APPENDIX A: SAMPLE PROCEDURE FOR OH&S HAZARD IDENTIFICATION, RISK ASSESSMENT AND DETERMINATION OF CONTROLS
Purpose: To define a process that describes initial, and ongoing, identification of occupational health and safety hazards, assessment of risks and determination of controls.
Scope: This procedure is applicable to all locations, equipment, infrastructure and personnel (employees, contractors and visitors) who are involved in any routine or non-routine activity of Safe and Sound Inc. (SSI).
Responsibilities: Manager < > has the overall responsibility for the following activities:
- Formation of OH&S hazard and risk assessment teams, and ensuring their competence.
- Identification of hazards, assessment of risks and determination of controls (initial and ongoing).
- Maintenance and upkeep of OH&S hazard and risk register (Appendix B).
Procedure:
1 Make an inventory of all locations of the organisation, in such a manner that no area or department is missed out. SSI has been divided into 10 distinct locations and these are numbered as location 1 to location 10.
2 Nominate trained personnel to form cross-functional risk assessment teams for each location of SSI. Each cross-functional team shall visit its allocated location, identify the presence of hazards, and describe how the hazard may cause ill health, harm or injury. Ensure that every situation, source, activity or event that could potentially cause injury or ill health, is identified as a hazard. Ensure specialist advice is sought from a doctor (and where required, from a psychologist) on hazards and controls relating to health, such as hygiene, ergonomics, noise, fumes, chemical reactions, human behaviour, capabilities and human factors. Use the following methods and sources for identification of hazards:
Observations/examination
Study of equipment and process flow diagrams
Brainstorming and ‘what-if analysis’
Safety information from ‘material safety data sheets’
Data from previous incidents/accidents
Medical records, first-aid cases and lost time accidents (LTAs)
Views of interested parties (records of internal communication and participation)
Legal and regulatory requirements.
3 Use the following rating/scale for assessment of likelihood and severity (needed for subsequent quantification of risk).
LIKELIHOOD (L) SCALE
Likelihood of occurrence
One in ... 10,000 chance ...............1
One in a 1,000 chance ..................2
One in a 100 chance ....................3
One in 50 chance .......................4
One in 10 chance .......................5
SEVERITY (S) SCALE
The severity of harm
A minor scratch or first aid case...............1
Injury resulting in one–three days off
work...............2
Injury resulting in more than
three days off work...............3
Loss of limb/permanent disability...............4
One or more fatalities...............5
4 Risk rating R is calculated by R = L x S. Risk assessed as five or more would be considered intolerable, and would require mandatory application of additional controls in order to reduce the risk. The determination of controls must take into consideration the following top-down hierarchy.
Elimination
Substitution
Engineering controls
Administrative controls
Personal protective equipment.
5 Prepare a register of OH&S hazards, risks and controls for all locations of SSI, using the format in Appendix B.
6 Review, and update, the register of OH&S hazards, risks and controls (Appendix B) at least once every year. Also, review and update whenever new hazards are identified, laws are changed, lessons are learnt from new incidents, or when processes and activities are added or modified.
Records to be kept
- Register of OH&S hazards, risks and controls
- Record of competence of the OH&S risk assessment team.