Hazard Identification

Health and Safety – 9964 SESSION 1 Hazard Identification

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	SESSION 1: Hazard Identification
	Learning Outcomes
	Potential hazards are correctly identified and removed, reduced or reported
	Implications of exposure to hazardous substances and hazards are known
	A health and safety plan is drawn up
	Protective clothing requirements are identified and protective clothing is used
	All statutory requirements are being met

1. Introduction

There are health and safety legislation that apply to all employers and workplaces, and those extra duties that apply to workplaces with more than five employees. These are Occupational Health and Safety Act, Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, Labour Relations Act and Basic Conditions of Employment Equity Act. Employers must also make arrangements to ensure the health and safety of the workplace, including making arrangements for emergencies, adequate information and training for employees and for health surveillance where appropriate.

Employees must work safely in accordance with their training and instructions given to them. Employees must also notify the employer or the person responsible for health and safety of any serious or immediate danger to health and safety or any shortcoming in health and safety arrangements.

1.1. Occupational Health and Safety Act

In your own understanding, what is the purpose of Occupational Health and Safety Act? Write your points below:

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The purpose of the act is to:

To provide for the health and safety of persons at work and for the health and safety of persons in connection with the use of plant and machinery; the protection of persons other than persons at work against hazards to health and safety arising out of or in connection with the activities of persons at work; to establish an advisory council for occupational health and safety; and to provide for matters connected therewith.

Hazardous substance“, “Risk” and “Safe”

What is the difference between “Hazardous substance“, “Risk” and “Safe”

Hazardous substances are defined in terms of their direct health effects on people whereas dangerous goods are defined by their physical and chemical properties.

Hazardous substances may be one or more of the following:

Dust and fibres
Gas, vapors, smoke and fumes
Chemical substances

Risk is the likelihood of that harm occurring. Some risks in the workplace may include:

Breathing high levels of dust in the workplace air without a respirator
Being exposed to high levels of noise without hearing protection
Handling untreated animal skins
Manually lifting heavy sacks of material for a large part of the workday
Being required to perform hard work in a hot environment

Workplace safety is about preventing injury and illness to employees and volunteers in the workplace.

The objectives of the Act are:

To promote and secure the Health, Safety and welfare of people at work  To protect people at work against hazards.
To assist in securing safe hygienic work environments.
To reduce, eliminate and control hazards.
To foster co-operation and consultation between employers and employees.

The importance of the Act is:

Protecting the safety, health and welfare of people engaged in work or employment.
Protect co-workers, family members, employers, customers, suppliers, nearby communities, and other members of the public who are impacted by the workplace environment

1.2. Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act

In your own understanding, what is the purpose of COID Act? Write your points below:

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The purpose of the act is to:

To provide for compensation for disablement caused by occupational injuries or diseases sustained or contracted by employees in the course of their employment, or for death resulting from such injuries or diseases; and to provide for matters connected therewith.

The objectives of the Act are:

Paying compensation to workers who have suffered occupational injuries and/or diseases, and meeting the medical cost involved.
Rehabilitating injured workers.

The importance of the Act is:

Promoting the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases.

1.3. Labour Relations Act

In your own understanding, what is the purpose of Labour Relations Act? Write your points below:

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The purpose of the act is to:

The purpose of this Act is to advance economic development, social justice, labour peace and the democratisation of the workplace by fulfilling the primary objects of this Act, which are-

to give effect to and regulate the fundamental rights conferred by section 27 of the Constitution;
to give effect to obligations incurred by the Republic as a member state of the International

Labour Organisation;

to provide a framework within which employees and their trade unions, employers and employers’ organisations can-

o collectively bargain to determine wages, terms and conditions of employment and other matters of mutual interest; and o formulate industrial policy; and o to promote- o orderly collective bargaining; o collective bargaining at sectoral level; o employee participation in decision-making in the workplace; and o the effective resolution of labour disputes.

The objectives of the Act are:

This Act regulates the organisational rights of trade unions and promotes and facilitates collective bargaining at the workplace and at sectoral level.
It also deals with strikes and lockouts, workplace forums and alternative dispute resolution.
It also establishes the CCMA, Labour Court and Labour Appeal Court as superior courts, with exclusive jurisdiction to decide matters arising from the Act.

The importance of the Act is:

It provide simple procedures for the resolution of labour disputes through statutory conciliation, mediation and arbitration (for which purpose the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration is established), and through independent alternative dispute resolution services accredited for that purpose

1.4. Basic Conditions of Employment, Equity Act

In your own understanding, what is the purpose of Basic Conditions of Employment, Equity Act? Write your points below:

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The purpose of the Act

The purpose of this Act is to achieve equity in the workplace by— o Promoting equal opportunity and fair treatment in employment through the elimination of unfair discrimination; and

o Implementing affirmative action measures to redress the disadvantages in employment experienced by designated groups, in order to ensure their equitable representation in all occupational categories and levels in the workforce. The objectives of the Act

Elimination of unfair discrimination
Prohibition of unfair discrimination The Importance of the Act:
The act states that the employer must not lower protection of workers in terms of health and safety and family responsibilities.

1.5. Environmental Legislation

The purpose of environmental legislations and Regulations is to regulate the procedure and criteria relating to the submission, processing and consideration of, and decision on, applications for environmental authorisations for the commencement of activities in order to avoid detrimental impacts on the environment, or where it cannot be avoided, ensure mitigation and management of impacts to acceptable levels, and to optimise positive environmental impacts, and for matters pertaining thereto.

2. Hazard Identification

As an employer, you must assess and manage health and safety risks – whether you are a big business, a small business or just a one-person operation. Accidents and ill health can ruin lives and damage your business. You are not expected to eliminate all risk, but you are required to protect people as far as ‘reasonably practicable’.

In your own words, define the term “Hazards

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Hazards are anything in the workplace that can be potential sources of harm to the health and safety of an employee; this can include any activity or substance that increases the chance for employee injury or property damage.

2.1. Job hazard analysis

What is Job Hazards analysis?

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A job hazard analysis is a technique that focuses on job tasks as a way to identify hazards before they occur. It focuses on the relationship between the worker, the task, the tools, and the work environment. Ideally, after you identify uncontrolled hazards, you will take steps to eliminate or reduce them to an acceptable risk level.

Why is job hazard analysis important?

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Many workers are injured and killed at the workplace. Safety and health can add value to your business, your job, and your life. You can help prevent workplace injuries and illnesses by looking at your workplace operations, establishing proper job procedures, and ensuring that all employees are trained properly.

One of the best ways to determine and establish proper work procedures is to conduct a job hazard analysis. A job hazard analysis is one component of the larger commitment of a safety and health management system. The table below outlines steps/procedure on identifying hazards in your workplace:

Involve your employees
It is very important to involve your employees in the hazard analysis process. They have a unique understanding of the job, and this knowledge is invaluable for finding hazards. Involving employees will help minimize oversights, ensure a quality analysis, and get workers to “buy in” to the solutions because they will share ownership in their safety and health program. Note: In most cases workplace hazards are reported to an immediate manager/supervisor
Review your accident history
Review with your employees your worksite’s history of accidents and occupational illnesses that needed treatment, losses that required repair or replacement, and any “near misses” —events in which an accident or loss did not occur, but could have. These events are indicators that the existing hazard controls (if any) may not be adequate and deserve more scrutiny.
Conduct a preliminary job review
Discuss with your employees the hazards they know exist in their current work and surroundings. Brainstorm with them for ideas to eliminate or control those hazards. If any hazards exist that pose an immediate danger to an employee’s life or health, take immediate action to protect the worker. Any problems that can be corrected easily should be corrected as soon as possible. Do not wait to complete your job hazard analysis. This will demonstrate your commitment to safety and health and enable you to focus on the hazards and jobs that need more study because of their complexity. For those hazards determined to present unacceptable risks, evaluate types of hazard controls.
List, rank, and set priorities for hazardous jobs
List jobs with hazards that present unacceptable risks, based on those most likely to occur and with the most severe consequences. These jobs should be your first priority for analysis.
Outline the steps or tasks
Nearly every job can be broken down into job tasks or steps. When beginning a job hazard analysis, watch the employee perform the job and list each step as the worker takes it. Be sure to record enough information to describe each job action without getting overly detailed. Avoid making the breakdown of steps so detailed that it becomes unnecessarily
long or so broad that it does not include basic steps. You may find it valuable to get input from other workers who have performed the same job. Later, review the job steps with the employee to make sure you have not omitted something. Point out that you are evaluating the job itself, not the employee’s job performance. Include the employee in all phases of the analysis—from reviewing the job steps and procedures to discussing uncontrolled hazards and recommended solutions. Sometimes, in conducting a job hazard analysis, it may be helpful to photograph or videotape the worker performing the job. These visual records can be handy references when doing a more detailed analysis of the work.
Note	See Appendix A an example of Job Hazards Analysis

2.2. Implications of exposure to hazardous substance

What are Implications of exposure to hazardous substance?

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Hazardous substances such as chemicals and asbestos cause deaths in the workplace. Exposure to chemicals commonly used in workplaces can lead to a variety of short and long term health effects such as poisoning, skin rashes and disorders of the lung, kidney and liver.

A hazardous substance can take many forms – gas, powder, liquid, solid or dust. The product may be pure or diluted.

Manufacturers and importers of hazardous substances are legally obliged to include warning labels and Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) with their products. This information offers advice on safe handling practices.

2.3. Types of Hazards

There are different hazards that one can encounter in the workplace. All businesses are required by law to carry out health and safety risk assessments. However, it may make good business sense to approach your risk assessments in as broad a way as possible.

What are different types of “Hazards that one can encounter in the workplace?

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The first step to protecting yourself is being able to recognize hazards in the work you’re assigned and in the conditions you’re working in. There are four main types of hazards:

Physical hazards

These are the most common and will be present in most workplaces at one time or another. They include unsafe conditions that can cause injury, illness and death.

They are typically easiest to spot but, sadly, too often overlooked because of familiarity (there are always cords running across the aisles), lack of knowledge (they aren’t seen as hazards), resistance to spending time or money to make necessary improvements or simply delays in making changes to remove the hazards (waiting until tomorrow or a time when “we’re not so busy”).

None of these are acceptable reasons for workers to be exposed to physical hazards.

Examples of physical hazards include:

electrical hazards: frayed cords, missing ground pins, improper wiring
unguarded machinery and moving machinery parts: guards removed or moving parts that a worker can accidentally touch
constant loud noise
high exposure to sunlight/ultraviolet rays, heat or cold
working from heights, including ladders, scaffolds, roofs, or any raised work area
working with mobile equipment such as fork lifts (operation of fork lifts and similar mobile equipment in the workplace requires significant additional training and experience)
spills on floors or tripping hazards, such as blocked aisle or cords running across the floor.

Biological hazards

These come from working with animals, people or infectious plant materials. Work in day care, hospitals, hotel laundry and room cleaning, laboratories, veterinary offices and nursing homes may expose you to biological hazards.

The types of things you may be exposed to include:

blood or other body fluids
fungi
bacteria and viruses
plants
insect bites
animal and bird droppings.

Ergonomic hazards

These occur when the type of work, body position and working conditions put strain on your body. They are the hardest to spot since you don’t always immediately notice the strain on your body or the harm these hazards pose. Short-term exposure may result in “sore muscles” the next day or in the days following exposure, but long term exposure can result in serious longterm injuries.

Ergonomic hazards include:

poor lighting
improperly adjusted workstations and chairs
frequent lifting
poor posture
awkward movements, especially if they are repetitive
repeating the same movements over and over
having to use too much force, especially if you have to do it frequently.

Chemical hazards

These are present when a worker is exposed to any chemical preparation in the workplace in any form (solid, liquid or gas). Some are safer than others, but to some workers who are more sensitive to chemicals, even common solutions can cause illness, skin irritation or breathing problems.

Beware of:

liquids like cleaning products, paints, acids, solvents especially chemicals in an unlabelled container (warning sign!)
vapours and fumes, for instance those that come from welding or exposure to solvents
gases like acetylene, propane, carbon monoxide and helium
flammable materials like gasoline, solvents and explosive chemicals.

Which type of hazards mentioned above is most likely to affect you in your workplace?

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Carrying out a risk assessment

Employers should take whatever steps necessary to ensure the safety and health of workers. To prevent accidents, you should establish a health and safety management system that incorporates risk assessment, risk management and monitoring procedures. The guiding principles that should be considered throughout the risk assessment process can be broken down into a series of steps: Step 1. Identifying hazards and those at risk Looking for those things at work that have the potential to cause harm, and identifying workers who may be exposed to the hazards.

Step 2. Evaluating and prioritising risks

Estimating the existing risks (their severity, their probability, …) and prioritising them in order of importance. It is essential that the work to be done to eliminate or prevent risks is prioritised.

Step 3. Deciding on preventive action

Identifying the appropriate measures to eliminate or control the risks.

Step 4. Taking action

Putting in place the preventive and protective measures through a prioritisation plan (most probably all the problems cannot be resolved immediately) and specifying who does what and when, when a task is to be completed and the means allocated to implement the measures.

Step 5. Monitoring and reviewing

The assessment should be reviewed at regular intervals to ensure it remains up to date. It has to be revised whenever significant changes occur in the organisation or as a result of the findings of an accident or “near miss” investigation.

3. Health and safety Plan

The Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993, requires the employer to bring about and maintain, as far as reasonably practicable, a work environment that is safe and without risk to the health of the workers. This means that the employer must ensure that the workplace is free of hazardous substances, such as benzene, chlorine and micro organisms, articles, equipment, processes, etc. that may cause injury, damage or disease. Where this is not possible, the employer must inform workers of these dangers, how they may be prevented, and how to work safely, and provide other protective measures for a safe workplace.

What is a Health and Safety Plan?

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A Health and Safety Plan is a document that is part of the Health and Safety File and can be considered as an executive summary of a “business plan” for Health and Safety management on a site.

A Health Safety Plan is developed according to the Health and Safety specifications provided by the client. Also it is documentary proof of compliance with the Regulation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act of South Africa. Health and Safety plan differs from sector to sector below are elements of General Health & Safety Plan:

A management safety policy statement
Responsibility for safety in an organization
Inspection Program
Job Safety Analysis
Investigation Program
Safety Meetings
Safety Rules
Employee Safety Training
Record Keeping
First Aid
Housekeeping Program
Hazard Control Program
Equipment Management Program
Any other loss prevention program developed by the Loss Prevention Unit of the Office of Risk Management for the prevention and reduction in accident events that may cause injury, illness, or property damage.

Note

See Appendix B for an Example of a Health and Safety Plan

3.1. Personal Protective Equipment

What is a Personal Protective Equipment?

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_____________________________________________________________________________ _____Personal protective equipment (PPE) includes all types of equipment used to increase individual safety while performing potentially hazardous tasks. This may include safety glasses, hard hats, gloves, lab coats, respirators, or any equipment used to protect against injury or illness.

	Can you identify from the image above item A – F? State what they are used for.
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3.2. Statutory Requirement for Safety

Every Company owes all of its employees a duty of care to ensure that their place of work complies with Occupational Health and Safety Act. There is a legal obligation for every Company with 5 or more employees to carry out a General Risk Assessment and to produce this in writing along with a Health and Safety Policy.

What are the statutory requirements that are carried out as compliance with OHS Act? Write your points below:

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The following statutory requirements are carried out as compliance with OHS Act: a. General Risk Assessment

This provides a complete overview of all the Health and Safety risks affecting your organisation and will comply with the OHS Act and subsequent legislation. Risks are divided between High, Medium and Low.

Health and Safety Policy

This document will comply with OHS Act and it details responsibilities for both management and employees in the control of risk. This should be in a written format.

Risk Management Report

This is a brief yet comprehensive report, which highlights the following:

A summary will show the effectiveness of each existing control measure on a graded scale.
Positive factors that the client has actioned in the control of risk.
Negative factors – improvements in risk to be implemented plus a proposed timescale.
A summary of measures that you should consider implementing in the future, to be selfsufficient on health and safety issues, whilst ensuring compliance with legislation.

Specific Fire Risk Assessments

The Fire Safety Policy ensures that essential fire procedures are made known to staff. The Policy outlines the businesses goals regarding fire assessment and ensures that the aims of the business are recorded in line with the new legislation

Safety Audit Visits

Safety Audits should be carried out on an agreed timescale. This will provide directors with a confidential report on current status, thereby enabling clients to be fully aware of performance and requirements for improvements.

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