Understanding Hazards and Risks

It would not be unfair to say that “the identification, evaluation and control of hazards” is the cornerstone of current workplace
health and safety philosophy.  The principle is simple, if we either eliminate the hazards or control them so they pose no serious
risks to our health and safety, then we have a safe workplace.

 

Any successful safety strategy has this principle as its foundation. However, the degree to which it is successful is dependent on
the following three factors:

 

      *      the ability of the organisation to identify all of the hazards that are

             present

      *      the ability of the organisation to implement satisfactory control

              measures whenever necessary, and

      *      the level of commitment from all personnel within the
             organization to accept the rules, regulations and safe work

             practices and procedures that have been established.

 

To achieve a safe workplace it is clear that the starting point is for all personnel to have basic understanding of hazards and risks.

This program starts by examining how we as individuals deal with hazards in our everyday lives.   It then looks at how society deals
with hazards and then looks at the added factors that influence how hazards are dealt with in the workplace.

The next section of the program clearly explains exactly what is a hazard and what is a risk. It also, by example, illustrates the
distinction between a hazard and a risk.

 

The third section of the program deals with identifying hazards in the workplace and classifies hazards under the following headings:

 

Workplace hazards are further examined under the categories of:

 

The final section of the program looks at the overall issue of accident prevention and in particular the need for behavioural change to improve workplace safety.

This program is suitable for all personnel.