 After removing the gown, always perform hand hygiene.

 When removing eye protection, do not touch the front of the face shield or goggles.

 When removing respirators or face masks, do not touch the front of the respirator or facemask.

 Dispose of face masks properly.

Toolbox Talk
Workplace safety should begin with a hazard assessment. Once the hazards and risks have been identified, a
plan can be put forward to prioritize and reduce the risk of injury. Useful systems and tools to perform hazard
assessments include performing a risk assessment and a Job Safety Analysis (JSA).

The hierarchy of controls is a proven safety approach that helps protect employees. If elimination,
substitution, engineering, and administrative controls are not enough to eliminate the risk, it is vital to choose
the appropriate PPE carefully. Ensure employees are properly trained to use the equipment and be able to
detect and report any damages before commencing work.

A toolbox talk about PPE is recommended to discuss the different kinds of PPE that can be used to minimize
the likelihood and mitigate the effects of hazards. With a toolbox talk template, it can help in assessing the
sufficiency and availability of equipment for all employees.

PPE Safety Requirements

To promote PPE safety in their workplace, safety officers will need to do the following:

 Check work sites regularly for the need of PPE.

 If PPE is needed, provide employees with properly-fitted PPE.

 Train employees on OSHA PPE standards.

 Provide protective goggles or face shields when there is a danger of flying particles or corrosive
materials.

 Require that safety glasses are worn at all times in worksites that pose risk of eye punctures,
abrasions, contusions, or burns.

 Provide and require protective gloves in situations where employees could be cut or be possibly
exposed to corrosive liquids, chemicals, blood, and other potentially infectious materials.

 Require the use of foot protection when there is risk of foot injury from hot, corrosive, or poisonous
substances, and falling objects.

 Inspect hard hats periodically for damage to the shell and suspension system.

 Maintain PPE in sanitary and ready-to-use conditions.

 Ensure that eyewash facilities and quick drench showers are easily accessible for employees when
they are accidentally exposed to corrosive materials.

 Establish safe work procedures for disposing of or decontaminating PPE after hazardous exposures.

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PPE Safety Examples

These examples of PPE safety are based on a free PPE checklist provided by SafetyCulture for anyone to
download and use for free.

Nature of work: Laboratory (Chemical Handling)

 Potential hazards at work:

1. Eye hazards – Handling/dispensing chemicals and ingredients; working around UV lights; chipping, sanding, grinding, we
metal working; tasks that generate dust
Risk/s – Chemical exposure, dust particulates, flying debris
Description of hazard – Corrosive chemicals which are harmful when they explode
PPE required – Safety glasses with side shields, chemical splash goggles
Does equipment undergo testing and in a good condition?
Goggles are in good working condition. Lenses are clean without any dirt or debris
Does the equipment fit perfectly?
They fit perfectly on cheeks and forehead.

2. Head/Neck/Face hazards – Handling/dispensing chemicals and ingredients, chipping, sanding or grinding metal or wood
working on energized equipment, working in confined spaces
Risk/s – Chemical exposure, dust particulates, flying debris, UV/IR radiation
Description of hazard – Dispensing chemicals and spills
PPE required – Full face shields
Does equipment undergo testing and in a good condition?
Face shields have no dents and marks.

3. Respiratory hazards – Handling/using highly hazardous chemicals; tasks that generate dust and/or fumes; cutting, brazi
certain metals (stainless steel)
Risk/s – Chemical exposure, dust particulates, flying debris
Description of hazard – Exposure to dangerous vapors
PPE required – Respirators
Does the equipment fit perfectly?
It fits perfectly. Straps are tight.

To give you a better idea, we’ve created a sample pdf report below:
Preview Sample PPE Report

Digitize the way you work

Eliminate manual tasks and streamline your operations.

Get started for free

Guarantee proper usage of PPE with PPE courses

Giving personal protective equipment (PPE) for your workers alone is not enough to protect them from
hazards, injuries, and accidents. This is especially true for industries such as construction, manufacturing, and
healthcare. To make sure that their PPEs fully serve their functions, it’s crucial that your workers understand
their proper use, maintenance, and disposal to protect themselves and the people around them. Thankfully,
training now is made easy and convenient for you with online PPE courses that your workers can take anytime
and anywhere.

Here, you’ll find our highly recommended PPE courses that will cover the different types of PPE and
demonstrate when and how to use them properly. Reinforcing PPE training will not only keep your workers
safe from hazards but also boost productivity without any threat of unwanted incidents. Try Training, a
mobile-first microlearning platform providing hundreds of free courses such as:

 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Manufacturing

 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Construction

All Training courses can be customized to fit the needs of your organization and be shared to your team in
minutes. Workers can access the lessons in these course even offline.

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PPE Safety Software

SafetyCulture (formerly iAuditor) provides a digital space for safety officers and employees to work towards
PPE safety. SafetyCulture helps teams perform hazard assessments to determine if enforcing PPE use is the
best control measure for the task. It also allows employees to maintain PPE with ease.

Using the SafetyCulture app, employees can take pictures of PPE defects and even annotate photos to show
where the damage is. Tracking the number of usable PPE is easier for safety officers as well and they are better
equipped to provide what their employees need to get the job done.

Learn more about SafetyCulture features for PPE safety.

PPE Inspections with SafetyCulture

By using SafetyCulture for PPE inspections, safety officers are able to protect employees from the hazards of
the job by ensuring that their PPEs are always in good condition.

With SafetyCulture , conducting regular PPE inspections is easy with convenient access to inspection data
automatically stored in the cloud. Safety officers can also generate PPE inspection reports instantly with just
one tap, anytime, and anywhere.

Beyond PPE inspections, SafetyCulture can also be used to develop an organization’s health and safety
program by enabling safety officers to do the following:

 Enforce standardized safety protocols across teams and different sites

 Mitigate risks with a wide variety of free risk assessment templates

 Plan corrective actions immediately to prevent incidents from occurring

Discover a better, faster, and easier way to empower teams in the workplace.

Ensuring Safety and Protecting Employees

PPE Safety is the practice of ensuring a safe, working environment for employees and visitors through the use
of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Safety is paramount to all businesses across industries. Using PPEs,
paired with inspections such as workplace and restaurant inspections, assessments like health and safety risk
assessments, and analysis such as gap analysis—is essential to protect employees from risks and hazards.

Here are the frequently asked questions regarding PPE.

Incidents and Accidents Reporting

1 Define incidents and accidents

An accident is an event that has unintentionally happened, that results in damage, injury or harm.

An incident is an event that has unintentionally happened, but this may not result in damage, harm or injury.

Incident can refer to any event – big or small, good or bad, intentional or unintentional. A bank robbery, a
funny or controversial situation, an argument between celebrities, etc. – all can be described as incidents.

An accident is a bad event caused by error or by chance. Accidents are always unintentional, and they usually
result in some damage or injury. A car crash is one example of an accident. If some equipment malfunctions in
a factory and injures the workers, that is also an accident. Examples of very minor accidents are when you step
on someone’s foot or spill your coffee on someone else. You didn’t want or plan to do it.

2 State importance of reporting incidents and accidents

Why do we need to report Incidents?

The provision of timely and efficient first aid and medical response is crucial in caring for workers, sub-
contractors and visitors in the event of an injury. Incidents can be Minor, Serious or Major but they are all
“incidents” and need to be investigated to identify what happened with a view to preventing them happening
again.

Employees are asked to report incidents and injuries so employers can make certain that their staff receive the
correct medical treatment as soon as practicable. Fatalities have occurred from minor scratches that have
gone untreated.

Additionally, timely and efficient reporting on hazards, incidents and other occurrences with actual or
potential adverse risk to health and safety or damage to the environment are required to be in place so that
risk assessment identifies appropriate corrective actions that can be taken.

Depending on the risk of the hazard or incident involved, immediate action must be taken to prevent further
persons from being injured. This may involve the activation of emergency procedures or other actions to
control the immediate risk to persons in the area, e.g. barricading the area, alerting Workers in Charge etc. If
an injury has been sustained, first aid treatment should be given from a suitably qualified first aider promptly.

Why do we need to investigate Incidents?

The main reasons for investigating incidents is to try and identify the root cause/s that contributed to the
incident or near miss occurring, so you have a greater opportunity to prevent the same type of incident from
potentially occurring again.

Determining the facts of the incident will also assist in identifying control measures that can be put in place to
prevent further re-occurrences. It is equally important to communicate the outcome of any incident
investigation to the rest of your employees, as that way they are all made aware of the potential risks and of
changes the business has made to a process or procedure, including the reasons behind those changes.

Any witnesses to an incident should also be identified and their details documented in case required later.
Photos can be taken of the scene as soon a possible following an incident as these may assist an investigation.
Corrective actions need to be finalised, the investigation closed, and documentation kept for including
reopening of long-term injury claims or legal action, which could arise a long time after the event.

1. Reporting minor incidents and observations prevent serious incidents from happening

Most incident report forms identify the barriers that prevent adverse situations from developing into major
accidents or disasters. On a large scale, this might mean the avoidance of an environmental disaster such as or
in the most severe cases the line between the life and death of an employee. On a smaller scale, we talk about
observations that mitigate issues such as occupational diseases or discomforts, or simply just waste.

Whether big or small, the insights are all very important. They help safety, security, environmental, quality and
facility managers recognize trends and identify where additional resources are required in order to guarantee
that no major incidents happen.

2. Minor incidents and observations mean more data to analyse

And it’s not just the amount of data but also the frequency of new observations that enable both quantitative
and qualitative analysis. In many cases, accidents begin and develop from atypical occasions. Thus they
themselves provide relatively little information about the possibility of future incidents.

In contrast, the more and the higher frequency of incidents, the more significant insights they give into human
error, systemic failures, site comparisons, regulatory weaknesses etc.

3. Incidents and observations keep us aware

They provide a reminder of possible hazards. Reporting them provides a way to monitor potential problems
and root causes as they recur.

The documentation of these problems and root causes increases the likelihood that repeating failures will be
noticed and corrected before they develop into more serious incidents.

4. Feedback loop keeps observers aboard

Incident reporting provides a way to involve all employees in safety, quality, environmental topics or security.
Everyone can see that their concerns are treated seriously and are acted upon by the organisation.

In the end, a culture of improvement can be created with only two-way communication and everyone being
part of it.

5. Share lessons learned and benchmark between industries

Incident reporting provides data that can be used to share best practices within an organisation and
benchmark the level to industry standards.

Even though the incident categories and types differ between industries, verticals and even functions, the
winning habits of being aware in the field and documenting the observations are all the same.

6. Investing in reporting is cheaper than the costs of a major incident

The average cost of an occupational accident ranges from thousands to tens of thousands of euros. Thus it is
easy to evaluate the cost of inaction.

Even in a global organisation that has tens of thousands of employees, hundreds of service providers and
dozens of other important stakeholders, the cost of maintaining a modern incident reporting platform is many
times cheaper than the costs of accidents or major incidents.
7. Incident reporting is a key habit that creates a culture

Organisational culture is a set of habits, values, thoughts and beliefs. In organisation-wide development areas
such as HSEQ, habits are the keystones that affect the culture the most.

Simply put, if you want to improve safety culture, make sure to start collecting safety observations. If you want
to improve quality culture, start collecting quality deviations. And if you want to raise environmental
awareness, start collecting environmental observations.

Conclusion

As we can see, there are multiple different points contributing to the importance of incident reporting. If we
were able to convince you why it is important to report incidents, you might now be asking yourself how to do
it in the most effective way.

We at Falcony have developed a platform that is designed to involve all employees to report their findings on a
daily basis. There are a lot of features, but you aren't here for a spec sheet.

That is why we are offering a 30-day trial so you can take your time testing it out for FREE. If you are
interested, click the button below and fill in the required information to get started

Hazard and risk identification procedures and methods

Define hazards and risks

What is a hazard and what is a risk?

A hazard is anything that could cause harm.

And, risk, is a combination of two things – the chance that the hazard will cause harm and
how serious that harm could be.
What does this mean?

Risk is usually described as being ‘high’, ‘medium’ or ‘low’. For example, think about crossing a road -
the cars and other traffic are the main hazards; and your mental calculation of the risk is a
combination of how likely it is that you’ll be hit by a vehicle, along with how seriously you might be
injured. And, there are things that could affect the likelihood and there are things that could affect
the severity.

 Hazard: something that could potentially cause harm.

 Risk: the degree of likelihood that harm will be caused.

In short, a hazard can cause harm. A risk is how likely it is to do so. The two terms work
together to enable employers fully assess their working environment for potential dangers
and prioritise them effectively. Let’s look more in-depth at hazards and how they can be
identified and categorised.

What Exactly Is A Hazard?

Many accidents are entirely avoidable, and the key to doing so is in minimising all possible hazards.
Some items are naturally hazardous; while others harbour potential dangers if used incorrectly or
inappropriately.
Hazards can be broken down into two basic categories:

 1. Acute Hazard – these are hazards that pose obvious issues and would impact instantly. An
example of this would be a liquid spillage, causing an immediate danger of somebody
slipping over and hurting themselves.

 2. Chronic Hazard – these hazards are not immediately apparent, and can have more of a
hidden issue, sometimes only arising after long periods. An example of this would be the
build-up of workplace stress or the gradual decline of a piece of machinery.

All hazards, whether acute or chronic fall into six core categories.
 1. Physical – It refers to the stereotypical workplace hazard most of us would think of, for
example, lighting issues, objects obstructing walkways, unsafe machinery, spillages on floors.

 2. Chemical – This includes any form of liquid, vapour, dust, fumes or gases that could be
spilt, leaked or misused.

 3. Ergonomic – Usually stems from ill-thought-out design or spatial awareness. This can
include workstations that aren’t fit for healthy usage. However, this category can also
include hazards associated with lack of training (e.g. manual handling) or unsafe working
conditions leading to injury (e.g. repetitive movement).

 4. Radiation – This may be more prevalent in a clinical setting and covers x-rays, gamma
rays, UV and microwaves.

 5. Psychological – This applies heavily across all industries in many forms. Examples of
psychological risk include stress, working shifts, problems dealing with the public, internal
harassment and lack of empowerment.

 6. Biological – Not to be confused with chemical, biological risks involve viruses, bacteria and
fungi. This can happen through bites, cuts, or contamination through contact with an
infected person.

How To Identify A Hazard

Before the start of a shift or new procedure, equipment should be checked, and surroundings should
be reviewed for potential hazards, especially around high-risk areas. When designing the workflow,
consider the potential hazards involved, e.g. installing a new office kitchen consists of a myriad of
dangers. If you are installing new machinery, consider its features and its impact on the immediate
environment.
During Work
While tasks are being completed, ensure staff are aware of any changes. If something abnormal
happens, whether that is a new smell, an unusual sound or simply an intuitive feeling, it should be
clear to whom and how they should report it.
After Accidents
All accidents or injuries should be reported to Management and recorded in the accident book,
including details of the full circumstances so that risks from hazards can be identified and minimised
or removed.

Health and Safety Inspections

Informal and formal inspections should take place regularly, with full focus on hazard identification.
A Health and Safety Supervisor or, in bigger companies, a Health and Safety Committee should take
charge, planning and reviewing the results of inspections.
To make sure that no hazards are missed:

Classify hazards

Types of Hazards
Biological – bacteria, viruses, insects, plants, birds, animals, and humans, etc.,

Chemical – depends on the physical, chemical and toxic properties of the chemical,

Ergonomic – repetitive movements, improper set up of workstation, poor design of equipment, workstation
design, (postural) or workflow, manual handling, repetitive movement.etc.,

Physical – Slippery floors, objects in walkways, unsafe or misused machinery, excessive noise, poor lighting,
fire

Radiation, magnetic fields, pressure extremes (high pressure or vacuum), noise, etc.,

Psychological – Shift work, workload, dealing with the public, harassment, discrimination, threat of danger,
constant low-level noise, and stress. Stress, violence, etc.,

Safety – slipping/tripping hazards, inappropriate machine guarding, equipment malfunctions or breakdowns.

Identify physical hazards including

Falling o Slipping and tripping o

Air-borne and material exposure

Struck by falling objects

Excessive noise and vibration

Scaffold related injuries

Electrical incidents

Ergonomic

Identify chemical hazards

Corrosives

Skin and eye irritants

Carcinogens

Flammable

Identify biological hazards

Sewage

Air-borne pathogens

Stinging insects

Venomous serpents

Harmful plants
Hazards and Risk Management
Define hazard and risk management

Hazards Risk Management. A continual process that provides a general philosophy and a defined and iterative
series of component parts that be utilized to exercise a level of control (management) over the risks associated
with the hazards facing a community.

The purpose of risk and hazard management is to ensure that the work that is required to be done, with the
tools and processes is managed to minimise the risk of harm to any person on campus.

Risk management is the continuing process to identify, analyse, evaluate, and treat loss exposures and
monitor risk control and financial resources to mitigate the adverse effects of loss. Loss may result from the
following: financial risks such as cost of claims and liability judgments.

Outline the Methods of eliminating or mitigating the hazards and risks through application
of hierarchy of control
Controlling exposures to hazards in the workplace is vital to protecting workers. The hierarchy of controls is a
way of determining which actions will best control exposures. The hierarchy of controls has five levels of
actions to reduce or remove hazards. The preferred order of action based on general effectiveness is:

1. Elimination

2. Substitution

3. Engineering controls

4. Administrative controls

5. Personal protective equipment (PPE)

Using this hierarchy can lower worker exposures and reduce risk of illness or injury.

Elimination

Elimination removes the hazard at the source. This could include changing the work process to stop using a
toxic chemical, heavy object, or sharp tool. It is the preferred solution to protect workers because no exposure
can occur.

Substitution

Substitution is using a safer alternative to the source of the hazard. An example is using plant-based printing
inks as a substitute for solvent-based inks.
When considering a substitute, it’s important to compare the potential new risks of the substitute to the
original risks. This review should consider how the substitute will combine with other agents in the workplace.
Effective substitutes reduce the potential for harmful effects and do not create new risks.

Elimination and substitution can be the most difficult actions to adopt into an existing process. These methods
are best used at the design or development stage of a work process, place, or tool. At the development stage,
elimination and substitution may be the simplest and cheapest option. Another good opportunity to use
elimination and substitution is when selecting new equipment or procedures. Prevention through Design is an
approach to proactively include prevention when designing work equipment, tools, operations, and spaces.

Engineering Controls

Engineering controls reduce or prevent hazards from coming into contact with workers. Engineering controls
can include modifying equipment or the workspace, using protective barriers, ventilation, and more. The
NIOSH Engineering Controls Database has examples of published engineering control research findings.

The most effective engineering controls:

 are part of the original equipment design

 remove or block the hazard at the source before it comes into contact with the worker

 prevent users from modifying or interfering with the control

 need minimal user input for the controls to work

 operate correctly without interfering with the work process or making the work process more difficult

Engineering controls can cost more upfront than administrative controls or PPE. However, long-term operating
costs tend to be lower, especially when protecting multiple workers. In addition, engineering controls can save
money in other areas of the work process or facility operation.

Administrative Controls

Administrative controls establish work practices that reduce the duration, frequency, or intensity of exposure
to hazards. This may include:

 work process training

 job rotation

 ensuring adequate rest breaks

 limiting access to hazardous areas or machinery

 adjusting line speeds

PPE

PPE is equipment worn to minimize exposure to hazards. Examples of PPE include gloves, safety glasses,
hearing protection, hard hats, and respirators. When employees use PPE, employers should implement a PPE
program. While elements of the PPE program depend on the work process and the identified PPE, the program
should address:

 workplace hazards assessment

 PPE selection and use

 inspection and replacement of damaged or worn-out PPE

 employee training
  program monitoring for continued effectiveness

Employers should not rely on PPE alone to control hazards when other effective control options are available.
PPE can be effective, but only when workers use it correctly and consistently. PPE might seem to be less
expensive than other controls, but can be costly over time. This is especially true when used for multiple
workers on a daily basis.

When other control methods are unable to reduce the hazardous exposure to safe levels, employers must
provide PPE. This includes:

 while other controls are under development

 when other controls cannot sufficiently reduce the hazardous exposure

 when PPE is the only control option available

Administrative controls and PPE require significant and ongoing effort by workers and their supervisors. They
are useful when employers are in the process of implementing other control methods from the hierarchy.
Additionally, administrative controls and PPE are often applied to existing processes where hazards are not
well controlled.

Training and evaluation can help ensure selected controls are successful. Employers should correctly train
workers and supervisors on how to use controls. Workers and their supervisors should evaluate controls on a
regular basis. Regular evaluation can check whether controls are effective in reducing workers’ exposures and
identify potential improvements.

What is meant by elimination?

Back to top

Elimination is the process of removing the hazard from the workplace. It is the most effective way to control a
risk because the hazard is no longer present. It is the preferred way to control a hazard and should be used
whenever possible.

Examples of elimination control methods include:

 Purchasing equipment that is not noisy

 Using a reach pole, where feasible, for window washing to eliminate working from heights

 Removing and properly disposing of products that are stored in the workplace and are no longer
being used

 Avoiding driving during extreme winter weather conditions

What is substitution?

Back to top

If eliminating a hazard is not possible, substitution is the next control method that should be considered.

Substitution is act of replacing something with another thing… in this case, a hazard is replaced with a less
hazardous one. The hazards and risks associated with an alternative must be thoroughly assessed to
determine if it is an appropriate replacement. Care must be taken to make sure that the new hazard is actually
lower, and that one hazard is not being replaced with another that is just as harmful or more harmful.

Examples of substitution controls include:

 Replacing solvent-based paints with a water-based alternative

  Using a larger granule form of a product instead of a fine powder to reduce dust generation

 Using electric motors rather than diesel ones to eliminate diesel exhaust emissions

Substitution is often used when workers are exposed to hazardous products. Table 1 below provides some
examples:

Table 1: Sample Chemical Substitutions

Instead Of: Consider:

carbon tetrachloride (causes liver damage, cancer) 1,1,1-trichloroethane, dichloromethane

benzene (causes cancer) toluene, cyclohexane, ketones

pesticides (causes various effects on body) "natural" pesticides such as pyrethrins

organic solvents (causes various effects on body) water-detergent solutions

leaded glazes, paints, pigments (causes various effects on body) versions that do not contain lead

sandstone grinding wheels (causes severe respiratory illness due synthetic grinding wheels such as aluminium
to silica) oxide

Remember, however, that you need to make sure the substitute product will not cause any harmful effects,
and to control and monitor exposures to make sure that the replacement product is below occupational
exposure limits.

Another type of substitution includes using the same chemical but to use it in a different form. For example, a
dry, dusty powder may be a significant inhalation hazard but if this material can be purchased and used as
pellets or crystals, there may be less dust in the air and therefore less exposure.

Figure 2

See the OSH Answers document Substitution of Chemicals: Considerations for Selection for more information.

What are examples of engineering controls methods?

Back to top

Engineering controls are methods that will remove the hazard at the source, before it comes in contact with
the worker.

Engineering controls can be built into the design of a plant, equipment, or process to minimize the hazard.
Engineering controls are a very reliable way to control worker exposures as long as the controls are designed,
used, and maintained properly. Examples of engineering controls are:
  Isolation – separating workers from the hazard by distance or the use of barriers

 Enclosures – placing the material or process in a closed system (e.g., enclosed machines, booths, etc.)

 Guarding and shielding – using guards around moving parts of machinery

 Ventilation – using local exhaust or general dilution ventilation to remove or reduce airborne
products

 Mechanical lifting devices– using mechanical methods to lift or move objects instead of manual lifting

 Guardrails – using guardrails to prevent a fall

More information on engineering controls include the following:

Process Control

Process control involves changing the way a job activity or process is done to reduce the risk. Monitoring
should be done before and as well as after the change is implemented to make sure the changes did, in fact,
control the hazard.

Examples of process changes include to:

 Use wet methods rather than dry when drilling or grinding. "Wet method" means that water is
sprayed over a dusty surface to keep dust levels down or material is mixed with water to prevent dust
from being created.

 Use steam cleaning instead of solvent degreasing (but be sure to evaluate the potential high
temperature hazard being introduced such as heat stress).

 Float "balls" on open-surface tanks that contain solvents (e.g., degreasing operations) to reduce
solvent surface area and to lower solvent loss.

 Instead of conventional spray painting, try to dip, paint with a brush, or use "airless" spray paint
methods. These methods will reduce the amount of paint that is released into the air.

 Decrease the temperature of a process so that less vapour is released.

 Use automation - the less workers have to handle or use the materials, the less potential there is for
exposure.

 Use mechanical transportation rather than manual methods.

Enclosure and Isolation

These methods aim to keep the chemical "in" and the worker "out" (or vice versa).

An enclosure keeps a selected hazard "physically" away from the worker. Enclosed equipment, for example, is
tightly sealed and it is typically only opened for cleaning or maintenance. Other examples include "glove
boxes" (where a chemical is in a ventilated and enclosed space and the employee works with the material by
using gloves that are built in), abrasive blasting cabinets, or remote control devices. Care must be taken when
the enclosure is opened for maintenance as exposure could occur if adequate precautions are not taken. The
enclosure itself must be well maintained to prevent leaks.

Isolation places the hazardous process "geographically" away from the majority of the workers. Common
isolation techniques are to create a contaminant-free or noise-free booth either around the equipment or
around the employee workstations.

Ventilation
Ventilation is a method of control that "adds" and "removes" air in the work environment. General or dilution
ventilation can remove or dilute an air contaminant if designed properly. Local exhaust ventilation is designed
to remove the contaminant at the source so it cannot disperse into the work space and it generally uses lower
exhaust rates than general ventilation (general ventilation usually exchanges air in the entire room).

Local exhaust ventilation is an effective means of controlling hazardous exposures but should be used when
other methods (such as elimination or substitution) are not possible.

Figure 3 Example of Local Exhaust Ventilation

The design of a ventilation system is very important and must match the particular process and product in use.
Expert guidance should be sought. It is a very effective control measure but only if it is designed, tested, and
maintained properly.

Because products are exhausted to the outdoors, you should also check with your local environment ministry
or municipality for any environmental air regulations or bylaws that may apply in your area.

What are examples of administrative controls?

Back to top

Administrative controls involve developing procedures to ensure the work conducted in a way that minimizes
the hazard. Examples include developing or changing policies, implementing or improving training and
education, and developing or enhancing work practices and procedures.

Administrative controls are ranked lower than elimination, substitution, and engineering controls because this
method does not necessarily remove or reduce the hazard from the workplace. For example, administrative
controls limit workers' exposures by scheduling shorter work times in contaminant areas or by implementing
other "rules". These control measures have many limitations because the hazard itself is not actually removed
or reduced. Administrative controls should be used in combination with other control measures where
possible.

Methods of administrative control include:

 Using job-rotation schedules or a work-rest schedule that limit the amount of time an individual
worker is exposed to a substance.

 Implementing a preventative maintenance program to keep equipment in proper working order

  Scheduling maintenance and other high exposure operations for times when few workers are present
(such as evenings, weekends).

 Restricting access to a work area.

 Restricting the task to only those competent or qualified to perform the work.

 Using signs to warn workers of a hazard.

More information about types of administrative controls is provided below:

Work Practices

Elements of safe work practices include:

 Developing and implementing safe work procedures or standard operating procedures.

 Training and education of employees about the operating procedures as well as other necessary
workplace training (including WHMIS).

 Establishing and maintaining good housekeeping programs.

 Keeping equipment well maintained.

 Preparing and training for emergency response for incidents such as spills, fire, or employee injury.

Education and Training

Employee education and training on how to conduct their work safely is a critical element of any complete
workplace health and safety program. Training must cover not only how to do the job safely but it must also
ensure that workers understand the hazards and risks of their job, and the controls in place to protect them. It
must also provide them with information on how to protect themselves and co-workers.

Good Housekeeping

Good housekeeping is essential to prevent the accumulation of hazardous or toxic materials (e.g., build-up of
dust or contaminant on ledges, or beams), or hazardous conditions (e.g., poor stockpiling).

For more information about workplace housekeeping, please see the OSH Answers document Workplace
Housekeeping - Basic Guide.

For more information about combustible dust, please see the OSH Answers document Combustible Dusts.
Figure 4

Emergency Preparedness

Being prepare for emergencies means making sure that the necessary equipment and supplies are readily
available and that employees know what to do when something unplanned happens such as a release, spill,
fire, or injury. These procedures should be written and employees should have the opportunity to practice
their emergency response skills regularly.

Please see the OSH Answers document on emergency planning for more information.

Personal Hygiene Practices and Facilities

Personal hygiene practices are another effective way to reduce the amount of a hazardous material absorbed,
ingested, or inhaled by a worker.

Examples of personal hygiene practices include:

 Washing hands after handling material and before eating, drinking or smoking.

 Avoiding touching lips, nose, and eyes with contaminated hands.

 No smoking, drinking, chewing gum or eating in the work areas - these activities should be permitted
only in a "clean" area.

 Not storing hazardous products in the same refrigerator as food items.

Please see the OSH Answers documents on Workplace Housekeeping , Hand Washing: Reducing the Risk of
Common Infections and Good Hygiene Practices - Reducing the Spread of Infections and Viruses for more
information.

What should I know about personal protective equipment (PPE) as a hazard control method?

Back to top

Personal protective equipment (PPE) refers to anything workers wear to help protect them from a workplace
hazard.

The use of PPE as the main method to control exposures should be limited to situations where elimination,
substitution, engineering, or administrative controls are not practicable, or when:

 Additional protection is required because other control methods are not sufficient to reduce the
hazard

 The hazard is a result of a temporary or emergency condition

PPE limits exposure to the harmful effects of a hazard but only if the PPE is worn and used correctly. Examples
of PPE include:

 Respiratory protection

 Skin protection (e.g., coveralls, aprons, full body suits)

 Gloves

 Eye protection (e.g., face shield, goggles)

 Foot protection

 Hearing protective devices (e.g., ear plugs, ear muffs)

The choice of what type of PPE is required must be based on the specific hazard found at the workplace.

No matter which type of PPE is used, it is essential to have a complete PPE program in place. For more
information about PPE programs, please see the following document Designing an Effective PPE Program.

Can more than one control method be used or followed?

Back to top

Yes. Sometimes a hazard cannot be controlled using a single type of control method. If a hazard cannot be
eliminated, a combination of controls may be required.

For example:

 Using a scissor lift instead of a ladder (substitution). Workers should be trained on the safe use of the
equipment and follow safe work procedures (administrative controls). When working at heights,
workers should also use PPE, including a full body harness and lanyard attached to an anchor point,
there is a risk of injury from falling.

 Driving in the winter for work. Controls may include not driving during extreme winter weather
(elimination), determining if there are any other options to driving such as public transit (substation),
use of winter tires (engineering), and driver training (administrative).

Should the adequacy of controls be reviewed or evaluated?

Back to top

Yes. It is important to determine the effectiveness of the control methods implemented and adjust as
required.

Controls must not create new hazards. For example, if wearing PPE contributes to other hazards (e.g., heat
stress), then it is important to review if other controls methods are possible or if additional precautions are
needed.

Monitor both the hazard and the control method to make sure that the control is working effectively and that
exposure to the hazard is reduced or eliminated. Consider the following questions:

 Have the controls effectively eliminated or reduced worker exposure?

 Have any new hazards been created?

 Are new hazards appropriately controlled?

 Are any other methods required?

 Are workers trained on the control methods?

 What else can be done to eliminate or reduce exposure?

 If there is a change at the workplace, does this impact the hazard or the control methods?

2 Establish possible consequences of identified risks

Cost of Accidents

State the cost of identified risks

NB…… Need some researches

4 Determine ranking criteria of risks
Risk ranking The phase of a risk management process where all identified risks are assessed either
quantitatively or qualitatively, to ascertain which ones have the highest likelihood of occurrence and
which ones have the greatest consequence of occurrence so as to rank the risks in overall order of
importance

Risk ranking represents one of the most common forms of risk analysis. It is used extensively in
engineering, mining, land development and industrial contexts in many countries. Yet, as currently
practised, it is particularly susceptible to the vagaries of human perception and the inconsistencies
of expert judgement outlined in previous chapters. Fortunately, there are some remedies to these
problems.

This chapter describes how risk ranking is done. It explores some of the characteristics of the
approach. It outlines ways of conducting risk ranking to evaluate more reliably the risk-weighted
costs and benefits of environmental management options. These modifications will make risk
ranking more useful in the context of the risk management cycle to guide managers to develop
strategies that eliminate, reduce or mitigate risks.

State methods of ranking risk

Analyse the work area and establish the possibility of occurrence and the extent of harm

Risk assessment is a powerful tool that provides a rational framework for designing and
managing an OHSP at institutions that use nonhuman primates. The process of risk
assessment requires a factual base to define the likelihood of adverse health effects of
workplace-associated injuries and exposures, and it attempts to balance scientific
knowledge with concerns of staff, investigators, administration, and the public at large. It
involves a systematic approach to the identification and characterization of physical,
chemical, and biologic hazards to individuals and populations in their environment. The
consequences of such hazards can include severe illness or injury, an irreversible health
consequence, an unfamiliar disease, and an undesirable situation that might have been
avoided by use of an alternative approach or technology. Risk assessments typically require
that attention be given first to the most important hazards, that is, the ones that can result
in the worst health-related outcomes.
Successful risk assessment offers many advantages. For staff members, a well-defined
assessment of risks in the workplace can provide a rational basis for safe practices and
behavior. For institutional managers, a well-defined assessment of risks can provide clear
targets for injury-prevention and exposure-prevention programs. For regulators and other
oversight bodies, a well-defined assessment of risks helps in setting workplace health and
safety standards and in monitoring compliance without the need for case-by-case
judgments. For concerned citizens, a well-defined assessment of risks provides a concise
focus for evaluating protection of the public welfare.
The purpose of risk assessment is to determine the probability of injury or illness due to
specific hazards. Risk assessment also includes characterization of the uncertainties inherent
in the process of inferring risk. The process in turn becomes the basis of risk management—
courses of action to mitigate hazards at the national, regional, and local levels through the
establishment and modification of regulatory standards and institutional occupational
health and safety programs. Several key terms and concepts are used in risk assessment,
including the following

 Hazard: A source of risk, such as a substance or action that can cause harm.

 Exposure: Contact with a hazard in such a manner that effective transmission of the
agent or harmful effects of the agent may occur.

 Dose-response relationship: A relationship in which a change in amount, intensity, or

duration of exposure is associated with a change in the risk of the outcome.

 Risk: The combination of the likelihood (probability) and magnitude (severity) of an

adverse event.

 Uncertainty: An instance of limited knowledge, false assumption, or statistical

variability that contributes to a statement of confidence in conclusions drawn from a
risk assessment.
 Risk management: The process of formulating and implementing a course of action
to mitigate hazards determined by risk assessment to be important.

 What is a risk assessment?

 The definition of a risk assessment is a systematic process of identifying hazards and
evaluating any associated risks within a workplace, then implementing reasonable
control measures to remove or reduce them.

 When completing a risk assessment, it is important to clearly define some keywords:

 An accident is ‘an unplanned event that results in loss’

 A hazard is ‘something that has the potential to cause harm’

 A risk is ‘the likelihood and the severity of a negative occurrence (injury, ill-health,
damage, loss) resulting from a hazard.’

 Additional training may be required if you need to complete or re-assess your risk
management procedures. Completing training such as our Level 2 Award in
Principles of Risk Assessment course will help ensure a risk assessment is suitable
and sufficiently detailed.

 Different types of risk assessments

 The types of risk assessment required within any workplace should be proportionate
and relevant to the operational activities being undertaken. In many industries, there
are specific legislative requirements that apply. For example, in environments where
 hazardous substances are used a Control of Substances Hazardous to Health
Assessment (COSHH) should be completed (for more information see What is
COSHH?).

 Some common types of risk assessments include:

 Fire risk assessments: fire safety management procedures are required to be
established in all workplaces including a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment.

 Manual handling risk assessments: should be conducted in any workplace where an

employee may be at risk from injury and/or ill-health through the need to lift, carry,
move loads.

 Display screen equipment (DSE) risk assessments: are required to be completed in

workplaces where employees (and others) are using computers, laptops, etc.
 COSHH risk assessments: are required within workplaces where hazardous
substances are stored, used or manufactured.

 A business may also choose to complete a Risk Assessment Method Statement

(RAMS) dependent upon the nature of the operations being carried out. This process
contains details of the hazard and a step-by-step procedure on how to complete
work and suitably control the risks identified. This process is commonly used within
the construction industry.

 Why are risk assessments important?

 As previously stated, carrying out suitable and sufficient risk assessments is the
primary management tool in effective risk management. It is a legal requirement for
any employer and must be documented wherever five or more people are
employed.

 Risk assessment is a straightforward and structured method of ensuring the risks to

the health, safety and wellbeing of employees (and others) are suitably eliminated,
reduced or controlled

 The main purpose of risk assessments are:

 To identify health and safety hazards and evaluate the risks presented within the
workplace

 To evaluate the effectiveness and suitability of existing control measures

 To ensure additional controls (including procedural) are implemented wherever the

remaining risk is considered to be anything other than low.

 To prioritise further resources if needed to ensure the above.

 It can be a costly lesson for a business if they fail to have necessary controls in place.
They could face not only financial loss (through fines, civil actions, etc) but also loss
 in respect of production time, damage to equipment, time to train replacement
employees and negative publicity amongst others.
 A recent article in BSC Safety Management magazine outlines an incident where a
business was ‘fined £274,000 after two workers became trapped in moving
machinery in two separate incidents’ (see 2 Sisters fined after finger and thumb
severed at poultry factory.) In the report, Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
inspector Saffron Turnell noted that “companies should be aware that HSE will not
hesitate to take enforcement action against those that fall below the required
standards.” It is cases like this one that should act as a warning for all business and
highlight the importance of risk assessments.

 Who is responsible for the completion of risk assessments?

 It is the responsibility of the employer (or self-employed person) to carry out the risk
assessment at work or to appoint someone with the relevant knowledge, experience
and skills to do so.

 The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 states that an
employer must take reasonable steps ‘for the effective planning, organisation,
control, monitoring and review of the preventive and protective measures.’ So even
if the task of risk management is delegated, it is ultimately the responsibility of the
management within any business to ensure it is effectively completed.

 Once hazards have been identified, the associated risks evaluated and steps taken to
minimise the potential effects, the next step for an employer is to clearly and
effectively communicate the risk assessment process and content to relevant
parties.
 The process of communication is more effectively achieved if the relevant persons
are involved with the risk assessment process at every stage. The person carrying out
an activity or task is often best placed to provide details on the associated hazards
and risks and should participate fully in the completion of the risk assessment.
 Additional training may be required - such as our Level 2 Award in Risk
Assessment to ensure that a review is completed accurately and effectively.

 When to carry out a risk assessment?

 A suitable and sufficient risk assessment must be carried out prior to a particular
activity or task being carried out in order to eliminate, reduce or suitably control any
associated risk to the health, safety and wellbeing of persons involved with (or
affected by) the task/activity in question.

 Once completed a risk assessment should be reviewed periodically (proportionate to

the level of risk involved) and in any case when either the current assessment is no
longer valid and/or if at any stage there has been significant changes to the specific
activity or task.
 Relevant risk assessments should be reviewed following an accident, incident or ill-
health event in order to verify if the control measures and level of evaluated risk
where appropriate or require amendment.

 How to carry out a risk assessment?

 The HSE has recommended a five-step process for completing a risk assessment. This
provides a useful checklist to follow to ensure that the assessment is suitably
comprehensive. It involves:
 Identifying potential hazards

 Identifying who might be harmed by those hazards

 Evaluating risk (severity and likelihood) and establishing suitable precautions

 Implementing controls and recording your findings

 Reviewing your assessment and re-assessing if necessary.

 Step 1. Identify potential hazards

 It is important to firstly identify any potential hazards within a workplace that may
cause harm to anyone that comes into contact with them. They may not always be
obvious so some simple steps you can take to identify hazards are:

 Observation: Walking around your workplace and looking at what activities, tasks,
processes or substances used could harm your employees (or others)
 Looking back over past accidents and ill-health records as they may identify less
obvious hazards
 Checking manufacturers’ data sheets, instructions, information and guidance

 Consulting with employees (and others) who are carrying out the activities, tasks or
processes.
 It may be useful to group hazards into five categories, namely physical, chemical,
biological, ergonomic and psychological.
 Step 2. Identify who might be harmed by those hazards
 Next, identify who might be harmed by those potential hazards. It should also be
noted how they could be affected, be it through direct contact or indirect contact. It
is not necessary to list people by name, rather by identifying groups including:
 Employees

 Contractors
 Some hazards may present a higher risk to certain groups including children, young
people, new or expectant mothers, new employees, home workers, and lone
workers.
 Step 3. Evaluate risk severity and establish precautions
 After identifying any hazards and who might be affected, it is important to evaluate
the severity the risk may present (should it occur) and establish suitable and
effective controls to reduce this level of risk as far as is ‘reasonably practicable’. This
means that everything possible is done to ensure health and safety considering all
relevant factors including:

 Likelihood that harm may occur

 Severity of harm that may occur

 Knowledge about eliminating, reducing or controlling hazards and risks

 Availability of control measures designed to eliminate, reduce or suitably control or

the risk

 Costs associated with available control measures designed to eliminate, reduce or

suitably control or the risk

 Assessing the severity of a risk requires an evaluation of the likelihood of an

occurrence and how substantial the consequences that it may cause. Some factors
affecting this evaluation include the duration and frequency of exposure, number of
persons affected, competence of those exposed, the type of equipment and its
condition, and availability of first-aid provision and/or emergency support.

 Step 4. Implement changes and record your findings

If a workplace has five or more individuals, significate findings of the risk
assessments are required to be kept either electronically or in writing. Recording
your findings on a risk assessment form is an easy way to keep track of the risks and
control measures put in place to reduce the identified risk. The form includes:

 What hazards were found

 Person(s) or groups affected

 The controls put in place to manage risks and who is monitoring them

 Who carried out the assessment

 On what date the assessment was done.

 It is sensible to ensure the risk assessment is proportionate to the activity or task

being carried out and this can often be a straightforward process for generic tasks.
 Step 5. Review your assessment and reassess if necessary

 Employers should periodically review the assessment and if necessary, re-assess any
controls in place.

 A good guide as to when you may need to review your processes are:
 After any significant change within the workplace or process in question
  After an accident or ill-health incident has occurred
 After near-misses have been reported.

 What documentation do you need?

 It is a misconception that risk assessments inherently involve a vast amount of

paperwork. It can be as straight forward as completing a basic risk assessment
form for many generic tasks or activities.

 However, employers should make sure they record significant findings including:

 Any hazards identified

 What controls are in currently in place, and information on any further control
measures that may be required
 Any individuals that have been identified as being especially at risk.

 There is no set amount of time that you are required to retain the risk assessment,
but it is best practice to keep it as long as is considered relevant to a particular task
or activity.

 Risk assessments are an integral part of ensuring the health, safety and wellbeing of
everyone within the workplace. The Level 2 Award in Risk Assessment course is a
short course recommended for anyone who has to carry out risk assessments or
wants to understand the process more fully.

Identify likelihood of occurrence of risk (probability)

Risk Likelihood is a qualitative assessment that explains how likely a Risk will occur.
Qualitative assessments are based on opinions; it is difficult to put an exact number on the
assessment. Risk Likelihood means the possibility of a potential risk occurring, interpreted
using qualitative values such as low, medium, or high.

This is in comparison with quantitative assessments, which use data and numbers. When
using a quantitative assessment, you typically speak about Risk Probability and percentage.
In other words, the probability is the anticipated percentage of possibilities that an
outcome will take place based on a parameter of values.

Acquisition Risk Management Probability Definitions

The risk rating is based on the probability of impact and the level of impact (manual
mapping approach):

Probability of Occurrence
 0 - 10% or Very unlikely to occur

11 - 40% or Unlikely to occur

41 - 60% or May occur about half of the time

61 - 90% or Likely to occur

91 - 100% or Very likely to occur

The probability is a single percentage number and does not have to be exact as long as the
group applies a consistent approach to estimating the probabilities for all the risks.
Make sure everyone is in agreement before moving on or get a decision from the program
manager.
Reference: Risk Matrix User's Guide, Version 2.2, by Pamela E. Engert and Zachary F.
Lansdowne, Mitre Document MP99B0000029, November 1999, The MITRE Corporation

Operational Risk Management Probability Definitions

 Frequent - Occurs often in career/equipment service life. Everyone exposed.

Continuously experienced.

 Likely - Occurs several times in career/equipment service life. All members exposed.
Occurs frequently.
 Occasional - Occurs sometime in career/equipment service life. All members
exposed. Occurs sporadically, or several times in inventory/service life.
  Seldom - Possible to occur in career/equipment service life. All members exposed.
Remote chance of occurrence; expected to occur sometime in inventory service life
 Unlikely - Can assume will not occur in career/equipment service life. All members
exposed. Possible, but improbable; occurs only very rarely.
Reference: Pocket Guide to Operational Risk Management

Other Risk Management Probability Definitions

The associated risk event represents a future event that may occur. When we assess the
probability a risk may occur, we are technically assessing a conditional probability; that is,

0 < Prob (A|B) < 1

where, A is the Associated Risk Event and B is the Condition Present. The following table
provides a guide for assessing risk event probabilities.

Risk Event Probability Interpretation Rating

> 0 - <= 0.05 Extremely sure not to occur Low

> 0.05 - <= 0.15 Almost sure not to occur Low

> 0.15 - <= 0.25 Not likely to occur Low

> 0.25 - <= 0.35 Not very likely to occur Low

> 0.35 - <= 0.45 Somewhat less than an even chance Medium

> 0.45 - <= 0.55 An even chance to occur Medium

> 0.55 - <= 0.65 Somewhat greater than an even chance Medium

> 0.65 - <= 0.75 Likely to occur High

> 0.75 - <= 0.85 Very likely to occur High

> 0.85 - <= 0.95 Almost sure to occur High

> 0.95 - < 1 Extremely sure to occur High

A risk event that is certain not to occur has, by definition, probability equal to zero. In this
case, we say the risk event does not exist. The table above does not assign a categorical
rating (i.e., High, Medium, or Low) to a risk event that is certain not to occur. A risk event
that is certain to occur has, by definition, probability equal to one. In this case, we say the
event is no longer a risk; on the IS upgrade, it is considered an issue that presently exists on
the project. The above table does not assign a categorical rating (i.e., High, Medium,
or Low) to a risk event that is certain to occur.

State the effect and consequence of risk (severity

Demonstrate correct use of Hazard matrix in ranking risk
What is a risk assessment matrix?
Many companies use a risk management tool, such as a risk assessment matrix, in the risk
evaluation process to determine the right steps in business decisions.
A risk assessment matrix can come in the form of a chart, where you plot the severity of
possible risk on one axis and the probability of this event occurring on another. You could
also format your matrix as a table by listing your potential risks in rows and entering the
probability and severity information as columns.

By providing a visual representation of complex data, you can use a risk assessment matrix
to facilitate and simplify the risk evaluation process and help you make more informed
decisions related to your business.
Related: What Is a Risk Analysis? How To Analyze Project Risk

The benefits of using a risk matrix

There are several benefits to creating and using a risk matrix to evaluate projects, including
that they help:
 Identify areas to reduce risk quickly and easily

 Explain specific risks in a clear way

 Prioritize and group project event outcomes

 Outline a foundational resource for subsequent detailed analysis

How to use a risk assessment matrix

To use a risk assessment matrix during the risk evaluation process effectively, take the
following steps:
1. Identify all potential risks
The first step in the risk assessment process is to identify potential risks. To maintain a
structure that is easy to manage, the risk assessment process offers a way to prioritize risks
by evaluating potential risks. After you identify all risks, the next step is to order risks from
most impactful to least impactful.

Read more: What Are the Responsibilities of a Manager?

2. Sort risks according to probability and impact
Now you are ready to sort risks according to their probability and impact.

Probability

This describes the likelihood of a risk occurring. You can use different approaches to sort risk
probability. Some companies, for instance, assign potential risks a probability percentage
that ranges from 0%—that is, no possibility of the risk occurring—to 100%, in which case the
risk is certain. Or, you can sort risks according to categories, such as:

 Unlikely: Put potential risks in this category if they are highly unlikely to materialize.

 Seldom: This category is for uncommon risks that have a small chance of
materializing.
 Occasional: Sort risks in this category that have a roughly 50-50 chance of taking
place.

 Likely: If a risk is probably to occur, you should place it in this category.

 Definite: This is for risks that are going to occur. When coupled with high impact,
you should regard this kind of risk as a priority, and address it right away.
Impact

This aspect of risk points to how severe the impact will be if a potential risk actually
manifests. The impact of a specific risk materializing could influence various aspects of the
project, and potentially, the company as a whole. In project management, companies often
evaluate risk impact according to the negative effect it may have on three important
aspects:

 Schedule: Will it negatively affect time frames for delivery?

 Cost: Will you have to adjust the budget?

 Technical performance: If the risk occurs, how will it affect performance?

As is the case with evaluating the probability of a risk, you could sort the severity of risk
impact in the following ways:
 Insignificant: Place risks that will have little to no negative impact on a project in this
category.
 Minor: Place risks that may have a slight negative impact on a project but will not
likely cause any major disruptions in this category.

 Moderate: This category is for risks that pose a moderate threat to operations.
 Critical: Place risks that pose a significant threat to the successful execution of the
project in this category.
  Catastrophic: This category is for risks that will in all likelihood jeopardize the whole
project and significantly impact daily operations should they occur. These risks are
high-priority.

3. Decide on risk ranking

Next, plot the risks according to their probability and impact on the risk assessment matrix.
After you plot the information, you will have a clear visual representation of what priorities
the potential risks should have.
For instance, risks that are very likely to occur and will have an extremely negative impact
on operations will appear as the highest-priority risks on the matrix. On the other hand,
those that are both unlikely to occur and pose no significant threats should they occur will
fall under low-priority risks.
4. Decide on preventative measures

Draw up contingency plans to deal with worst-case scenarios. This last step in the risk
assessment process helps you determine how you should deal with middle- and high-ranked
risks.

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Example of a risk assessment matrix

Here is an example of risk impact/probability chart that consists of varying degrees of risk
probability and risk impact:
The four corners of a risk impact/probability matrix show extremes that typically have the
most actionable insight and include:
 Low probability/ low impact: Risks in this corner of the chart are both low
probability and low impact. You do not need to pay attention to these risks.

 High probability/ low impact: This kind of risk poses a moderate threat to
operations. Although you should try to minimize the possibility of such events
occurring, you can manage these risks if and when they take place.

 Low probability/ high impact: This type of event will have a high impact on
operations, but the probability of them materializing is unlikely. In order to avoid
such risks occurring, you should take all possible preventative steps. You should also
put contingency plans in place to minimize the severity of the impact should the risk
manifest.
 High probability/ high impact: The risks in this category are the highest-priority risks
because they have a high probability of occurring and would also have a severely
negative effect on operations. This means that you should give these risks the most
attention and should take them into consideration in the daily decision-making
process.
Imagine you’re the assigned project manager on a high-stakes project. The project scope is
defined, key stakeholders are in agreement, you’re confident you can stay within the
budget, and the project team is ready to dive in.

They start working tirelessly to meet the agreed-upon objectives — and then an unexpected
risk meets you midway through the project. You never saw this one coming, so you have no
idea how you’re going to get the project back on track and see it through to success.

If only you had identified and assessed the risk during the project planning phase, you might
have felt more prepared to overcome it. That’s what a risk assessment matrix is used for
and why you need one for your projects.

What is a risk assessment matrix in project management?

Risks in project management are unexpected events that may or may not occur and impact
your project outcome in some way. According to the Project Management Institute (PMI),
analyzing and managing risks is a key practice in project management. It improves the
chances of successful project completion while reducing the consequences of any risk that
occurs.

Risks can appear related to any aspect of a project, including the budget, resources,
processes, or technology, to name just a few. While it can be easy to assume that all risks
bring negative consequences to the table, it’s essential to understand that positive risks can
also occur during the project life cycle.

A risk assessment matrix (sometimes called a risk control matrix) is a tool used during the
risk assessment stage of project planning. It identifies and captures the likelihood of project
risks and evaluates the potential damage or interruption caused by those risks.

The risk assessment matrix offers a visual representation of the risk analysis and categorizes
risks based on their level of probability and severity or impact. This tool is a simple, effective
way to get a holistic view of the project risks for all team members and key stakeholders.

Risk matrix example

Let’s take a look at a simple risk matrix example for a project. We’re using a 5x5, five-point
scale for the impact and probability in this matrix example, but use a scale system that
works best for your team. For example, you can use a 3x3 matrix for less granularity.
 Impact or Severity

Insignificant Minor Moderate Major Catastrophic

Medium-
Very Likely Low-Medium Medium High High
High

Low- Medium-
Likely Low-Medium Medium High
Medium High

Low- Medium-
Possible Low Medium Medium-High
Medium High

Low-
Unlikely Low Low-Medium Medium Medium-High
Medium

Very Unlikely Low Low Low-Medium Medium Medium

In this example, you see risk categories ranging from low to high and likelihood ranging from
very likely to very unlikely. Using it is as simple as any other matrix: You look for where both
of your criteria meet to get your risk rating.

Let’s say you’re the project manager for a new organization-wide software tool rollout and
will be working with a consultant to implement it. For this project, consultant delays are
possible due to a lack of resources on their end, and if a delay happens, the impact would be
major because it would impact the entire rollout plan. We’d categorize this risk as medium-
high based on the example matrix.

What are the benefits of a risk assessment matrix?

You might be wondering if it’s worth spending the time to assess risks and create a matrix
for all of your projects. Well, the benefits of a risk assessment matrix speak for themselves:

 You can prioritize all risks with an understanding of the level of severity. Having an
overview of all potential risks allows you to prioritize them against one another if
multiple risks occur. This prioritization will benefit your project team and help keep
them on track if the project does go awry.
 You can devise strategies and allocate resources for the unexpected. While it’s
impossible to fully plan for uncertainty, acknowledging and understanding what risks
could occur provides an opportunity to create action plans for those unexpected
 events. Appropriately planning for risks increases the likelihood of project
completion and success.
 You’ll reduce or neutralize the impact of risks that occur. The unexpected
consequences of a risk that’s not thought about in advance might feel more severe
and damaging than a risk identified and analyzed early on. Having an awareness of
the potential impact can reduce or neutralize the effect of a project risk before it
occurs. Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.

What are the challenges of a risk matrix?

While risk matrices can be very useful for identifying and preparing for project risks, they
are not an answer to all your project problems. Here are some of the challenges of risk
matrices:
 Inaccurate assessments: The risk matrix categories may not be specific enough to
compare and differentiate between risk levels accurately. The severity and likelihood
of certain risks are often subjective and therefore unreliable.

 Poor decision-making: Incorrectly categorized risks can lead to poor decision-making

since you do not have an accurate picture of potential issues.

 Doesn't account for timeframes: Risk matrices don't differentiate between risks that
could occur two weeks from now and risks that could occur in two years' time. There
is no consideration of how risks could change over the years.

 Can oversimplify risks: The complexity and volatility of risks can be oversimplified —
some risks remain the same over time, while others can change overnight.

How do you calculate risk in a risk matrix?

A risk matrix is a valuable tool for your project planning, and creating one doesn’t have to be
complicated. Follow these steps to calculate risk for a project of your own.

Step 1: Identify the risks related to your project

To complete your risk assessment matrix, you need to start by having an in-depth
understanding of your project — the scope, budget, resources, timeline, and goal. You’ll
need this information to help you spot the potential risks.

Identify as many risks as you can with your project team. Consider aspects like scope creep,
budgetary constraints, schedule impacts, and resource allocation as the starting points for
your risk identification process. Create a risk register complete with all of the identified
risks, as it will make it easier to create your matrix.

Step 2: Define and determine risk criteria for your project

No two risks and no two risk matrices are alike, which means you’ll need to work with your
project team and key stakeholders to define and determine the risk criteria you’ll use to
evaluate each risk you’ve identified.

Remember that two intersecting criteria need to be specified, each with its levels: the
probability or likelihood that the risk will occur and the severity or impact the risk will have.

Step 3: Analyze the risks you’ve identified

After you’ve identified and described all of the potential risks, the next step is to analyze
them. In your analysis, use your risk criteria to categorize each risk within its appropriate
severity level and probability.

Many matrices assign a number value to criteria. So, sticking with our example, you might
rate the impact ranging from one (insignificant) to five (catastrophic) and do the same with
likelihood, where one represents very unlikely, and five represents very likely.

Using the matrix, it’s then easy to multiply severity times likelihood to get a number value. A
risk that’s catastrophic and very likely would rank as a 25, whereas one that’s insignificant
and very unlikely would rank as a one. It’s a simple and intuitive way to compare and
understand risks.

Step 4: Prioritize the risks and make an action plan

Your final step is to prioritize the risks and create risk management plans to mitigate or
neutralize them, with your risks categorized accordingly. You’ll want to outline the steps
you’ll take if the risk does occur and the strategies you’ll deploy to help get the project back
on track.

How do you create a risk matrix in Excel?

Wondering how to make a risk matrix in Excel? Start by building a table that reflects the
probability and severity scales you’ve defined for your risk assessment. Here are a few tips
to help you get started:

 After you’ve created your table, add your labels to the rows and columns. Use the
columns for severity and rows for the likelihood of occurrence.
 Once you’ve labeled all of your column and row headers, add the definitions for
each probability and severity level you’ve outlined with your team beneath the
header title. This helps ensure the team is on the same page when ranking risks
within the matrix.
 Use formatting options to color coordinate the matrix for the best visual
representation. You can use the stoplight system (red, yellow, green) for high,
medium, and low risks, respectively. Using different colors allows any viewer to
easily distinguish the risks based on the likelihood that they will occur and the
amount of damage or interruption they’ll cause.

What do you do with risk matrix results?

 So, what does a risk matrix accomplish for you? The short answer is that your matrix
results help you create a risk response plan.

To start with, it’s crucial to address the risks that are ranked high or extreme.
Depending on the project and your team’s resources, you may only need to monitor
the medium and low-risk categories rather than taking immediate action.

Finally, reference your risk matrix throughout the project until it’s marked complete
and successful. Don’t make the mistake of not committing to risk management as an
ongoing process. Using this tool is a powerful way to support your project team and
mitigate any bottlenecks that stand in the way between them and a winning project.

Compile register of significant hazards

Safety and health record keeping
State the importance of keeping safety records

Why keep records?

Organisations must consider what records are kept, how long they are kept, how
they are kept and who has access to them.
There are a variety of reasons for keeping health and safety records.
 The business is legally required to do so. Certain legislation includes specific
requirements for keeping medical and health surveillance records, inspection
records, atmospheric monitoring records, accident, incident and disease records.
This duty is more extensive in high risk industries, eg under the Control of Major
Accident Hazards Regulations 2015. Other legally required records include safety
policies, employers’ liability insurance certificates, risk assessments and working
time records.

 To demonstrate compliance with legal duties and to show effective health and safety
management procedures are in place. Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors
and union health and safety representatives have a legal right to inspect health and
safety records. HSE inspectors can ask to see the health surveillance records made
under the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005. Inspectors appointed
under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 can ask to see fire risk
assessments, fire safety arrangements, fire drill and other relevant records.

 To use as part of a defence against prosecutions or claims for compensation. Under

the Woolf Reforms of civil procedure the defendant can be asked for disclosure of
relevant records. For an injury this includes the following documents:
  the Accident Book report and Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous
Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR) reports, if applicable
 treatment records

 health and safety committee minutes where the accident was discussed

 health and safety training records

 service or maintenance records of the work equipment

 all relevant risk assessments.

The defendant can ask for other relevant documents when other Regulations are
likely to be at issue, eg in cases where the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health
Regulations 2002 (COSHH) are relevant, there are 16 documents listed including the
risk assessment, records of the maintenance of personal protective equipment and
the examination of local exhaust ventilation.

 To provide data to monitor health and safety performance statistics and to show
trends or problems in health and safety procedures.

 To provide information for employees, eg safety policies and risk assessments.

Record keeping is not just ‘paperwork’, but has many purposes and benefits,
including:

demonstrating (to your workers, the regulator, investors, shareholders, customers

and so on) that you’re effectively managing work health and safety and complying
with the laws
demonstrating how you made your decisions about safety issues
providing a starting point for future decision making or risk assessments
helping you target training for your workers, managers and supervisors for the key
hazards in your workplace
helping you review risks following any changes to legislation or your business
activities.
Written records and statistics can help to: identify trends for unsafe conditions or
work practices so you can take steps to correct these potential hazards; provide
material for education and training;

List the important records to keep

What Are Important Documents?
 Legal identification documents. Social Security cards. Birth certificates. ...
 Tax documents. Tax returns. W-2s and 1099 forms. ...
 Property records. Vehicle registrations and titles. Mortgage statements, deeds and
bills of sale. ...
 Estate planning documents. Wills and trusts. ...
 Finance records. Pay stubs.
Minutes
Minutes should be taken for all meetings, especially the annual general meeting
(AGM) and management committee, as they serve as record of what happened
during a meeting (see also Meetings). Approved minutes provide an official record
of:
 attendance;
 business discussed;
 correspondence received;
 reports tabled;
 decisions made; and
 resolutions adopted.
The level of detail recorded in the minutes may vary between associations but any
decisions recorded should clearly state:
 what decision has been made;
 who will be responsible for its implementation;
 when the decision is to be implemented by;
 if the decision is to be reviewed, and if so, when and by whom; and
 who should be notified of the decision and how.
The minutes must also record when a committee member has disclosed a material
personal interest in a matter being considered by the committee (see also Individual
committee members’ responsibilities).
Notice of meetings
Notice of association meetings and special resolutions must be given to all members
within the notice periods specified in the rules of association. Copies of notices
showing the date issued should be kept in case of a later dispute. Notices are often
filed with the related minutes.
Certificate of Incorporation
The certificate of incorporation is issued when the association is first incorporated or
if a change of name occurs. It is important the certificate is stored safely as it is
evidence of the association's corporate status. The certificate can be required for
example, when applying for funding grants or opening a bank account.
 If the original certificate cannot be located the committee may apply
through AssociationsOnline for a duplicate certificate to be issued.
Financial records
The Act requires records to be kept of the association's finances. Taxation and
industrial legislation also require financial records to be kept. Access to accurate and
up-to-date financial information also ensures that the association and its services
remain viable.
The requirements of the Act are:
 associations must keep sufficient accounting (or financial) records so that the
financial transactions , financial position and performance of the association are
correctly recorded;
 these records need to be kept in a way that will allow true and fair accounts (or
financial statements) to be prepared, and so that these accounts can be conveniently
audited if required; and
 the financial records are required to be kept for at least seven years.
Depending on the association's annual revenue there may be additional accounting
requirements to be met. These requirements are discussed in detail in Accounts and
Auditing.
Annual report
Many associations compile an annual report that summarises the main
achievements and highlights of the past 12 months. There is no set format for an
annual report, but it is usually submitted to members at the AGM and includes:
 Chairperson's report.
 Staff report.
 Activity report.
 Annual statistics.
 Annual financial report.
 Interest stories, highlights and low points.
 List of staff, management and volunteers.
Where an annual report is produced, it is usual to include the annual financial report.
As an annual financial report is required under the Act, it is a convenient way of
ensuring that the association meets its obligation to submit its annual accounts to its
members at the AGM.
Many associations also distribute an annual report as a public relations exercise.
Some funding agreements require annual reports.
Employment records
 In addition to the records required by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and State
and Commonwealth industrial laws (see Employment), associations may wish to set
up employment-related record systems. These could include:
 Recruitment records such as job descriptions, selection criteria, related industrial
agreements, advertisements, selection processes and outcomes;
 formal records of any meeting or discussion related to issues of employee
performance and position review;
 formal documentation of all proceedings related to any grievance;
 records on staff training and professional development; and
 copies of all correspondence and memoranda relating to individual conditions of
employment, changes or requests.
Safety records
The following health and safety records should be kept in a separate file for easy
access and reference:
 complaints;
 incidents;
 risk management analysis;
 training details;
 safety committee minutes; and
 copies of specific management committee resolutions.
Insurance records
Copies of all insurance policies should be kept in a secure place. Changes to policies
should be updated on the files immediately when they are received.
Insurance policies may require an association to keep specific records for the
purposes of validating a policy. For example health declarations or assets registers.
Associations must notify their insurer as soon as possible after events such as an
accident, theft or fire. It is important associations keep copies of all notifications and
correspondence to prevent the possibility of any dispute regarding an association's
obligations.
Service delivery records
Some associations need to keep service delivery records in order to:
 acknowledge achievements;
 minimise risk of professional negligence;
 facilitate communications and change overs;
 ensure industry or professionally-based requirements are met; and
 assist in evaluation and planning.
This may take the form of statistic sheets, case files or employee reports. Funding
arrangements may also require certain records to be kept and reported on
Occupational accident investigation
Define accident investigation
What Does Accident Investigation Mean?
Accident investigation is a process of systematic collection and analysis of
information relating to a accident that led to the loss of property, time or health of
individuals, or even the loss of lives.
Accident investigation is the scientific and academic analysis of the facts that
occurred during an accident. An investigation is conducted to identify the root cause
of an accident in an effort to make recommendations or take corrective actions to
prevent the future occurrence of the same or a similar event.

Six steps for successful incident investigation

Organisations investigate business upsets because they are required to by law or

their own company standards, or the public or shareholders expect it. But, whatever
the motivation, the goal is to identify why the incident happened and to take action
to reduce the risk of future incidents.

Investigations often find that similar scenarios have occurred previously but, for a
variety of reasons, did not result in serious consequences. This is increasingly
recognised in high-risk industries where “near misses” are also investigated as well
as incidents which actually resulted in loss.

A six-step, structured approach to incident investigation (Fig 1) helps to ensure that

all the causes are uncovered and addressed by appropriate actions.
Figure 1 – Six steps of incident investigation

STEP 1 – IMMEDIATE ACTION

In the event of an incident, immediate action to be taken may include making the
area safe, preserving the scene and notifying relevant parties. The investigation
begins even at this early stage, by collecting perishable evidence, e.g. CCTV tapes,
samples.

STEP 2 – PLAN THE INVESTIGATION

Planning ensures that the investigation is systematic and complete. What resources
will be required? Who will be involved? How long will the investigation take? For
severe or complex incidents, an investigation team will be more effective than a
single investigator.

STEP 3 – DATA COLLECTION

Information about the incident is available from numerous sources, not only people
involved or witnesses to the event, but also from equipment, documents and the
scene of the incident.
STEP 4 – DATA ANALYSIS

Typically, an incident is not just a single event, but a chain of events. The sequence of
events needs to be understood before identifying why the incident happened.

When asking why, we need to identify the root and underlying causes, as well as the
direct causes. Failures and mistakes don’t just happen by themselves; organisations
allow error-enforcing environments that encourage direct causes to develop and
persist. Such environments, and the basic management failings behind them, are the
root causes – the ultimate source of the incident.

While human error plays a part in the majority of incidents, people are not generally
stupid, lazy, forgetful or wilfully negligent. Human errors occur because of
influencing factors associated with the work, the environment, an individual’s
mental or physical abilities, the organisation and its management systems. Any
investigation which sets out to find someone to blame is misguided.

STEP 5 – CORRECTIVE ACTIONS

Many investigations make the mistake of raising actions which deal only with the
direct causes – a quick fix, putting last-lines-of- defence back in place. By ignoring the
root and underlying causes, not only do they miss an opportunity to reduce the risk
of recurrence of the incident, but they also leave open the possibility that other,
dissimilar incidents may also occur, arising from the same, common root cause (Fig
2).
 Figure 2 – The potential for a single root cause to result in different types of business
upset

STEP 6 – REPORTING

The investigation is concluded when all outstanding issues have been closed out and
the findings have been communicated so that lessons can be shared. Communication
mechanisms include formal incident investigation reports, alerts, presentations and
meeting topics.

Accident registers
The definition of an incident register is a document or record of all the types and
occurrences of incidents which have taken place on a select project, site or team.
The primary purpose of assembling and analysing occupational accident data is to
provide knowledge for use in the prevention of occupational injuries, fatalities and
other forms of harm such as toxic exposures with long-term effects. These data are
also useful in assessing needs for compensating victims for injuries previously
 incurred. Additional, more specific purposes for the compilation of accident statistics
include the following:
 to estimate the causes and magnitude of accident problems

 to identify and prioritize the need for preventive measures

 to evaluate the effectiveness of preventive measures

 to monitor risks, issue warnings and conduct awareness campaigns

 to provide feedback for those involved in prevention.

Often, an overview of the number of accidents occurring on an annual basis is

desired. A frequency is often used for this purpose, comparing the number of
accidents to a measure relating to the risk group and expressed, for example, in
terms of accidents per 100,000 workers or per 100,000 working hours. Such annual
counts serve the purpose of revealing variations in an accident rate from one year to
another. However, while they may indicate the sorts of accidents that require the
most urgent preventive action, by themselves they do not furnish guidance as to the
form that this action should take.
The need for accident information pertains to the following three levels of function
that make use of it:

 At the workplace level within the individual enterprise, accident data are used in
local safety activities. The best opportunities for tackling specific risk factors are to
be found immediately at the workplace itself.
 At the level of authority responsible for legislation, accident data are used to
regulate the working environment and to promote safety at the workplace. It is
possible not only to exert control over the workplace at this level but also to carry
out general statistical analyses for use in overall preventive work.
 At the level of authority responsible for payments of compensation to accident
victims, accident data are used to help determine rates.

The Role of the Organization in Compiling Accident Information

In many countries it is a legal requirement that enterprises keep statistics of

occupational accidents which result in injury, fatality or toxic exposure to a worker.
The purpose of this is usually to call attention to risks that have actually led to these
types of accidents, with safety activities focusing chiefly on the particular accident
and the study of the event itself. However, it is more common for accident
information to be collected and recorded systematically, a function that is ordinarily
carried out at a higher level.
Since the actual circumstances of most accidents are special, wholly identical
accidents seldom occur, and prevention based on the analysis of the individual
accident very readily tends to become a highly specific matter. By systematically
compiling accident information it is possible to obtain a broader view of those areas
where specific risks are to be found, and to uncover the less obvious factors
instrumental in the causation of the accident. Specific work processes, specific work
teams or work with specific machinery can give rise to highly circumstantial
accidents. However, a close study of the types of accidents associated with a given
class of uniform work can disclose such factors as inexpedient work processes,
incorrect use of materials, difficult working conditions, or lack of adequate worker
instruction. An analysis of numerous recurring accidents will reveal the fundamental
factors to be dealt with when preventive action is taken.
Reporting Accident Information to Safety Authorities

Legislation requiring the reporting of occupational accidents varies widely from

country to country, with the differences chiefly relating to the classes of employers
and others to whom the laws apply. Countries that place significant emphasis on
safety at the workplace usually mandate that accident data be reported to the
authority responsible for supervising compliance with safety legislation. (In some
cases, legislation requires reporting of occupational accidents that result in absence
from work, the duration of such absence varying from 1 to 3 days in addition to the
day of the accident.) Common to most legislation is the fact that reporting is linked
with some sort of penalty or compensation for the consequences of accidents.
For the purpose of supplying a sound foundation for the prevention of occupational
accidents, it is necessary to secure accident information pertaining to all sectors and
to all types of trades. A basis of comparison should be provided at the national level
in order to allow prevention action to be prioritized and in order that knowledge of
risks associated with tasks across different sectors may be turned to good account in
preventive work. It is therefore recommended that the duty of compiling
occupational accident information at the national level apply to all occupational
accidents of a designated seriousness, no matter whether they concern employees
of firms or the self-employed, persons working at temporary jobs or regular salary
earners, or workers in the public or private sectors.
While employers, generally speaking, have a duty to report accidents, it is a duty
carried out with varying degrees of enthusiasm. The extent of compliance with the
obligation to report accidents depends on the incentives driving the employer to do
so. Some countries have a rule, for instance, according to which employers will be
compensated for an accident victim’s lost-time pay, an arrangement that gives them
good reason to report occupational injuries. Other countries penalize employers who
are found to be not reporting accidents. Where these sorts of incentives do not exist,
the merely legal obligation binding upon the employer is not always observed. It is
moreover recommended that occupational accident information intended for
 preventive applications be given to the authority responsible for preventive
activities, and be kept separate from the compensating authority.
What Information is to be Compiled?

There are three basic classes of information obtainable by means of accident

recording:
 Information identifying where the accidents occur - that is, sectors, trades, work
processes and so on. This knowledge can be used to determine where preventive
action is needed.

 Information showing how the accidents occur, the situations in which they occur and
the ways in which the injuries come about. This knowledge can be used to determine
the type of preventive action needed.
 Information relating to the nature and seriousness of the injuries, describing, for
example, the parts of the body affected and the health consequences of the injuries.
Such knowledge is to be used for prioritizing preventive action in order to ensure
that action is taken where the risk is highest.

It is necessary to compile a certain basic complement of data to properly document

when and where an accident occurs and to analyse how it occurs. At the enterprise
level, the data that are collected are more detailed than those assembled at the
national level, but reports generated at the local level will contain items of
information valuable at all levels. Table 1 illustrates particular sorts of information
that might be recorded by way of describing an individual accident. The items
especially relevant to the task of preparing statistics relating to the accident are
described more fully below.

Table 1. Informational variables characterizing an accident

Actions Items

Step 1

Activity of the victim: Component related to the

e.g., operating a activity of the victim: e.g.,
machine, performing power press, tool, vehicle,
maintenance, driving, floor, etc.
walking, etc.

Step 2

Deviant action: e.g., Component related to

explosion, structural deviant action: e.g.,
failure, trip, lost control pressure vessel, wall,
of, etc. cable, vehicle, machine,
tool, etc.
 Step 3

Action leading to injury: Agent of injury: e.g., brick,

e.g., struck by, crushed, ground, machine, etc.
trapped, in contact
with, bitten by, etc.

Accident identification number. All occupational accidents must be assigned a unique

identifying number. It is especially advantageous to use a numerical identifier for the
purpose of computerized filing and subsequent processing.

Personal identification number and date. Registration of the victim is an essential

part of accident identification. The number can be the worker’s birthday,
employment number, social security number or some other unique identifier.
Recording both a personal identification number and the date of the accident will
prevent duplicated registration of the same accident event, and also enables a check
to be made as to whether the accident has been reported. The link between
information contained in the accident report with the personal identification number
can be protected for the purpose of security.
Nationality. The nationality of the victim may be an especially important item of
information in countries with a significantly large foreign labour force. A double-digit
code number can be selected from among those listed in the DS/ISO Standard 3166.
Occupation. An occupation registration number can be chosen from the list of four-
digit international occupation codes supplied by the International Standard
Classification of Occupations (ISCO).
Enterprise. The name, address and identification number of the enterprise are used
in the recording of accidents at the national level (although the name and address
cannot be used for computer recording). The production sector of the enterprise will
usually have been registered with its industrial injury insurance carrier or recorded in
connection with the registration of its workforce. A numerical sector identifier can
be assigned according to the five-digit NACE international classification system.
The work process. A vital component of information relating to occupational
accidents is a description of the work process carried out at the time the accident
occurred. Identification of the work process is a prerequisite for accurately targeted
prevention. It should be noted that the work process is the actual work function
which the victim was performing at the time of the accident and may not necessarily
be identical to the work process that caused the injury, fatality or exposure.
The accident event. An accident event normally comprises a chain of events. There is
often a tendency on the part of investigators to focus on the part of the event cycle
in which the injury actually occurred. From the point of view of prevention, however,
 a description of that part of the event cycle in which something went wrong, and of
what the victim was doing when the event occurred, is just as important.
The consequences of the accident. After the injured part of the body is specified and
the type of injury described (this is done partly by coding from a checklist and partly
from the description in the event cycle), information is recorded describing the
seriousness of the injury, whether it resulted in absence from work (and for how
long), or whether it was fatal or involved invalidity. Detailed information in terms of
longer-duration absence from work, hospitalization, or disablement is normally
available from compensation offices and the social security system.

For recording purposes, the examination of accident events is therefore divided into
the following three information components:
 The activity associated with an accident is that which was being carried out by the
victim at the time of the accident. It is recorded by means of an action code and a
technology code. In this connection, the concept of technology is a broad one,
covering such instrumentalities as machines, materials, building components and
even animals. At present, there exists no international classification for technology,
although Denmark has developed a classification scheme for this purpose.
 The injury event is the deviant event which led to the accident. This is recorded by
means of a code for the deviation and by one or two codes for the technology which
formed part of the deviation.

 The mode of injury is recorded by using a code for the manner in which the victim
came into contact with the injury-causing factor and another code for the
technology which caused the injury.

The following examples illustrate the application of these categories of analysis:

1. In the event that a worker trips over a hose-pipe while walking and falls, striking his
or her head against a table, the activity is walking, the injury event is tripping over
the hose-pipe, and the mode of injury is striking the head against the table.

2. While a worker is standing near a wall, a tank explodes, causing the wall to collapse
on the victim. The activity is merely standing near the wall, the injury event is the
explosion of the tank, and the mode of injury is the impact of the wall upon the
victim.

Reporting Accident Information

The information to be obtained for each accident can be recorded in a report form
similar to that shown in figure 1.

Figure 1. Sample report form

The information from the report form can be recorded on a computer by using
classification keys. (Where international classification systems can be recommended,
these are mentioned in the description of the individual information variables, given
above.) Classifications for the other variables used to record occupational injuries
have been developed by the Danish Working Environment Service, and principles to
be used in establishing a harmonized recording system form part of a proposal
drafted by the European Union.

The Use of Accident Statistics

Accident statistics form a valuable instrument in a wide range of contexts: mapping,

monitoring and warning, prioritization of areas for prevention, specific prevention
measures, and information retrieval and research. One area may overlap with
another, but the principles of application vary.

Mapping

Mapping of occupational accident data involves the extraction of predetermined

sorts of information from an accumulation of registered data and the analysis of the
interrelationships among them. The following examples will illustrate the utility of
the mapping applications.
 Mapping of industrial sectors. Data relating to industrial sectors may be mapped by
extracting an appropriate selection of the reports contained in a data register and
carrying out the desired analysis. If a trade such as the building industry is of
particular interest, reports registered with the International Standard Industrial
Classification (ISIC) and coded from 50,000 to 50,199 (building and construction) can
be selected. Reports for this trade can then be mapped to show, for example, the
geographical location of the enterprises, and the age, sex and occupation of each
accident victim.

 Mapping of injuries. If selection is based on a specific category of injuries, the reports

can be extracted and mapped to show, for example, the trades in which these
accidents occur, the occupational categories involved, the age groups affected, the
activities in which the accidents occurred and the kind of technology most often
involved.

 Mapping of enterprises. An evaluation on the enterprise level of accident trends (and

thus of the internal work environment of the enterprise) can be carried out by
mapping the notified occupational accidents that have occurred over a given time
period. In addition, the enterprise will be able to compare its individual position with
regard to technology, composition of personnel and other areas of concern with the
trade as a whole, and thus determine whether its status in these respects is typical
of the trade. Furthermore, if a trade proves to contain a number of typical work
environment problems, it will be advisable to investigate whether these problems
exist within the individual enterprise.

Monitoring and warning

Monitoring is an ongoing surveillance process accompanied by warning of major

risks, and particularly of changes in such risks. Changes observed in incoming
accident reports either may be indicative of changes in the pattern of reporting, or,
more seriously, may reflect genuine changes in risk factors. Major risks may be said
to exist where there is a high frequency of injuries, where many serious injuries
occur and where there is a large human exposure group.

Establishment of priorities

Establishment of priorities is the selection of the most important risk areas or work-
environment problems for preventive action. Through the results of mapping
surveys and monitoring and warning activities, a register of occupational accidents
can be built which can contribute to this establishment of priorities, the elements of
which might include the following:

 risks involving serious consequences

 risks which carry a high probability of injury to a large proportion of the exposure
group
 risks to which large groups of people are exposed.

Data drawn from a register of occupational accidents can be used in the

establishment of priorities on several levels, perhaps at the overall national level or
at the more particular enterprise level. Whatever the level, the analyses and
assessments can be made on the basis of the same principles.

Prevention

Analyses and documentation which are used for preventive purposes are generally
highly specific and concentrated in limited areas which are, however, treated in
great depth. An example of such an analysis is the campaign against fatal accidents
conducted by the Danish National Labour Inspection Service. Preliminary mapping
surveys identified the trades and work functions in which fatal accidents occurred.
Farm tractors were selected as a focal area for analysis. The purpose of the analysis
was then to determine what it was that made tractors so dangerous. Questions were
investigated as to who drove them, where they were operated, when the accidents
occurred and, in particular, what types of situations and events led to the accidents.
The analysis produced a description of seven typical situations which most
frequently led to accidents. Based on this analysis a preventive programme was
formulated.

The number of occupational accidents in a single enterprise is often too small to

yield workable statistics for preventive analysis. An analysis of the pattern of
accidents may be able to be used to prevent repetition of specific injuries, but can
hardly be successful in preventing the occurrence of accidents which in one way or
another differ from earlier instances. Unless the focus of investigation is quite a large
enterprise, such analyses are therefore best performed on a group of enterprises of
very similar nature or on a group of production processes of the same type. For
example, an analysis of the lumber industry shows that accidents occurring with
cutting machines principally involve finger injuries. Transport accidents
predominantly consist of foot and leg injuries, and brain damage and eczema are the
most common hazards in the surface-treatment trade. A more detailed analysis of
the relevant work processes within the industry can reveal which situations typically
cause accidents. Based on this information, experts in the relevant industry can then
pinpoint when such situations are likely to arise, and the possibilities for prevention.
Information retrieval and research

One of the most common uses of such information systems as filing and library
systems is the retrieval of information of a specific and well-defined nature for the
purpose of safety research. For instance, in a study whose aim was to formulate
regulations concerning work on roofs, the doubt was raised whether any particular
risk was attached to such work. The prevailing belief was that people were very
seldom injured by falling from roofs while working. However, in this instance, a
 register of occupational accidents was used to retrieve all reports in which people
had been injured by falling from roofs, and a considerable number of cases were
indeed discovered, confirming the importance of continuing to formulate regulations
in this area.

Communicate safety and health issues

Importance of safety briefings

What are Safety Briefings?

Indeed, dialogue is the key component in order to maintain a safe environment for
managers, workers and site visitors. Depending on the workplace, then they can be exposed
to several risks such as chemicals and hazardous equipment. It is an obvious fact that
information about work-related hazards and risks are required for people to stay safe. This
also include suitable means for preventing injury and illness such as PPE amongst other
controls. In this regard, safety briefings can be a quite handy way to keep health and safety
as a primary concern in the workers minds by making them mindful about existing risks and
dangers. Likewise, well-organised safety meetings are useful for distributing essential safety
information to employees and offer them an opportunity to share their queries.
Significance of Safety Briefings

In order to ensure that employees are aware of the occupational health and safety risks
related to their work, a variety of industries use safety meetings for this purpose. Safety
briefings should be organised with a professional approach and with a great effort to ensure
that employees consider them as a crucial component of their jobs. When safety briefings
are conducted daily by supervisors for all workers, it supports in implementing an effective
health and safety culture.

There is no doubt that the workforce can be soothed by routines without safety meetings
which can gradually decline their vigilance and responsiveness to safety issues as their given
tasks become a part of their daily routines. Therefore, with the help of safety briefings the
workers can benefit from the health and safety reminders as they are informed by what
means they can stay safe and the way safety methods are required for them.
In addition to that, another key role played by the safety briefing is avoiding accidents in the
workplace, because due to lack of awareness or not repeatedly reminded about the
importance of safety. Certainly, avoiding work-site accidents can be beneficial for the
organisations and workers in financial aspects as well. Safety briefings are typically
organised by compliance officers, managers, supervisors, trainers and health & safety
officers, with the purpose of drawing the participants attention towards the hazards and risk
associated with their jobs. They are professionals with special expertise within the area and
choose the most relevant information to deliver based on a given project. Furthermore, risk
evaluation is also a very significant element of safety briefings. In these meetings recent
events impacting employee’s health and safety are reviewed so that this information can be
utilised to update current safety plans and practices to eliminate repetition of incidents.
Despite the fact that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or a different
regulatory agency require an employer to analyse work accidents and health issues, this
insight can determine the most value add topics for safety meetings. In the same way these
safety meetings can be shared on a company’s intranet, staff email, newsletters and on
workplace notice boards amongst others.

Implementation of Counter Measures

Moreover, the implementation of counter measures is another prominent feature of safety

briefing. A recognised hazard identification process is required by employers, which will
feed into and determine the topics for the safety briefings.
It is important the person carrying out the safety meeting is confident and able to
communicate effectively in groups. The person should focus on applicable issues and be
able to take counter measures in practical terms to prevent future incidents. Another
important factor for effective safety briefings is to make them interactive through questions
or activities involving the participants.

Above all, an organisation’s emphasis on safety can bring about a more encouraging and
progressive image of the organisation. This also contribute to preserving customer service
standards that might be affected undesirably as a result of employee being absent.

Housekeeping in the workplace

Housekeeping Reason One – Safety

This should be an obvious one but for some people it isn’t. Safety is an important aspect of
any construction project and trip and falls are a leading cause of incidents in our industry. If
a slab has material lying all over it chances are it’s more dangerous. If there is material
everywhere there’s a very good chance that someone could trip and fall over something or
rub on a sharp object and cause an incident for your project site.

Housekeeping Reason Two – Productivity

Picture this – you’re a worker who has a skid of material to deliver to a jobsite. You want to
pull the material on a skid steer to a location a hundred feet away. Unfortunately the jobsite
is a mess. You can’t get the skid there. So now you have to carry each component on the
skid back and forth to it’s intended location.

That workers time could have been reduced for material movement and they could have
spent that doing actual work if the jobsite was clean. Keeping material organized not only
allows workers to move their material better but it also allows people to find things quicker
therefore improving productivity on your jobsite.

Housekeeping Reason Three – Attitude

Messiness can affect your attitude – if a jobsite is messy the workers may think that the
leadership doesn’t care. A lack of caring can lead to poor quality and people trying to take
short cuts. A clean and organized jobsite indicates that the leadership team cares and is
looking out for the worjers and their work space. Morale and happiness can improve!

Housekeeping Reason Four – Perception

I can’t count the number of projects I’ve walked through that are four months from
occupancy, are a mess and look like a disaster. Typically everyone is in doubt that the
project will finish on time.

One of the first recommendations I make to them is to do a clean. Once the clean is
complete people’s perception changes and all of a sudden people start seeing the job as
nearly done. Just because we create mess with our work doesn’t mean it needs to be that
way.

Housekeeping is critical in construction and maintaining a clean jobsite can increase

productivity and improve perception of your overall jobsite. How do you manage
housekeeping on your project?

Benefits of obeying safety regulations

It can seem like a lot of work to create employee handbooks and policies. After all, shouldn't
your employees know that they shouldn't discriminate against a co-worker or give a female
subordinate a kiss on the cheek? The reality is most people want to do the right thing, but
sometimes they don't have the knowledge or self-awareness to do so, until you create the
rules. Obeying rules and regulations in the workplace creates an environment where
employees feel safe and comfortable to do their job effectively.
Legal Regulations Needed

Without question, employees should follow the law. But workplace rules might go beyond
basic legal requirements. The reason is that business owners and leaders don't want to
leave anything to interpretation. If a man and a woman are friends at church, and the man
greets her with a kiss on the cheek, there is nothing wrong or illegal with this. However, at
work a rule to have no type of contact like this helps prevent unwanted sexual harassment
lawsuits. Imagine if the man becomes the woman's boss or is in control of her promotion.
Even the innocuous kiss on the cheek can be used against him and the company by a
disgruntled employee who didn't get promoted.
Keeping consumer and employee information private is on the news almost daily with
internet breaches happening at the world's biggest organizations. People want to work and
do business with companies protecting their data. It is also important to protect the
company proprietary data to remain competitive in the marketplace. Not securing
computers or sharing passwords put company data at risk of stealing information, cyber
hacks and malware. These issues cost companies millions each year. Simply following the
security protocols can prevent the majority of problems.
Benefits of Rules and Regulations
In the most basic sense, the benefits of rules and regulations in business are that they
protect the company. By protecting employees, you protect the company from lawsuits.
Following rules and regulations help employees understand what is expected of them and
what will happen if they violate the rules. It makes for a stable office environment where
people feel safe to come to work, to be themselves and to go about their business. The
result is less turnover, more teamwork and higher company morale.

For the company, bottom line is profit. It costs money to recruit and onboard new people.
Lack of innovation or inefficiency results in slower production times, thus lower revenues.
Company morale has a direct effect on employee performance, as well. Happier employees
don't call in sick as frequently or come in late. People who feel safe at work will speak with
co-workers to resolve problems faster and more effectively. So, by having everyone follow
properly communicated rules and regulations, the team does better; thus, the company
makes more money.
Protecting Consumers

When employees follow rules and regulations, consumers also benefit. The first benefit is
working with happier, less-stressed employees when conducting business with the
company. The second benefit is that the employees feel comfortable that they are
protected and safe when working with the company. Both of these lead to customer
satisfaction, and ultimately, to customer loyalty. When customers are happy, there are
fewer complaints to deal with, thereby creating greater company morale and fewer costs
for servicing problems. It reduces product returns and increases profits, because returns,
restocking and dealing with unhappy customers comes with a financial cost. Reducing and
minimizing these costs helps increase the overall net profit.

It also allows customers to share positive experiences with friends and family. All of these
things help the business grow efficiently, and with a positive reputation. People like to do
business with companies they trust and like. If your team is following the rules and
regulations, this is the first step toward building that bigger public image for success.

The need to report accident at work

A workplace accident is defined as an accident arising in the course of employment which results in personal
injury*.

Workplace accidents are governed by the Safety, Health, and Welfare at Work Act 2005. The Act provides that
every employer must do everything, as far as reasonably practicable, to ensure the safety, health, and welfare
of their employees.

Personal injury is further defined in the Act to include:

1. Any injury, disease, disability, occupational illness, any impairment of physical or mental condition

2. Any death

that is attributable to work.

Why Is It Important to Report an Injury at Work?

Reporting your accident and following the correct accident reporting procedure in your workplace is crucial.
The accident report form is vital in providing information surrounding the circumstances of the accident, any
witnesses to the accident, etc. This information will be used for reference throughout your claim for damages.

Implementing your employer's accident reporting procedure can also prevent further accidents from occurring
under similar circumstances.

Additionally, it is important to report your workplace accident to allow the Health and Safety Authority (HSA)
to accurately update its statistics. This allows the HSA to promote safety in the workplace and push further
health and safety policies where needed.

The Most Common Accidents in the Workplace

As published in HSA’s Annual Review of Workplace Injuries (2021), manual handling injuries including injuries
sustained while lifting, slips, trips and falls were reported to have been the most common types of work-
related injuries.

Additional common causes of injuries in the workplace include:

 Building Site Accidents

Construction employers must ensure the safety of their employees. They must ensure the place of work is
safe, safe access to and from the site, the relevant training, and that every possible measure is taken and
equipment is provided to mitigate any risks on a building site.

 Warehouse Accidents

Warehouses contain many hazards and your employer has a duty to conduct regular risk assessments to
identify any potential hazards to ensure your safety. Common warehouse accident claims include manual
handling injuries, slips, trips, falls, vehicle collisions among others.

 Agency Worker Injury

While agency workers may not have the same employment rights as permanent workers, their rights in
relation to working and employment conditions are the same due to the EU Directive on Temporary Agency
Work.

 Retail Staff Injury

Retail employers are also required to ensure their employees safety at work and to provide their employees
with any necessary protective equipment and tools they may require.

 Farm Accidents

Agricultural workers are more than twice as likely to suffer an injury at work than in other sectors. Under the
2005 Act, farmers are required to have a safety statement in place due to the increased risks of the working
environment.

 Industrial Accidents

Industrial workplaces tend to have strict accident reporting procedures in place, and it is important that you
comply with your obligations if you suffer an injury.

 Roofer Injury

The nature of this occupation carries with it a certain level of risk. The Health & Safety Authority Code of
Practice for Safety in Roofwork gives practical guidelines for those involved in the roofing industry to protect
roofers. If you have been involved in a roofing accident, your solicitor will assess whether the accident was
caused by the employer, contractor, or supervisor breaching the regulations.

 Waiter Accidents

Common injuries waiters suffer include slips, trips and falls, burns and scalds, and cuts caused by knives and
broken glass. Restaurant owners are obliged to perform regular risk assessments under the 2005 Act If they
neglect their duty of care, you must still prove that the accident occurred as a direct result of that negligence
to make a waiter accident claim.

 Healthcare Worker Injury

If you suffer an injury while carrying out your duties as a healthcare worker, you may be able to claim,
particularly if your employer has not provided adequate staff, properly trained co-workers, or appropriate
lifting equipment. Healthcare worker injury claims are often made because of injuries suffered while turning or
lifting patients.

 Migrant Worker Accidents

Migrant workers are statistically more likely to work in industries with a higher risk profile such as agriculture,
construction etc. Migrant workers tend to be more hesitant in bringing a claim for compensation due to the
difficulties of being in a foreign country.

These are only some of the common accidents that occur in workplaces every day.

Why do People Not Report Their Accidents or Injuries?

Many employees will downplay the seriousness of an incident where the accident does not result in immediate
significant damages, which can lead to a harmful workplace culture and result in larger safety issues down the
line.

One of the largest concerns for employees when deciding whether to make a claim for compensation against
their employer is the possibility that their working relationship would be negatively affected.

This highlights the need to engage with an experienced solicitor who can progress the matter effectively and
professionally to reach a satisfactory resolution.

Which Workplace Accidents are Reportable?

The 2016 Regulations require that all accidents and dangerous occurrences are required to be reported to the
HSA where the employee has been unable to fulfil their duties for three consecutive days.

However, only fatal and non-fatal injuries are reportable to the HSA. Diseases, occupational illnesses or any
impairments of mental condition are not reportable.

Is It a Legal Requirement to Record Accidents at Work?

Yes, in line with the 2016 Regulations, an employer is legally required to keep a record of accidents in the
workplace for a period of ten years from the date of the incident.

Who is Responsible for Reporting Accidents in the Workplace?

Following a workplace accident, it is the employer’s responsibility to report the accident to the HSA.
Employer’s will often nominate a ‘responsible person’ who will likely be the manager and/or supervisor
working at the time of the incident.
Who Do You Report Accidents to in the Workplace?

An employee involved in a workplace accident should always report the incident to their manager and/or
supervisor. If this is not possible, the employee should follow the accident reporting procedure in the
workplace and report it to their superior at their earliest

Safety and health precautions

10 Workplace Safety Tips Every Employee Should Know

Indeed Editorial Team

Updated March 10, 2023

Whether you work outside, at a desk or with heavy machinery, there are hazards in your work environment to
know of. It’s important to note the potential dangers in your environment to avoid workplace injuries.

In this article, we’ll explain what workplace safety is, who’s in charge of making sure the work environment is
kept safe and list tips for ensuring that you and your workplace are safe at all times.

Related: Guide to Safety Responsibility in the Workplace

Why is workplace safety important?

When a company provides a safe work environment, they are protecting themselves, their employees and
their customers. It is important to follow guidelines and procedures to remain compliant with local and
national occupational safety authorities.

A safe workplace is a happy workplace, as it creates a more comfortable and conducive environment for
employees to effectively do their jobs. However, providing a safe workplace is an important part of client
relations as well. If the office or work area is unsafe for employees, then it is definitely unsafe for your
untrained clientele.

Related: What You Should Know About Workplace Hazards

Who’s in charge of keeping the workplace safe?

In some organizations, it is the Human Resources department that is in charge of making sure safe workplace
standards are being met. Other companies may not have a HR representative, and in that case, management
and supervisors would ensure the workplace is kept safe. However, in reality, it is the responsibility of
everyone to create and maintain a safe and functional work environment.

Related: Human Resources: Definition and How it Works

Workplace safety tips

Here is a list of workplace safety tips that you should incorporate into your daily routine:

1. Use tools, equipment and machinery properly

Proper use of tools and machinery can prevent injuries. Only operate machines you are trained or certified to
use and ensure that they are cleaned and maintained regularly. You should always use machines and
equipment for their intended purposes. Use equipment such as a wheelbarrow or a forklift to help you lift and
move heavy items to prevent straining or injuring yourself.

2. Report any unsafe conditions

Fix any unsafe conditions or workplace hazards as soon as you notice them. If it is dangerous for you to
remove the risk, notify a supervisor right away.

3. Wear all necessary safety gear

Always wear the necessary safety equipment. The proper safety gear in your workplace could be reflective
gear, fire-retardant clothing, industrial workwear or something as simple as nonslip shoes. Be sure to always
wear a breathing mask if your space has debris or dust, or if you have to deal with toxic or dangerous
chemicals or fumes.

4. Keep your workplace clear from clutter

Having a clean workspace will positively impact your job satisfaction and keep you and your coworkers free
from danger. You could trip and fall over scattered objects and they could hide another hazard you cannot see.

5. Stay hydrated

Drink enough water to remain alert and avoid dehydration. Even in the winter, it is essential to stay hydrated
with water and warm liquids to prevent lightheadedness and lack of focus.

Related: Culture of Safety in the Workplace

6. Practice good posture when sitting or lifting

Use ergonomic desks and keyboards to avoid straining your wrists and arms. Sit up straight, keep your
shoulders in line with your hips and lift with your legs when you are moving objects. Poor posture can cause
strain on your back, neck and shoulders, which can lead to serious injury.

7. Take regular breaks

Look away from your computer screen regularly to avoid eye strain. Taking regular breaks allows your body an
opportunity to rest from the tasks you are doing. When you return, you will be more focused and have a
higher level of concentration.

8. Be aware of your surroundings

Being aware of your surroundings is paramount to avoiding workplace injuries. Here are some things to be
aware of in your environment:

 Look for spills or items on the floor that could be tripped over.

 Note the appropriate safety equipment and gear for each task you are doing.

 Choose mechanical aids such as a forklift or wheelbarrow to help lift items and encourage others to
do the same.

 Keep emergency exits clear and uncluttered so they are accessible in the event of an emergency.

 Use tools and machines properly to avoid injury and encourage other workers to do the same.

 Label hazardous areas and materials with appropriate signage.

 Know where the first aid kits are and which staff members are trained to administer first aid if an
injury occurs.

 Know of the emergency procedures in the event of a fire, flood or earthquake.

 Only use secure, steady ladders and never use boxes or anything else as an improvised ladder.

 Test railings first before using them to make sure they are secured properly.

9. Never take shortcuts

Procedures exist to keep workers safe. Though skipping a step or not wearing safety gear may save you time, it
isn’t worth getting injured over. Use every tool and machine according to the instructions.

10. Remain aware of new safety procedures

Though it is the responsibility of the company to make staff aware of new safety procedures, it is your
responsibility to make sure that you fully understand the information. If you’re unsure about a new procedure,
ask questions.

Define safety audit

What is the meaning of safety audit?

A health and safety audit is an assessment of a company's systems, procedures, and policies related to
employee health and safety to ensure compliance with current regulations.

Safety audit procedures

5 Steps to a Successful Safety Audit

BY NEW PIG TECHNICAL TEAM

Nobody at your facility has been hurt in more than a year. Weekly inspection forms are returned with no non-
compliances. Are the facility’s safety plans really working that well or is it just luck? Conducting a safety audit is
one of the proven ways to answer that question.

Audits evaluate the effectiveness of safety plans, double-check that processes are still accurate and determine
if established procedures are being followed. Because they can be time-consuming, facilities don’t tend to
perform audits frequently. But like preventative maintenance schedules for equipment, audits can help you
catch and prevent injuries and fatalities.

Audits are often voluntary. When this is the case, facilities have the liberty to determine the scope of an audit
as well as the frequency. Audits may also be required by regulations and standards or as part of an
enforcement action from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

No matter what the reason is for conducting an audit, facilities that perform audits are better able to identify
emerging safety issues before they become problems. An audit can also help serve as a catalyst for necessary
changes to improve employee safety.

Not sure where to start with a safety audit? Follow these five steps and you’ll be on your way to catching
hazards:

Step #1: Preparing for an Audit

Before starting, it is crucial to determine who will perform the audit and what the team will be auditing.

Some facilities hire external consultants that specialize in safety auditing. Others use an internal auditing team
comprised of individuals from different areas of the company. When you’re using an internal auditing team,
it’s imperative to choose a diverse team that includes production line workers, managers and individuals from
other areas of the company. The more diverse the team, the broader the perspective will be. Where the
production line employee will have in-depth knowledge of a procedure, someone from outside the area can be
a fresh set of eyes to discover overlooked issues. No matter who is on the team, ensure that everyone has
been trained in how to audit so they understand the necessary tasks to complete a successful audit.

Because you can audit anything, it is important to determine the scope and set objectives before beginning
any audit. Reviewing applicable standards and codes that apply to the audited processes or areas can help the
audit team members set objectives and add to their skill sets. The results of previous audits can be another
source of information for the team to review, especially if an objective is to determine if the recommendations
of a previous audit have been implemented and are working.

Step #2: Conduct the Audit

Audits help companies assess and improve their processes and plans, which should improve employee safety.
Audits can also be used to track progress toward safety goals. As such, audits gauge both what is working well
and what may need to be improved.

During the audit, written plans, procedures and other documents should be reviewed, which can help auditors
to establish a baseline to compare the written process with actual action. Part of this review includes looking
for strengths and weaknesses in the procedures — both in what is written down and what is happening on the
floor.

Talking with employees who operate machinery or otherwise follow the procedures being audited provides
additional insight. Because they use the process regularly, they should be able to fully explain not only how
things operate, but also what works well and what could be done differently.

Some audit teams use checklists during audits. Others simply take notes on their observations. Because audits
are specific to the facility and are designed to meet the objectives that the facility has established, it is up to
your facility to determine which methods work best for capturing the information.

Step #3: Create an Audit Report and Recommended Actions

After the audit, team members should compile all notes into a report that summarizes findings. The review
should include the audited areas, who conducted the audit and a list of interviewed persons.

A good audit report is objective and concise, including both positive and negative findings. It is also reflective
of the findings and perspective of all team members. In addition to the findings, a complete audit report
includes a list of recommended actions and areas for improvement, based on the audit findings.

Step #4: Set Corrective Action Priorities

Audits can reveal the need for both major corrective actions that need to happen immediately and minor
actions that the company should consider for continual improvement. The list may be short or long. No matter
what the list consists of, it is unlikely that you can address each issue right away.

The audit team should work with managers and supervisors to set priorities based on the level of hazard each
finding presents. Items that pose the largest risk should receive priority over items with lower risk values.

After prioritizing the items, the team typically assigns tasks, as well as completion and review dates. The team
should also outline how completed tasks should be recorded so items can be reviewed during future audits.

Step #5: Publish Audit Results

Employees like to know what’s going well and where improvements will happen. Posting audit results on
company intranet pages, in common areas or other appropriate venues encourages transparency and lets
workers see the status of safety in their facility.

Posting audit results also helps everyone understand any changes that may be necessary and how those
changes will increase their personal safety. It also acknowledges the audit team, as well as the contributions of
managers and employees who were part of the process. These acknowledgments can stimulate conversation
and goodwill during future audits.

Conducting safety audits takes time and effort, but like all things that require time and effort, they provide
worthwhile results that move a company’s safety efforts forward. Audits also trigger proactive safety changes
that can help prevent employee injuries, illness and death.

Safety audit checklist

Health surveillance is any activity that involves getting information about an employees' health to help protect
them from health risks at work. Some are required by law (health surveillance) and others are carried out as
good practice (health checks).

A definition of surveillance is as follows: “surveillance (ser-vâ1lens) noun. 1. Close observation of a person or

group, especially one under suspicion. 2. The act of observing or the condition of being observed” (The
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 3rd edition, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992).

The term “surveillance” is derived from the French word meaning “to watch over”. In public health,
surveillance was originally developed as part of efforts to control infectious diseases, but the principles of
surveillance can potentially be applied to other problems such as chronic diseases (for example, cancer and
coronary heart disease), social problems (for example, drug addiction), and the threat of bioterrorism. 1

Surveillance is a core activity in the practice of occupational health. Two broad groups of surveillance are
commonly performed—hazard surveillance and health surveillance. While the focus of the former is hazards at
the workplace, the latter type of surveillance pertains to the health of a person of group of workers. Both have
important roles in occupational health practice and are complementary.

The focus of this paper will be on chemical and biological exposures and related diseases. In many countries,
occupational health concerns include psychosocial and ergonomic issues in the work environment and related
problems and adverse health outcomes. These issues will not be addressed in detail in this paper, but
surveillance programmes for such concerns have been developed, for instance, in Nordic countries.

HAZARD SURVEILLANCE

Hazard surveillance has been defined as “the process of assessing the distribution of, and the secular trends in,
use and exposure levels of hazards responsible for disease and injury”. 2 For this type of surveillance to be
considered, a clear “exposure–health outcome” relation must already have been established. The surveillance
of hazards should result in action to reduce exposure in workplaces where indicated. This will eventually
reduce the disease burden arising from hazardous exposures.

Hazard surveillance can be incorporated into part of an existing national or regional system used for other
purposes, for example, registries of usage of toxic substances or discharges of hazardous materials, or
information collected by regulatory agencies to check for compliance. One example of this is the carcinogen
registry in Finland.3 Regulatory authorities in many other countries have registries of factories or work
processes.4 Another approach is to have exposure surveys or inspections. In some countries such as the USA,
periodic national occupational exposure surveys are conducted. 1 This is often based on a representative
sample of defined workplaces or processes.

Another method of hazard surveillance is the recording of hazardous occurrences in specific occupational
groups, such as needlestick or sharps injuries among health care workers. 5 At the individual workplace,
computer software packages containing exposure databases, can be used to assist in hazard surveillance.

There are several advantages and benefits of hazard surveillance. Firstly, the surveillance of hazards eliminates
the need to wait for disease to occur before taking steps for prevention. This is a considerable advantage, as
many occupational illnesses take time to develop.

Secondly, the activity of identifying single hazards is generally easier than the detection of disease. Diseases,
which have long latent periods, may also have multifactorial aetiologies—thus diagnosis can be complex. The
focus on hazards ensures a direct attention to preventable causes of the disease.

However, while monitoring of individual hazards is easier to implement, integrated exposure databases and
surveillance systems for combined exposures potentially offer a greater promise for improving health and
safety at work.6 As not every exposure results in disease, hazardous situations would be expected to have a
higher frequency of occurrence. This allows an opportunity to monitor trends or observe emerging patterns in
exposure to workplace hazards. The information can be used to predict or project future disease burdens
where prevention is not adequate.
Confidentiality of health information may pose a threat to public health surveillance. 7 But unlike health
surveillance, in hazard surveillance confidentiality of records that infringe on individual privacy is not an issue.
However, there could be a practical difficulty with hazard surveillance in dealing with confidentiality of trade
secrets and propriety information on the amount and composition of chemicals used in different industrial
processes.

HEALTH SURVEILLANCE

Health surveillance can either take the form of periodic clinical and/or physiological assessment of individual
workers, or the public health review of the health status of groups of workers. For the individual, the rationale
is to detect adverse health effects resulting from occupational exposures at as early a stage as possible, so that
appropriate preventive measures can be instituted promptly. This is a form of secondary prevention. The
findings from health surveillance can be used to indicate the absence of a significant hazard, the adequacy of
control measures, individuals at increased risk, baseline medical data, benchmarks for preventive action, and
opportunities to provide health education. Another function is to quantify the incidence and prevalence of
occupational and work related disease.

The criteria for health surveillance are:

1. If it is not possible in practice to further reduce exposure to a known hazard—for example, in

situations where the presence of the hazard is essential or inherent to the work process, and no other
feasible alternatives are available. There may be an ethical dilemma involved in considering what
constitutes an essential part of an industrial process versus the extent of acceptable risk to those who
have to be exposed in the course of their work.

2. If the relation between the extent of exposure required to produce a health effect is not well defined,
as in exposure to sensitisers and carcinogens. For sensitisers, a level of exposure may be required to
sensitise an individual, but the triggering dose necessary to elicit an effect in those already sensitised
may be very small and much lower than the sensitising dose. For carcinogens, it is uncertain what
long term effects may ensue at the cellular level from exposure to small amounts of a known
carcinogen. The body’s defence mechanisms may be able to eliminate cellular effects from exposure
to low doses of carcinogens, but the dose which results in a change that initiates the carcinogenic
process irreversibly is often not well determined.

Defined groups of persons with specific short term exposures have been placed under long term health
surveillance for possible health effects. In some instances, the long term health effects of the specific hazard
are unclear. A current example is the health surveillance of soldiers who were exposed for a short period to
depleted uranium during their combat operations. 8

In practice, there may be legislation requiring health surveillance, or there may be pressure to initiate health
surveillance because of concerns related to unique circumstances of exposure, case reports of clusters of
disease, or media and political attention.

Confidentiality of health surveillance data is an important issue. The person who administers the surveillance
programme has responsibilities to the employee, the employer, and national statutory bodies, and this often
gives rise to conflicts of interest. Guidelines on how such conflicts may be overcome for the information to be
used effectively can be obtained from ethical codes, such as those produced by the American College of
Occupational and Environmental Medicine, or the Faculty of Occupational Medicine in the UK.

Clinical and physiological assessments

Periodic clinical and physiological assessment of specified groups of individual workers may be performed to
detect early effects of exposure to occupational hazards. The screening procedures could include symptom
review, clinical assessment, medical examination, special investigations, and determination of immune
status.9 The principle is for exposed workers with early subclinical changes to be removed from further
exposure so as to reverse the early changes. The surveillance programme should be based on good evidence
that the changes are indeed reversible. Periodic chest x ray examinations to detect pulmonary effects from
exposure to asbestos and other fibrogenic dusts may identify the presence of fibrosis, but the prospects for
reversing the changes even on cessation of further exposure are poor. As such, there is doubt as to whether
periodic x ray examinations have any material benefit for such workers. 10 It is essential that where health
effects are detected during such surveillance, the workplace exposures should be reassessed, and control
measures further improved.

Symptom review involves enquiry of the experience of relevant symptoms from exposure to specific
occupational hazards. Clinical assessment is performed to decide whether these symptoms are likely to be due
to workplace factors. This process takes into account the nature (for example, physical, chemical, mechanical,
biological, psychosocial) and extent of workplace exposure and other concurrent exposures at work and home,
and involves consideration of the differential diagnoses. For example, a case of peripheral neuropathy in a
middle aged worker could result from occupational exposure to n-hexane, and/or diabetes mellitus. A practical
alternative to regular symptom enquiry is to provide a list of relevant symptoms and/or signs to exposed
workers, and instruct them to report experience of these health effects for further clinical evaluation. For
example, workers exposed to workplace asthmagens can be given a symptom list that includes chest tightness,
wheeze, breathlessness, and nocturnal cough. The process can be extended to self examination, as in the case
of electroplaters exposed to chromic acid examining their hands for the presence of “chrome ulcers”.

Pre-employment examinations are sometimes advocated as a means of providing baseline information for
occupational health surveillance. In many countries, new employees undergo pre-employment medical
examinations as a matter of convention. In practice, the main focus of such examinations appears to be not
necessarily as a pre-placement procedure, but often for assessing the current state of general health, or for
medical insurance purposes. In addition, there may be national regulations that stipulate pre- and periodic
medical examination for specific occupational groups.

Statutory health surveillance

Statutory periodic medical examinations, for workers exposed to prescribed hazards, is another form of
surveillance that is practiced in many countries. The requirements vary between countries. For example, in the
United States, OSHA (Occupational Health and Safety Administration) standards require employers to provide
employees with access to medical screening examinations when they are exposed to substances such as those
listed below in table 1. There is also a requirement that records should be maintained for the duration of
employment plus 30 years, and access of the employee to his or her personal records should be granted on
request.11 Availability of records for epidemiological studies is often given as a reason for retaining records for
a period after cessation of occupational exposure.

Observation of work procedures

Use of CCTV o Analysing accident records

Medical examinations

Analysing illness records

Sickness absence monitoring

Define safety and health committees

Why are safety and health committees important?

Safety and health committees are formal safety and health consultative groups that provide a prescribed
forum for discussion about safety and health matters at mining operations.

They are important because they facilitate consultation and cooperation between employers, management
and workers in developing and implementing safety and health measures and monitoring programs.
The benefit of safety and health committees is that they bring management and worker representatives
together in a planned, structured and focused way, providing a means for developing policies and procedures
of significance to the whole organisation.

Role/What does a safety and health committee do?

Safety and health committees:

 enable and assist consultation and cooperation between employer and employees on safety and
health matters

 help initiate, develop and implement safety and health measures

 keep informed about safety and health standards in similar workplaces

 make recommendations on safety and health rules, programs, measures and procedures at the
workplace

 ensure information on hazards is kept where it is readily accessible

 consider and make recommendations about changes that may affect the safety and health of
employees

 consider matters referred to them by safety and health representatives

 carry out any other functions relating to workplace safety and health prescribed in the Act or
regulations or given to the committee, with its consent, by the employer.

The committee may also deal with policy development, monitoring programs, emergency procedures, training
and supervision, trends in accident and illness reports, and resolution of safety and health issues.

Define safety awareness signs

A safety sign provides information about safety or health and can be a signboard, colour, acoustic signal,
verbal communication, or hand signal.

Classification of safety signs

1 Danger warning signs

What are the types of safety signs?

In their specifications for accident prevention signs and tags, OSHA recognizes multiple types of safety signs.
Following recommendations from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), they also outline how to
use these signs properly. This means all signs must use the same design features, wording, positioning
and colors to ensure worker safety and meet the necessary standards.

These safety signs are required to have clear writing that is easy to read and understand. They should use
rounded edges and be fastened or posted in a way that does not pose any further hazards. Signs should be
used only for as long as necessary and removed once the hazard is no longer present.

Using ANSI’s standards, OSHA has created unique requirements for each type of recognized safety sign:
Danger signs

Danger signs are used to warn people of “immediate danger” in the workplace and take whatever precautions
are necessary. These signs are reserved for the most severe hazards in the workplace, such as warning against
radiation or high electrical voltage.

Danger signs must be red on the top panel, white on the lower panel, and black around the borders. The word
“DANGER” must be prominently featured in the top panel.

Caution signs

Caution signs are used to alert employees to more moderate risks, such as a slippery floor or an employees-
only area. They may point out potential hazards or provide steps to avoid hazards.

Typically, caution signs have a yellow background with black text. They may also use yellow lettering
surrounded by a black panel. No matter which style you choose, the sign must read “CAUTION” near the top. A
safety message or symbol may follow.

In certain circumstances, you may be able to use a warning tag instead of a caution sign. A warning tag exhibits
the level of hazard — more hazard than a caution sign but less than a danger sign. These tags should read
“WARNING,” followed by a message describing what the sign is warning against.
Exit signs

OSHA requires organizations to display exit signs throughout the workplace — including at exit doors, the
intersection of hallways, and stairways — to signify where entrances and exits are located. Not only is this
helpful for people finding their way around the workspace, but it could mean the difference between life and
death during an emergency.

Exit signs are usually white and red or green, though certain municipalities may permit you to use other colors.
The background may be white with red or green lettering, or the inverse. At a minimum, the letters must be six
inches high and three-quarters of an inch wide. The more exit signs the better so feel free to provide additional
messaging to stimulate proper navigation.

Instructional signs
Instead of warning employees about potential hazards, instructional signs provide information. They may
remind workers about proper procedures or policies they must follow, such as when operating
machinery or wearing personal protective equipment.

Unlike some of the previously mentioned signs, instructional signs don’t indicate serious risk. Thus, a danger or
caution sign may be unnecessary in these circumstances. Still, workers need to follow these instructions to
stay safe and healthy. There could be negative consequences if they fail to do so.

Traffic control signs

Depending on where you work, you may also need to display signs to control traffic and parking. These signs
may designate where drivers can park, indicate where pedestrians can safely walk or remind people about the
rules of the road (such as the stop signs). These signs help protect everyone who comes near your workplace
or job site, including employees and passersby.
Accident prevention tags

Accident prevention tags are used only for temporary hazards. They’re most commonly used to indicate that
equipment is broken, out of service or due for repairs. Use a tag only when there is no permanent or specific
sign available.

Safety signs and symbols clearly play a major role in a safe workplace. They work in conjunction to keep
employees safe. And since there are many different kinds — and varied situations that dictate what sign and /
or symbol is required — digging into the details is important to ensure you’re accommodating the safest
situation. Beyond signs that are required, you’ll likely have a temporary need or two that describes a situation
or environment in your workplace that employees need to be aware of.

Formulate standard on-site safety precautions

10 Simple Construction Site Safety Rules

 Wear your PPE at all times. ...

 Do not start work without an induction? ...

 Keep a tidy site. ...

 Do not put yourself or others at risk. ...

 Follow safety signs and procedures. ...

 Never work in unsafe areas. ...

 Report defects and near misses. ...

 Never tamper with equipment.

Define first aid as related to occupational health and safety

First aid refers to medical attention that is usually administered immediately after the injury occurs and at the
location where it occurred. It often consists of a one-time, short-term treatment and requires little technology
or training to administer.

State the importance of first aid

At first glance, the workplace may seem like a secure environment. However, you still need to be prepared for
any emergencies that arise. An accident can happen at a moment’s notice, necessitating an immediate medical
response from those nearby. If an injury occurs in the workplace, do you have anyone who is prepared to step
up and help?

As a company, you are legally obligated to ensure your workers receive immediate attention in case of an
emergency. This is why many companies invest in CPR and first aid training for their employees. The workplace
first aid training equips each employee with fundamental health and safety knowledge. In this training
program, your staff will learn extensively about first aid kits and how to use them in an emergency.

The importance of workplace first aid training is recognized across business industries, including construction,
restaurants, and healthcare facilities. By learning first aid, your staff can potentially reduce the severity of
injuries or diseases during emergencies. Along with an increased familiarity with safety protocols, there are
many benefits of first aid training in the workplace.

In addition to your legal requirements under First Aid Regulation 1101, here are six reasons why first aid
training is important and beneficial for workplaces:

1. Workplace first aid training can save lives.

The most important reason to take first aid training is that it can potentially save lives. If there is an accident in
the office, is there someone qualified to come to the rescue? When your employees know first aid training,
they will have the ability to respond quickly to an injury or accident. As a result, they can follow the suitable
safety protocols to minimize any health risks.

Part of the workplace first aid training involves learning about CPR. Also known as cardiopulmonary
resuscitation. CPR is issued in the event of a severe occupational accident, injury, or health problem. In the
appropriate situations, applying CPR can keep the blood flowing and provide oxygen to important organs. The
ability to perform CPR properly may make a significant difference in life-or-death scenarios.

2. Workplace first aid training can reduce accidents.

Often, work environments like construction sites are hotspots for injuries. There are numerous types
of construction workplace hazards, which can range from mechanical mishaps to slip-and-fall accidents. Many
of these injuries occur because the workers are not informed about the safety best practices. As a result, they
perform dangerous actions that have a high level of risk.

First aid training makes employees more knowledgeable about potential threats and hazards that cause
injuries. Employees who take workplace first aid training are more aware of occupational safety. Their ability
to identify hazards and avoid dangerous scenarios will lead to reduced accidents. They will also develop safer
habits and alert others about the dangers in their surroundings.

3. First aid provides pain relief.

When someone suffers a severe injury, immediate first aid can alleviate the pain and keep further harm at bay.
The first aid kit includes tools and uses a simple approach to relieve pain as much as possible. The qualified
individual then applies an ice pack or gives the victim an appropriate massage to relieve the pain.

Without the workplace first aid knowledge, an untrained person might be unable to manage the situation.
Their misguided attempts to help the victim may even aggravate the injury further. First aid will bring the
urgent crisis under control, allowing the victim to be transferred to a hospital for further medical care.

4. First aid improves protection against infections & diseases.

It is common for injuries to cause an infection. Fortunately, the first aid kit contains all the materials that you
need to treat infections. However, these supplies should not be handled carelessly. When an untrained person
tries to administer first aid, mistakes are frequently made that lead to higher chances of infections.
Furthermore, they may not follow the proper sanitization protocols, which can pose as a health risk.

First aid training teaches your staff the best methods to minimize infections. With their understanding of the
first aid supplies, they can apply treatments while following the correct health and safety protocols. In
addition, your employees will learn how to safeguard themselves from viral and vector-borne diseases.

5. First aid training creates a positive work environment.

Employees do not enjoy working in an unsafe environment where their well-beings are at risk. As the
employer, you can provide your staff with peace of mind through workplace first aid training. This health and
safety training program ensures a positive atmosphere, where the workers feel empowered by their first aid
knowledge. In case of emergencies, they are more reassured and less likely to panic.
Plus, workplace first-aid training is also used as a team-building activity. By learning a life-affirming skill
together, your employees will develop a unique bond among each other. You may see morale rising in the
company, as employees feel more confident and eager to report to work.

6. First aid training can save workplaces money.

There are also financial benefits of first aid training in the workplace. When a person suffers a severe injury,
the medical bills for their treatments can be very hefty. As they recuperate, their absence from work can
translate into a financial loss for both the victim and the employer. In the event of a life-threatening injury, the
employer might be fined a large sum of money and pay higher insurance costs.

These expenditures could possibly be avoided if first aid is administered early on. By minimizing the scope and
magnitude of the injury, any future medical bills may decrease significantly. In the long term, your company
will also enjoy a healthier workforce that isn’t riddled with injuries or illnesses.

Outline the contents of first aid kit

 Tweezers

 2 triangular bandages

 Adhesive tapes

 Box adhesive bandages

  One emergency blanket

 Adhesive bandages

 Two elastic wraps

 Directions for requesting emergency assistance

 Two large sterile gauze pads 8 × 10 inches (ca. 25 cm)

 A roller bandage 4 inches (ca. 10 cm) wide

 2 pairs of nonlatex gloves

 Scissors

 First aid equipment for resuscitation such as pocket mask, airway, or resuscitation bag

 Wound cleaning agents

Describe the cases where an individual might require first aid

What to do

If someone is injured you should:

 first check that you and the casualty aren't in any danger, and, if possible, make the situation safe

 if necessary, phone 999 or 112 for an ambulance when it's safe to do so

 carry out basic first aid

Read more about what to do after an incident.

If someone is unconscious and breathing

If a person is unconscious but breathing, and has no other injuries that would stop them being moved, place
them in the recovery position until help arrives.

Keep them under observation to ensure they continue to breathe normally, and don't obstruct their airway.

If someone is unconscious and not breathing

If a person isn't breathing normally after an incident, phone an ambulance and start CPR straight away. Use
hands-only CPR if you aren't trained to perform rescue breaths.

Read more about CPR, including instructions and a video about hands-only CPR.

Common accidents and emergencies

Below, in alphabetical order, are some of the most common injuries that need emergency treatment in the UK
and information about how to deal with them:

 anaphylaxis (or anaphylactic shock)

 bleeding

 burns and scalds

 choking

 drowning
  electric shock (domestic)

 fractures

 heart attack

 poisoning

 shock

 stroke

Anaphylaxis

Anaphylaxis (or anaphylactic shock) is a severe allergic reaction that can occur after an insect sting or after
eating certain foods. The adverse reaction can be very fast, occurring within seconds or minutes of coming into
contact with the substance the person is allergic to (allergen).

During anaphylactic shock, it may be difficult for the person to breathe, as their tongue and throat may swell,
obstructing their airway.

Phone 999 or 112 immediately if you think someone is experiencing anaphylactic shock.

Check if the person is carrying any medication. Some people who know they have severe allergies may carry an
adrenaline self-injector, which is a type of pre-loaded syringe. You can either help the person administer their
medication or, if you're trained to do so, give it to them yourself.

After the injection, continue to look after the person until medical help arrives. All casualties who have had an
intramuscular or subcutaneous (under the skin) injection of adrenaline must be seen and medically checked by
a healthcare professional as soon as possible after the injection has been given.

Make sure they're comfortable and can breathe as best they can while waiting for medical help to arrive. If
they're conscious, sitting upright is normally the best position for them.

Read more about treating anaphylaxis.

Bleeding

If someone is bleeding heavily, the main aim is to prevent further blood loss and minimise the effects of shock
(see below).

First, phone 999 and ask for an ambulance as soon as possible.

If you have disposable gloves, use them to reduce the risk of any infection being passed on.

Check that there's nothing embedded in the wound. If there is, take care not to press down on the object.

Instead, press firmly on either side of the object and build up padding around it before bandaging, to avoid
putting pressure on the object itself.

If nothing is embedded:

 apply and maintain pressure to the wound with your gloved hand, using a clean pad or dressing if
possible; continue to apply pressure until the bleeding stops

 use a clean dressing to bandage the wound firmly

 if bleeding continues through the pad, apply pressure to the wound until the bleeding stops and then
apply another pad over the top and bandage it in place; don't remove the original pad or dressing, but
continue to check that the bleeding has stopped
If a body part, such as a finger, has been severed, place it in a plastic bag or wrap it in cling film and make sure
it goes with the casualty to hospital.

Always seek medical help for bleeding unless it's minor.

If someone has a nosebleed that hasn't stopped after 20 minutes, go to your nearest accident and
emergency (A&E) department.

Read more about how to treat minor bleeding from cuts and grazes and how to treat nosebleeds.

Haemostatic dressings and tourniquets

In certain situations, where bleeding is very severe and from the body’s extremities, such as the head, neck
and torso, it may be appropriate to use haemostatic dressings or a tourniquet.

Haemostatic dressings contain properties that help the blood to clot (thicken) quicker. A tourniquet is a band
that's wrapped tightly around a limb to stop blood loss. Haemostatic dressings and tourniquets should only be
used by people who have been trained to apply them.

Burns and scalds

If someone has a burn or scald:

 cool the burn as quickly as possible with cool running water for at least 10 minutes, or until the pain is
relieved

 phone 999 or seek medical help, if needed

 while cooling the burn, carefully remove any clothing or jewellery, unless it's attached to the skin

 if you're cooling a large burnt area, particularly in babies, children and elderly people, be aware that it
may cause hypothermia (it may be necessary to stop cooling the burn to avoid hypothermia)

 cover the burn loosely with cling film; if cling film isn't available, use a clean, dry dressing or non-fluffy
material; don't wrap the burn tightly, because swelling may lead to further injury

 don't apply creams, lotions or sprays to the burn

For chemical burns, wear protective gloves, remove any affected clothing, and rinse the burn with cool running
water for at least 20 minutes to wash out the chemical. If possible, determine the cause of the injury.

In certain situations where a chemical is regularly handled, a specific chemical antidote may be available to
use.

Be careful not to contaminate and injure yourself with the chemical, and wear protective clothing if necessary.

Phone 999 or 112 for immediate medical help.

Read more about how to treat burns and scalds.

Choking

The information below is for choking in adults and children over one year old.

Mild choking

If the airway is only partly blocked, the person will usually be able to speak, cry, cough or breathe. In situations
like this, a person will usually be able to clear the blockage themselves.

If choking is mild:

 encourage the person to cough to try to clear the blockage

  ask them to try to spit out the object if it’s in their mouth

 don't put your fingers in their mouth to help them because they may accidentally bite you

If coughing doesn’t work, start back blows (see below).

Severe choking

If choking is severe, the person won’t be able to speak, cry, cough or breathe, and without help they’ll
eventually become unconscious.

To help an adult or child over one year old:

 Stand behind the person and slightly to one side. Support their chest with one hand. Lean the person
forward so that the object blocking their airway will come out of their mouth, rather than moving
further down.

 Give up to five sharp blows between the person’s shoulder blades with the heel of your hand (the
heel is between the palm of your hand and your wrist).

 Check if the blockage has cleared.

 If not, give up to five abdominal thrusts (see below).

Abdominal thrusts shouldn't be used on babies under one year old, pregnant women or obese people.

To perform abdominal thrusts on a person who is severely choking and isn’t in one of the above groups:

 Stand behind the person who is choking.

 Place your arms around their waist and bend them well forward.

 Clench one fist and place it just above the person's belly button.

 Place your other hand on top of your fist and pull sharply inwards and upwards.

 Repeat this up to five times.

The aim is to get the obstruction out with each chest thrust, rather than necessarily doing all five.

If the obstruction doesn't clear after three cycles of back blows and chest thrusts, phone 999 or 112 to ask for
an ambulance, and continue until help arrives.

The person choking should always be seen by a healthcare professional afterwards to check for any injuries or
small pieces of the obstruction that remain.

Drowning

If someone is in difficulty in water, don't enter the water to help unless it's absolutely essential.

Once the person is on land, if they're not breathing, open the airway and give five initial rescue breaths before
starting CPR. If you're alone, perform CPR for one minute before phoning for emergency help.

Find out how to give CPR, including rescue breaths.

If the person is unconscious but still breathing, put them into the recovery position with their head lower than
their body and phone an ambulance immediately.

Continue to observe the casualty to ensure they don't stop breathing or that their airway becomes obstructed.

Electric shock (domestic)

If someone has had an electric shock, switch off the electrical current at the mains to break the contact
between the person and the electrical supply.

If you can't reach the mains supply:

 don't go near or touch the person until you're sure the electrical supply has been switched off

 once the power supply has been switched off, and if the person isn't breathing, phone 999 or 112 for
an ambulance

Afterwards, seek medical help - unless the electric shock is very minor.

Fractures

It can be difficult to tell if a person has a broken bone or a joint, as opposed to a simple muscular injury. If
you're in any doubt, treat the injury as a broken bone.

If the person is unconscious, has difficulty breathing or is bleeding severely, these must be dealt with first, by
controlling the bleeding with direct pressure and performing CPR.

If the person is conscious, prevent any further pain or damage by keeping the fracture as still as possible until
you get them safely to hospital.

Assess the injury and decide whether the best way to get them to hospital is by ambulance or car. For
example, if the pain isn’t too severe, you could transport them to hospital by car. It's always best to get
someone else to drive, so that you can deal with the casualty if they deteriorate – for example, if they lose
consciousness as a result of the pain or start to vomit.

However, if:

 they’re in a lot of pain and in need of strong painkilling medication, don't move them and phone an
ambulance

 it's obvious they have a broken leg, don't move them, but keep them in the position you found them
in and phone an ambulance

 you suspect they have injured or broken their back, don't move them and phone an ambulance

Don't give the casualty anything to eat or drink, because they may need an anaesthetic (numbing
medication) when they reach hospital.

Heart attack

A heart attack is one of the most common life-threatening heart conditions in the UK.

If you think a person is having, or has had, a heart attack, sit them down and make them as comfortable as
possible, and phone 999 or 112 for an ambulance.

Symptoms of a heart attack include:

 chest pain – the pain is usually located in the centre or left side of the chest and can feel like a
sensation of pressure, tightness or squeezing

 pain in other parts of the body – it can feel as if the pain is travelling from the chest down one or both
arms, or into the jaw, neck, back or abdomen (tummy)

Sit the person down and make them comfortable.

If they're conscious, reassure them and ask them to take a 300mg aspirin tablet to chew slowly (unless you
know they shouldn't take aspirin – for example, if they're under 16 or allergic to it).
If the person has any medication for angina, such as a spray or tablets, help them to take it. Monitor their vital
signs, such as breathing, until help arrives.

If the person deteriorates and becomes unconscious, open their airway, check their breathing and,
if necessary, start CPR. Re-alert the emergency services that the casualty is now in cardiac arrest.

Poisoning

Poisoning is potentially life-threatening. Most cases of poisoning in the UK happen when a person
has swallowed a toxic substance, such as bleach, taken an overdose of a prescription medication, or eaten wild
plants and fungi. Alcohol poisoning can cause similar symptoms.

If you think someone has swallowed a poisonous substance, phone 999 or 112 to get immediate medical help
and advice.

The effects of poisoning depend on the substance swallowed, but can include vomiting, loss of consciousness,
pain or a burning sensation. The following advice is important:

 Find out what's been swallowed, so you can tell the paramedic or doctor.

 Do not give the person anything to eat or drink unless a healthcare professional advises you to.

 Do not try to cause vomiting.

 Stay with the person, because their condition may get worse and they could become unconscious.

If the person becomes unconscious while you're waiting for help to arrive, check for breathing and, if
necessary, perform CPR.

Don't perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation if the casualty's mouth or airway is contaminated with the
poison.

Don't leave them if they're unconscious because they may roll onto their back, which could cause them to
vomit. The vomit could then enter their lungs and make them choke.

If the casualty is conscious and breathing normally, put them into the recovery position and continue to
monitor their conscious state and breathing.

Shock

In the case of a serious injury or illness, it's important to look out for signs of shock (see below).

Shock is a life-threatening condition that occurs when the circulatory system fails to provide enough
oxygenated blood to the body and, as a result, deprives the vital organs of oxygen.

This is usually due to severe blood loss, but it can also occur after severe burns, severe vomiting, a heart
attack, bacterial infection or a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis).

The type of shock described here isn't the same as the emotional response of feeling shocked, which can also
occur after an accident.

Signs of shock include:

 pale, cold, clammy skin

 sweating

 rapid, shallow breathing

 weakness and dizziness

 feeling sick and possibly vomiting

  thirst

 yawning

 sighing

Seek medical help immediately if you notice that someone has any of the above signs of shock. If they do, you
should:

 phone 999 or 112 as soon as possible and ask for an ambulance

 treat any obvious injuries

 lie the person down if their injuries allow you to and, if possible, raise and support their legs

 use a coat or blanket to keep them warm

 don't give them anything to eat or drink

 give them lots of comfort and reassurance

 monitor the person – if they stop breathing, start CPR and re-alert the emergency services

Stroke

The FAST guide is the most important thing to remember when dealing with people who have had a stroke.
The earlier they receive treatment, the better. Phone for emergency medical help straight away.

If you think a person has had a stroke, use the FAST guide:

 Facial weakness – is the person unable to smile evenly, or are their eyes or mouth droopy?

 Arm weakness – is the person only able to raise one arm?

 Speech problems – is the person unable to speak clearly or understand you?

 Time to phone 999 or 112 – for emergency help if a person has any of these symptoms

Emergency rescue team

Emergency services and rescue services are organizations that ensure public safety, security, and health by
addressing and resolving different emergencies. Some of these agencies exist solely for addressing certain
types of emergencies, while others deal with ad hoc emergencies as part of their normal responsibilities.

Role of Police

What is the role of police? Why do we have police? The police are built into communities around the world,
and they are meant to serve four primary roles: enforce the law, prevent crime, provide emergency response,
and provide support services. Together, these responsibilities are the purpose of police. The police also have
the legal ability to enforce non negotiable measures with coercion, to resolve unlawful situations.

The role of ambulance

Providing patients with life support during emergencies, transferring patients, and providing backup
emergency medical services are the three crucial functions that ambulance services play. Ambulance services
aim to guarantee that patients receive trustworthy prehospital care during emergencies

fire brigade

 extinguishing fires in their area

  protecting life and property in the event of fires in their area

 rescuing and protecting people in the event of a road traffic collision, and

 rescuing and protecting people in the event of other emergencies

general hospital

General hospitals may be academic health facilities or community-based entities. They are general in the sense
that they admit all types of medical and surgical cases, and they concentrate on patients with acute illnesses
needing relatively short-term care.

Why is communication with injured victims important?

Communication is a vitally important skill in a first aid emergency because it helps the first aider get a good
mental picture of what has happened and how best to respond to the first aid emergenc

Demonstrate ability to communicate with injured victim throughout first aid procedure

1CHECK the scene for safety, form an initial impression, obtain consent, and use personal protective
equipment (PPE)

2If the person appears unresponsive, CHECK for responsiveness, breathing, life-threatening bleeding or other
life-threatening conditions using shout-tap-shout

Note: CHECK for no more than 10 seconds

3AIf the person does not respond, responds but is not fully awake, is not breathing or is only gasping, or has
life-threatening bleeding or another obvious life-threatening condition, CALL 9-1-1 and get equipment, or tell
someone to do so. Then, give CARE based on the condition found and your level of training and continue your
check to determine if additional care is needed

Note: For a person who is unresponsive and not breathing, start CPR and use an AED immediately

Define non-hazardous construction waste

….non-hazardous waste is any waste that causes no harm to human or environmental health.2

Classify of waste

Construction and demolition waste

The tables below list waste codes for common construction and demolition waste.

You can find additional codes for other waste and advice on how to apply these codes - check the technical
guidance on waste.

Insulation and asbestos materials

 Waste status Waste code

Insulation containing asbestos Hazardous 17-06-01*

Other insulation containing hazardous substances Hazardous 17-06-03*

Other insulation materials Non-hazardous 17-06-04

Other construction materials containing asbestos Hazardous 17-06-05*

(*) An asterisk at the end of a code means the waste is hazardous.

Concrete, bricks, tiles and ceramics

This list excludes asbestos-containing materials - refer to the insulation and asbestos materials table for any
waste with asbestos.

Waste status Waste

code

Concrete Non- 17-01-01

hazardous

Bricks Non- 17-01-02

hazardous

Tiles and ceramics Non- 17-01-03

hazardous

Concrete, bricks, tiles and ceramics (alone or in mixtures) containing hazardous Hazardous 17-01-06*
substances

Concrete, bricks, tiles and ceramics in mixtures, containing no hazardous Non- 17-01-07
substances hazardous

(*) An asterisk at the end of a code means the waste is hazardous.

Wood, glass and plastic

This list excludes packaging wastes and domestic type recyclables - refer to the packaging waste and
recyclables section for related codes.
 Waste status Waste
code

Wood - untreated Non- 17-02-01

hazardous

Glass - uncontaminated Non- 17-02-02

hazardous

Plastic - excludes packaging waste Non- 17-02-03

hazardous

Treated wood, glass, plastic (alone or in mixtures) containing hazardous Hazardous 17-02-04*
substances

(*) An asterisk at the end of a code means the waste is hazardous.

Bituminous mixtures, coal tar and tar

Waste status Waste code

Bituminous mixtures containing coal tar Hazardous 17-03-01*

Other bituminous mixtures Non-hazardous 17-03-02

Coal tar and tarred products Hazardous 17-03-03*

(*) An asterisk at the end of a code means the waste is hazardous.

Metallic waste, including cable

Waste status Waste code

Copper, bronze and brass Non-hazardous 17-04-01

Aluminium Non-hazardous 17-04-02

Lead Non-hazardous 17-04-03

Iron and steel Non-hazardous 17-04-05

Tin Non-hazardous 17-04-06

 Waste status Waste code

Mixed metals Non-hazardous 17-04-07

Metals containing hazardous substances Hazardous 17-04-09*

Cables containing oil, coal tar and other hazardous substances Hazardous 17-04-10*

Other cables Non-hazardous 17-04-11

(*) An asterisk at the end of a code means the waste is hazardous.

Soil, contaminated soil, stones and dredging spoil

You must be able to prove that your waste does not contain any hazardous substances to classify soil as
non-hazardous - you’ll always need to assess the soil before you hand it over to be collected.

The presence of any fragments of asbestos-containing material in the soil results in a mixed hazardous
waste - refer to the insulation and asbestos materials table for more guidance.

Waste status Waste code

Soil and stones containing hazardous substances Hazardous 17-05-03*

Other soil and stones Non-hazardous 17-05-04

Dredging spoil containing hazardous substances Hazardous 17-05-05*

Other dredging spoil Non-hazardous 17-05-06

(*) An asterisk at the end of a code means the waste is hazardous.

Gypsum

Waste status Waste code

Gypsum materials containing hazardous substances Hazardous 17-08-01*

Other gypsum materials Non-hazardous 17-08-02

(*) An asterisk at the end of a code means the waste is hazardous.

Cement
 Waste status Waste code

Un-used or un-set cement Hazardous 17-09-03*

(*) An asterisk at the end of a code means the waste is hazardous.

Paints and varnishes

Paints and varnishes of a type normally used by householders can be classified under the codes indicated in
brackets if separated out from other waste.

Waste status Waste code

Containing organic solvents or other hazardous Hazardous 08-01-11* (20-01-27*)

substances

Not containing organic solvents or other hazardous Non- 08-01-12 (20-01-28)

substances hazardous

Paint or varnish remover Hazardous 08-01-21*

Paint cans Hazardous Refer to packaging waste and

recyclables section

(*) An asterisk at the end of a code means the waste is hazardous.

Adhesives and sealants

Adhesives and sealants of a type normally used by householders can be classified under the codes indicated
in brackets if separated out from other waste.

Waste status Waste code

Containing organic solvents or other hazardous Hazardous 08-04-09* (20-01-27*)

substances

Not containing organic solvents or other hazardous Non- 08-04-10 (20-01-28)

substances hazardous

Adhesive or sealant containers Hazardous Refer to packaging waste and

recyclables section

environmentally friendly ways of disposing the non-hazardous waste

If you have determined your waste is non-hazardous, you may be able to simply take it to a Treatment,
Storage and Disposal facility (TSDF) or landfill. However, it is important that you check with the disposal
facility first to determine not only whether it will accept your waste, but the quantity as well.

Some facilities limit the amount of waste you can drop off at one time, and instead require that a disposal
company transfer large amounts of waste from your facility to the landfill.

If your waste is in a small quantity, you may be able to discard it into the trash receptacle on your property.
However, if you have bulk amounts, you may need to contact a disposal company for transfer.

Reuse Or Recycle

The EPA’s Sustainable Materials Management effort places an emphasis on reusing secondary materials
considered non-hazardous.

Often these secondary materials are scraps and residuals that result from the production process. However,
they can often be just as valuable.

For example, coal combustion residuals that are generated by steam electric utilities can then be used as
valuable resources in other industries.

This often occurs when the reusable materials can be used as substitutes for an original material since they
retain the same physical and chemical properties.

Depending on the type of non-hazardous waste your facility produces, a recycling facility may accept it as
well. CalRecycle, California’s recycling and waste management program, oversees the recycling of several
types of waste that businesses and facilities produce. This includes materials like electronic waste, paint,
organic material and beverage containers.

Donate or sell unwanted construction material

Reuse or recycle

Use landfilling

Identify environmentally friendly ways of disposing hazardous construction waste

Dispose of asbestos construction waste

How to Handle and Dispose of Asbestos

The first and most important thing to know about handling and disposing of asbestos is that
you should not do it yourself. Asbestos is a deadly carcinogen that should only be handled
by licensed asbestos abatement professionals.

While you can find information online about do-it-yourself asbestos abatement, it is highly
recommended that you do not attempt to disturb asbestos-containing materials in any way.

If you find friable asbestos products in your home, you may carefully wet them to prevent
them from releasing fibers until you can get a licensed professional to assess your home.
These professionals are highly trained and certified to follow all federal and state laws
governing asbestos abatement and disposal. If you don’t hire a professional, you are likely
to break one of the many laws that regulate asbestos, and you run the risk of facing a
serious fine or penalty.
handling and disposing of asbestos regulations include:

 Planning the Project Appropriately: Licensed professionals know how to assess the
size and severity of the abatement project. This matters a lot to local officials who
supply permits for different types of asbestos-abatement projects.

 Preparing the Work Area: The work area must be sealed off with plastic sheeting and
negative air pressure units must be used to prevent contamination outside the work
area. Surfaces that don’t need abating must be covered in plastic sheeting. Warning
signs must be posted to alert others that an asbestos project is underway.

 Wearing Personal Safety Protection: Workers must wear an N-100 or P-100

respirator and protective clothing to prevent asbestos exposure.

 Safety Protocols in the Work Area: HVAC systems must be disabled to prevent
circulation of asbestos fibers. Workers should use wet wipes or a HEPA vacuum to
clean asbestos off immoveable objects to control dust. A HEPA vacuum is used to
clean up the area when the abatement is finished.

 How to Handle and Dispose of Asbestos Waste: Asbestos-containing materials are

wetted prior to any removal efforts. Workers must be wearing a respirator and
personal safety protection as they work with contaminated materials. All asbestos
waste generated during the project must be wetted before it is double bagged in 6-
millimeter plastic bags and enclosed in a plastic, leak-tight container with a lid and
proper labeling. It can only be disposed of in special landfills that are designated to
receive asbestos waste.

 Creating Decontamination Units: Decontamination enclosure systems must be

installed to allow workers to remove contaminated clothing, shoes and tools.

 Following Decontamination Procedures: Professionals must follow specific steps to

safely remove contaminated protective clothing and equipment. These procedures
ensure worker safety and prevent workers from tracking asbestos into their homes.

Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as air,
water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of wildlife. It is defined as any change or
disturbance to the environment perceived to be deleterious or undesirable.

List the agents of environmental degradation

Asbestos

Hydrocarbons and solvents

Heavy metals

Carwash effluent
Sewage

Dust from stockpiles

Exhaust fumes –

Identify appropriate positioning of sanitation facilities in relation to water sources