In any production, accidents are possible. In order to avoid emergencies, organizations must be assigned a high-quality hazard identification. It is about such a system that will be discussed in this article.
Industrial hazards
There are many different hazard classifications. However, at present, many companies use the single, most generalized register of production risks and dangerous situations.
Each enterprise where there is a risk of a threat to human life or health should be guided by a special document fixing the main types of organizational risks and hazard identification methods. The first thing that should be fixed in such a document is all the necessary information about the organization. The names of departments or divisions, the names of professions, certain types of labor duties, etc. further, in accordance with the assigned functions performed by workers, the main types of risks and dangerous situations are also determined. By what criteria can they be classified? This will be described later.
The main types of hazards
So, what is a unified system for determining the main production risks? Hazards, risks and emergencies are identified according to a special scheme. There are four main groups of occupational hazards. These include:
- Physical risks. Various machines, mechanisms and other equipment can cause significant harm to the human body. Vibration, noise, strong brightness and many other negative factors have a very negative effect on the human body.
- Chemical hazards. May not be present in all industries; they have, however, extremely significant harm to the human body. This includes various kinds of toxic, carcinogenic and other irritating substances.
- Biological hazards. Bacteria, viruses, animals and other living organisms can adversely affect human health.
- Psychophysiological hazards. Here the main object is the employee himself. There are many different factors that can have an unhealthy effect on a person’s mental or physical condition.
About the basic rules for hazard identification
So what is hazard identification? What is this procedure and how is it carried out? There are several special methods and rules for assessing production risks. It’s worth starting with the rules.
Firstly, the presented procedure should not be reactive, but rather a warning one. Often, in factories, everything happens exactly the opposite. It is because of the improper organization of the risk determination system that people suffer.
Secondly, hazard identification, as a clearly structured and well-structured system, should be documented and properly executed. High-quality ranking should be ensured, thanks to which the system in question will work efficiently.
Organizational Procedures
Finally, it is worth talking about the procedures themselves, which relate to the concept of “hazard identification”. What are their features, how are they organized?
First, the procedures should take into account all unplanned or planned activities. It is also worth noting that for the high-quality implementation of hazard identification measures, it is necessary to take into account the behavioral characteristics of people. It is worth taking into account the character traits of workers, their mental and physical data, etc.
Secondly, all persons involved in production in one way or another should be involved in hazard identification procedures. Similarly, as a source of danger, any items of equipment under the authority of the organization should be considered.
There are several other rules that should cover such procedures as hazard identification and risk management. You can read more about this in any labor protection instruction.
About the hazard elimination process
How should an organization manage hazards in a timely manner? Of course, it all depends on the level and magnitude of a possible emergency. However, there are several basic measures that are used most often, and, in fact, are considered the main and most common.
What can be highlighted here?
- Complete elimination of the source of danger. This may include, for example, the removal of some inappropriate items of equipment that could harm the health or life of the employee.
- Replacement work. Any specific mechanism or item of equipment is eliminated, and a new one is installed in its place.
- Implementation of repair work.
But what about a process such as hazard identification? Dangerous situations are identified through a risk assessment.
Risk assessment
Risk assessment is a basic concept in the field of hazard identification. This is a whole system that includes many different elements and data. What exactly can be highlighted here?
For a competent risk assessment, it is necessary to make a qualitative statistical calculation of all accidents for a certain period of time. In addition, experts should be involved in the work. They should evaluate the equipment and determine how reliable and serviceable it is. Another important factor is the certification of jobs.
This also includes a comparison of all the labor functions of workers with possible risks.
Thus, hazard identification is a very long and difficult process. There are several methods that simplify this process. The most important of them will be described later.
Classic hazard identification method
It is worth describing the most common method in any production for determining hazardous situations. A special formula is calculated: R = P x S, where R is the risk, P is the probability of danger, and S is the severity of the dangerous consequences. In order to determine the probability of emergencies, it is necessary to use digital factors - from 1 to 5.
As a rule, specially authorized persons or management are involved in all necessary calculations. However, the employee himself can make a competent identification of the danger. The process of a qualitative risk assessment will help, in which case, challenge the wrong calculations of the authorities and require the replacement of equipment or fair compensation.
About evaluation results
As a result of all the work performed, it is necessary to compare the data with a special table in which the risks are classified as low, medium and high.
- If R <6, then the risk is considered insignificant, that is, low. In this case, it is necessary to take all necessary measures to eliminate them.
- At R = 6-12, the risks are considered moderate (or moderate). If they are not removed in a timely manner, significant damage can be caused to the property of the organization, as well as to human life and health.
- R> 12 is an indicator of a high level of danger. Everything that needs to be done in this case is prescribed by labor protection.
Hazard identification is thus a very complex and extensive process. It is worth noting the fact that this is also a purely individual procedure. For each enterprise or production, this process is built in a specialized and separate way.