Read the text “Identifying Safety and Health Hazards” about hazards, risks, outcomes and make a summary.
A hazard is something that can cause harm if not controlled.
The outcome is the harm that results from an uncontrolled hazard.
A risk is a combination of the probability that a particular outcome will occur and the severity of the harm involved.
Hazard Assessment
A hazard is something that can cause harm if not controlled. For example, repetitively carrying out manual handling1 of heavy objects is a hazard.
Hazard analysis or hazard assessment is a process in which individual hazards of the workplace are identified, assessed and controlled/eliminated as close to source (location of the hazard) as reasonable and possible. Hazard control is a dynamic program of prevention.
Hazards are typically categorized into one of six groups:
1. Safety (moving machinery, working at heights, slippery surfaces, mobile equipment, etc.)
2. Ergonomic (material handling, environment, work organization, etc.)
3
.
Chemical Agents
4. Biological Agents
5. Physical Agents (noise, lighting, radiation, etc.)
6. Psychosocial (stress, violence, etc.)
Risk assessment
Modern occupational safety and health legislation usually demands that a risk assessment be carried out prior to making an intervention. This assessment should:
Identify the hazards
Identify all affected by the hazard and how
Evaluate the risk
Identify and prioritize appropriate control measures
The calculation of risk is based on the probability of the harm being realized and the severity of the consequences. The risk can be expressed numerically (e.g. a 0.5 or 50/50 chance of the outcome occurring during a year), in relative terms (e.g. “high/medium/low”), or with a multi-dimensional classification scheme (e.g. situation-specific risks).The assessment should be recorded and reviewed periodically and whenever there is a significant change to work practices. The assessment should include practical recommendations to control the risk.
The outcome could be a musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) or an acute back or joint injury.
1involves the use of the human body to lift, lower, fill, empty, or carry loads.
Single out the main points of the text. Use the following opening phrases:
The text looks at (the problem of…)
The text deals with the issue of..
It is clear from the text that…
Among other things the text raises the issue of…
The problem of…is of great importance
One of the main points to be singled out is
Great importance is also attached to…
In this connection, I’d like to say…
It further says that…
I find the question of…very important because…
We shouldn’t forget that…
I think that…should be mentioned here as a very important…mechanism of… .
Talking points.
You are an occupational health and safety officer. Explain your tasks and give the examples of your activity.
A lot of people think that the profession of occupational health and safety officer is useless and primitive; it is a waste of time and firm’s money. Prove that they are wrong.