Module 302 Managing Safe Working Environment

Unit.302.1 Managing Hazard at Workplaces

Elements.302.1.1- 4 Control Hazard at Workplaces/Hazard Mitigation

Learning objectives:-
 Describe basic terms
 Describe types of hazard at workplaces
 Describe hazard control measures at workplaces

HAZARD AND RISK AT WORKPLACES

Hazard: Overview
Although work provides many economic and other benefits, a wide
array of workplace hazards also present risks to the health and safety
of people at work. Hazards are around us and are present at every
workplace or everywhere and come from a wide number of sources.
Identifying and eliminating them is a major component of maintaining
a safe workplace/safe work environment.

Hazard: Definition

Anything or agent that has the potential to cause harm in absence of

control

Anything/agent - (e.g. event, condition, situation, practice, behavior or

set of circumstance)

Harm – (injury, disease, death or damage to living or non living

organism) e.g human environmental, property and equipment

Risk: Definition
The terms "hazard" and "risk" are often used interchangeably.
However, in terms of risk assessment, these are two very distinct
terms.

Risk is defined as the probability that exposure to a hazard will lead to

be harmed Or risk a chance or probability that a person will be
harmed if exposed to a hazard.

More simply, Risk = Hazard x Dose (Exposure).

Note: A hazard poses no risk if there is not exposure to that hazard.

Factors that influence the degree of risk include:

 how much a person is exposed to a hazardous thing or condition,

 how the person is exposed (e.g., breathing in a vapour, skin
contact), and
 How severe are the effects under the conditions of exposure.

ROUTES OF ENTRY OF WORK PLACES HAZARD

Hazard can enter to the human body in many ways as:-

a) Inhalation (breathing),
b) Absorption (through direct contact with the skin)/direct exposure
c) Ingestion (eating or drinking).
d) Injection

e) Indirect exposure

HAZARD CLASSIFICATION/TYPES OF HAZARDS

A common way of identifying workplace hazards is to classify them into
various categories:

According to the impact/effect they cause

 1. Health hazard (cause occupational illness)
2. Safety hazard (cause physical harm – injury)

According to how it caused

1. Biological hazard
2. Chemical hazard
3. Mechanical hazard
4. Physical hazard
5. Psychological hazard
6. Ergonomic hazard

BIOLOGICAL HAZARD

What is Biological Hazard?

Biological hazards, also known as biohazards, refer to biological

substances that pose a threat to the health of living organisms,
primarily that of humans OR anything coming from living organisms
that could be a threat to someone's health. Biohazard may include:-
Pollen, Fungi, Animals, Insects, Bacteria, Viruses, Medical waste,
Samples of a microorganism and Toxin

The international symbol for biological hazard

The "biohazard” symbol is a familiar sight in hospitals, and any object

that carries it should be treated with extreme caution
Classification of Biohazard

The common types of hazard are

Visible biohazard

These are living agents that can be seen with naked eyes. They include
worms, house flies, cockroaches, caterpillars, snake, lizards, and ticks.

Invisible biohazard

These are living organism that cannot be seen with naked eyes. They
include bacteria, yeasts, protozoa, molds, fungi and viruses

CHEMICAL HAZARD

Harmful chemical compounds in the form of solids, liquids, gases,

mists, dusts, fumes and vapours exert toxic effects

Effect of chemical hazardous

The effects on health of hazardous substances can vary from very mild
(momentary dizziness or skin irritation) to very serious, such as cancer.
The principal effects are:-

Acute effect/local effects

Acute effects are of short duration and appear fairly rapidly, usually
during or after single or short term exposure to a hazardous chemical.
Such as dizziness, nausea, fainting, vomiting, headaches.

Chronic effect/systematic effect

The effects develop over a period of time which may extend to many
years. Chronic health effects are produced from prolonged or repeated
exposure to hazardous substance resulting in a gradual, latent and
often irreversible illness, which may remain undiagnosed for many
years. They includes cancers, mental diseases,

PHYSICAL HAZARD

A physical hazard is defined as "A factor within the environment

that can harm the body with or without necessarily touching
it/contact. Physical hazards includes:-

Radiation
Heat and cold/temperature
Pressure
Vibration
Noise
Illumination
Electrical

PSYCHOSOCIAL HAZARDS

Risks to psychological health at work may arise from

organizational or personal factors. Psychological hazards
generally are not from physical of things that you can see like a
saw blade, smell like paint. Rather, many of these hazards come
about as a result of interactions with others.

Psychosocial hazard is any hazard that affects the mental well-

being or mental health of the worker and may have physical
effects by overwhelming the individual coping mechanism and
impacting the workers ability to work in a healthily and safe
manner.

The common psychological and psychosocial hazards at

workplaces are:
Fatigue
Stress and critical incident stress
Bullying including cyber bulling/harassment
Workplace violence and abuse
Working alone

Fatigue
What is Fatigue?
Fatigue is the state of feeling very tired, weary or sleepy that
results from insufficient sleep, prolonged mental or physical work,
or extended periods of stress or anxiety. Boring or repetitive tasks
can intensify feelings of fatigue. Fatigue can be described as
either acute or chronic.

What Are Some Causes of Fatigue?

There are many causes of fatigue. Work-related factors may
include:

 Extended work hours

 Long hours of physical or mental activity
 Insufficient break time between shifts
 Inadequate rest
 Excessive stress
 Combination of these factors
What Are the Potential Effects of Fatigue on Work?

Fatigue cannot be easily measured so it is difficult to pinpoint its

effect on workplace incidents. However, studies report the
potential effects of fatigue as:

 Reduced decision-making ability

 Reduced ability to do complex planning
 Reduced communication skills
 Reduce ability to concentrate
 Reduced productivity/performance
 Reduced attention and vigilance
 Reduced ability to handle stress on the job
 Loss of memory or the ability to recall details
 Failure to respond to changes in surroundings or information
provided
 Increased tendency for risk taking
 Increased forgetfulness
 Increased errors in judgments
 Increased sick time/absenteeism
 Increased medical costs

Stress
What Is Stress?

Stress can be defined as the result of any emotional, physical,

social, economic or other factor that requires a response or
change. It is generally believed that some stress is okay and, in
fact, necessary (sometimes referred to as challenge or positive
stress). When stress occurs in an amount or intensity you cannot
handle, both mental and physical changes may occur. Stress may
be defined as a process in the body for adapting to all influences,
changes, demands and strains to which it is exposed.

Workplace stress is the harmful physical and emotional responses

that can happen when there is a conflict between job demands on
the worker and the amount of control a worker has over meeting
these demands. In general, the combination of high demands in a
job and a low amount of control over the situation can lead to
negative stress.

Causes of Stress at Work

Any event that triggers a stress reaction in your body is called a

stressor. Situations at work that may cause stress could include:

fear of injury or illness

deadlines
lack of training for a new job or task
feelings of pressure
lack of time to do work
lack of control of job tasks
job change
downsizing of the company
working with difficult colleagues or clients
role conflict
lack of job security
Category of job stressors

In the workplace, stress can be the result of any number of

situations. Some examples include:

Factors unique to the job

• Workload; i.e., overload and under load

• Pace/variety/meaningfulness of work
• Autonomy; e.g., the ability to make your own decisions about
job or specific tasks
• shift work/hours of work
• Physical environment; e.g., noise, air quality
• Isolation at the workplace; e.g., emotional, physical
Role in the organization
• Role conflict; e.g., conflicting job demands, multiple
supervisors/managers
• Role ambiguity; e.g., lack of clarity about responsibilities,
expectations
• Level of responsibility
Career development
• Under/over promotion
• job security; e.g., fear of redundancy either from economy or a
lack of tasks or work to do
• Career development opportunities
• Overall job satisfaction
Relationships at work
• Supervisors (Interpersonal)
• Co-workers
• subordinates
• Threat of violence or harassment; e.g., from co-workers,
customers/clients or the public
Organizational structure/climate
• Participation (or nonparticipation) in decision structure/climate
making
• Management style
• Communication patterns

Potential Health Effects of Stress

Too much stress can have a negative impact on your overall
health. Your body reacts to stress with a fight or flight response.
This is very effective for the short term when faced with an
immediate danger. However, our bodies deal with all types of
stress in the same way and experiencing stress for long periods of
time, such as constant stressors at work, will keep this system
activated. With long term stressors, the fight-flight system does
not get the chance to turn off and this can lead to a variety of
possible health effects and symptoms.

Physical Psychosocial Behavioural

• fatigue • anxiety • eating

• headaches • irritability disorders

• changes in • sadness • intolerance

appetite • defensiveness •

• increased procrastination
blood pressure • anger • substance

• grinding teeth • abuse

• clenched jaws hypersensitivity • increased

• apathy smoking
• shortness of
breath • depression • withdrawal or
isolation from
• muscle aches • slowed
others
• increased thinking or
racing thoughts • poor job
perspiration
performance
• trouble • feelings of
helplessness, • poor personal
sleeping
hopelessness or hygiene
• depression of
of being • change in
the immune
trapped close family
system
• pessimism relationships
• cardiovascular
• absenteeism
disorders
• mood swings
• gastronomical
disorders

Bullying in the Workplace

What is Workplace Bullying?

Bullying is usually seen as acts or verbal comments that could

mentally hurt or isolate a person in the workplace. Sometimes,
bullying can involve negative physical contact as well. Bullying
usually involves repeated incidents or a pattern of behaviour that
is intended to intimidate, offend, degrade or humiliate a particular
person or group of people. It has also been described as the
assertion of power through aggression.

Bullying is usually considered to be a pattern of behaviour where

one or more incidents show that bullying is taking place.
Examples of bullying:

• Spreading malicious rumours, gossip or innuendo that is not

true
• Excluding or isolating someone socially
• Intimidating a person
• Undermining or deliberately impeding a person’s work
• Physically abusing or threatening abuse
• Removing areas of responsibilities, without cause
• Constantly changing work guidelines
• Establishing impossible deadlines that will set up the individual
to fail
• Withholding necessary information or purposefully giving the
wrong information
• Making jokes that are obviously offensive, by spoken word or e-
mail
• Intruding on a person’s privacy by pestering, spying or stalking
• Assigning unreasonable duties or workloads those are
unfavourable to one person
• Creating a feeling of uselessness through under work
• Criticizing a person persistently or constantly
• Belittling a person’s opinions
• Unwarranted (or undeserved) punishment
• Blocking applications for training, leave or promotion
• Tampering with a person’s personal belongings or work
equipment

How Can Bullying Affect the Workplace?

Bullying affects the overall health of an organization and may
contribute to:

increased absenteeism
increased turnover
increased stress
increased costs for Employee and Family Assistance
Programs (EFAP)
difficulty recruiting new workers
increased risks for incidents
decreased productivity and motivation
decreased morale
reduced corporate image and customer confidence
poor customer service

Workplace Violence
Violence that occurs at a work site or is work related means “the
threatened, attempted or actual conduct of a person that causes
or is likely to cause physical injury.”

Preventing Workplace Violence

If workplace violence is identified as an existing or potential
hazard, Part 27 of the OHS states that employers must:

- Develop policies and procedures for potential workplace

violence
- Train workers in recognition and response to potential
workplace violence and the policies and procedures in place
- Advice workers to consult a health professional if exposed to
or injured as a result of workplace violence

What Work-related Factors Increase the Risk of Violence?

Certain work factors, processes and interactions can increase the

chance of exposure to workplace violence. Examples include:

- working with the public

- handling money, valuables or prescription drugs; e.g.,

cashiers, pharmacists

- carrying out inspection or enforcement duties; e.g.,

government employees

- providing service, care, advice or education; e.g., health

care staff, teachers

- working with unstable or volatile persons; e.g., social

services, criminal justice system employees

- working in premises where alcohol is served; e.g., food

and beverage staff
 - working alone, in small numbers, e.g., store clerks, real
estate agents, or in isolated or low traffic areas; e.g.,
washrooms, storage areas, utility rooms

- working in community-based settings; e.g., nurses, social

workers, home visitors

- having a mobile workplace; e.g., taxicab

- working during periods of intense organizational change

or stress; e.g., strikes, downsizing

- geographic locations, such as: near buildings or businesses

that are at risk of violent crime; e.g., bars, banks
- in areas isolated from other buildings or structures
- in areas with higher levels of criminal activity
Basic Information
Working Alone
For the purposes of legislated requirements, working alone is
defined as:
1) “if a worker is working alone and 2) assistance is not
readily available if
there is an emergency or the worker is injured or ill.”
Working alone is considered a hazard that requires hazard
assessment and control under Part 2 of the OHS Code.
Employers are required to provide effective radio, telephone
or other electronic communications between a worker who
works alone and persons capable of assisting the worker in
an emergency if the worker is injured or ill. If an effective
 electronic communication is not practical or readily available
(e.g., in some parts of Alberta, cell phones will not work), the
employer must make sure that:
• the employer or designate visits the worker or
• the worker regularly contacts the employer or designated
worker
Regular contact is to at intervals appropriate to the nature of
the hazard

1. Mechanical: The hazards caused by the moving parts of

machinery, plant or an equipment

2. Psychological: Stress, harassment and violence

3. Physical: Exposure to noise, vibrations, radiation, light or a

magnetic field, electrical

4. Ergonomic: Improper posture, repetitive movements, improper

arrangement of workplace

Module 101:
Unit 101: 3 Hazard control methods

Element 101: 3.1 Hazard Control Measures

Instruction and learning objectives:-

 Define hazard control

 Describe the components of hierarch for hazard control
 Apply hierarchy of hazard control at the workplaces

HAZARD CONTROL MEASURES

Overview: Hazard control measures

Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) legislation requires that all

foreseeable hazards are identified and the risks arising from these
hazards are eliminated or controlled. Risk management is a legal
requirement for all businesses regardless of their size and basically it
involves asking the following questions; what hazards exist in the
workplace? how serious are the hazards? and what can be done to
control these hazards?

Definition: Hazard Control measures

Hazard control refers to a system, procedures and strategy adopted

and used by organization to minimize or eliminate workers exposure
to hazards.

Hierarchy of Hazard Control measures

Hazards are often controlled via what's called the hierarchy of hazard
control. This consists of a list of measures in decreasing order of
effectiveness:
 1. Elimination:
2. Engineering Controls:
3. Administrative Control:
4. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE):

ELIMINATION AND SUBSTITUTION HAZARD CONTROL

It is the most effective measure, but may not always be possible. As

the title suggests, this control measure involves eliminating or
removing the risk in its entirety. The first and the best way to eliminate
the hazard are by removing the initial element or cause, machine or
the process all together. Eliminating the hazard—physically removing it
—is the most effective hazard control.

For example, if employees must work high above the ground, the
hazard can be eliminated by moving the piece they are working on to
ground level to eliminate the need to work at heights.
Substitution involves replacing something that is hazardous, with
something that is not hazardous. A typical example is replacing a
solvent-based paint with a water-based paint. This eliminates the
harmful fumes and flammable vapors that result from using, and
cleaning up after using a solvent-based paint. Care must be taken to
ensure a new hazard is not introduced into the workplace when
substituting one material for another.

For example:

•Risk: Cleaning solution causing allergic reactions and nausea.

•Control: Substituting a less toxic or non - allergenic cleaning solution

for the task.

HAZARD CONTROL – ENGINEERING

If hazard elimination or substitution is not feasible, engineering

controls should be considered next. This involves modifying the plant,
equipment or process so that the associated hazards are reduced. For
example, a plant might add a ventilation system.

Engineering controls are physical changes to the work area or process

that effectively minimize a worker's exposure to hazards.

• Enclosed Hazard

– Enclosure of the hazard, such as enclosures for noisy

equipment.

• Isolate Hazard
 – Isolation of the hazard with interlocks, machine guarding,
welding curtains, and other mechanisms.

• Remove / Redirect Hazard

– Removal or redirection of the hazard such as with local and

exhaust ventilation.

• Redesign Workplace

– Redesign of workstation to minimize ergonomic injuries.

ADMINISTRATIVE CONTROLS

If engineering controls are not feasible you must then consider

implementing administrative controls. Administrative controls" are
normally used in conjunction with other controls that more directly
prevent or control exposure to the hazard.

Administrative controls are used to direct people to work in a safe

manner. Administrative controls do not eliminate hazards, but restrict
access to those hazards through the use of procedures and rules.

Administrative control, they include procedures,

– Written operating procedures,

– Limited time exposure to hazards
– Changing the way in which a particular type of work is
carried out. This is achieved by changing the timing of the
work and/or changing policies and procedures.
– Work practices, and
– Safety and health rules for employees.
– Adjusting work tasks or schedules.
 – Alarms, signs and warnings
– Buddy system
– Training
– Stretching exercises and break policies
PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE):

When no other option is available, personal protective equipment (PPE)

is used. This is the least effective, and least desirable, method of
protecting workers, and is considered as the last line of defense
against hazards. If the PPE is damaged or fails, the worker will be
exposed to the hazard. PPE is not a particularly effective control
method and should only be used:

(i) When all other control measures are impractical; or

(ii) In conjunction with other more effective, control measures.

Common PPE includes:

 Gloves
 Hard hats
 Safety shoes and boots
 Safety glasses / face shields
 High visibility clothing
 Respirators
Module 03: hazard classification

Unit 03: 1 Hazard control

Element 03: 1.1 Hazard control/hierarchy of hazard control

Instruction and learning objectives:-

 Describe the hierarchy of hazard control

 Describe the components of hierarch for hazard control
 Apply hierarchy of hazard control at the workplaces

HIERARCHY OF HAZARD CONTROL (OVERVIEW AND DEFINITION)

Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) legislation requires that all

foreseeable hazards are identified and the risks arising from these
hazards are eliminated or controlled. Risk management is a legal
requirement for all businesses regardless of their size and basically it
involves asking the following questions; what hazards exist in the
workplace? how serious are the hazards? and what can be done to
control these hazards?

A hierarchy of hazard control is a systematic step by step process used

in workplaces to minimize or reduce exposure to hazards. A triangle
with apex upwards shows the priority of actions and decreasing
effectiveness from top to the bottom in sequence elimination,
substitution, engineering, administration and personal protective
equipment (PPE).

COMPONENT OF HIERARCHY FOR HAZARD CONTROL

Hierarchy of hazard control is a system used in industry to minimize or
eliminate exposure to hazards. A hierarchy of hazard control can be
briefly described as follows:

Elimination

As the title suggests, this control measure involves eliminating or

removing the risk in its entirety. The first and the best way to eliminate
the hazard are by removing the initial element or cause, machine or
the process all together. Eliminating the hazard—physically removing it
—is the most effective hazard control. For example, if employees must
work high above the ground, the hazard can be eliminated by moving
the piece they are working on to ground level to eliminate the need to
work at heights.

Substitution

Substitution, the second most effective hazard control, involves

replacing something that produces a hazard (similar to elimination)
with something that does not produce a hazard—for example,
replacing lead based paint with acrylic paint. To be an effective control,
the new product must not produce another hazard. Because airborne
dust can be hazardous, if a product can be purchased with a larger
particle size, the smaller product may effectively be substituted with
the larger product.
Substitute with an alternative non-hazardous or less hazardous
material, machine or process Substitution or This form of control
involves substituting a safer process or material for the hazardous
Process/material identified. Substitution is a form of hazard
elimination, and the two may be combined on some hierarchy of
hazard control lists. Substitution involves replacing something that is
hazardous, with something that is not hazardous. A typical example is
replacing a solvent-based paint with a water-based paint. This
eliminates the harmful fumes and flammable vapors that result from
using, and cleaning up after using a solvent-based paint.

Care must be taken to ensure a new hazard is not introduced into the
workplace when substituting one material for another.

For example:

•Risk: Cleaning solution causing allergic reactions and nausea.

•Control: Substituting a less toxic or non - allergenic cleaning solution

for the task.

Isolation

This control involves separating the hazard or hazardous work practice

from employees

Other work areas. This may involve sectioning off the area by erecting
barriers or by relocating either the hazardous work practice or the
„other‟ employees and their work practices. For example:

•Risk: Excessive noise emanating from machinery.

•Control: Enclosing the machinery or the personnel hence creating an
isolating barrier between the hazard and the person by using a barrier.

Engineering controls

This method of control involves designing and/or adding physical

safety features to plant or equipment. Or if a hazard cannot be
eliminated or there is no alternative that can be found, then the next
step is to use engineering controls, such as a machine guard.
Engineering controls are also used to remove a hazard. A common
example of this is using a fume hood to contain and remove airborne
hazards.

(i) Equipment and Workplace Design The provision of new and/or

additional equipment or redesign of a workplace can be used to control
identified hazards. For example:

•Risk: Animal handling.

•Control: Hoists. Slide Boards.

•Risk: A poor clerical workstation design resulting in a risk of injury to

the back, neck, shoulder and wrist.

•Control: Redesign the workstation to recommended ergonomic

specifications for the personnel including the provision of equipment
such as slope - boards, document holders, foot stools and ergonomic
chairs.

• (ii) Automation Fully or partially automating a process removes the

need for, or reduces the risk of, performing a hazardous task. For
example:
•Risk: Manual handling in washing glassware process.

•Control: Introduction of an automatic washing system.

(iii) Containment (ventilation, dilution, extraction) Containing or

drawing away a hazard at the source so that personnel are not
exposed. For example:

•Risk: Chemical fumes given off during cleaning, laboratory, or welding

processes.

•Control: Construction of a local extraction system to remove the

fumes at the source.

(iv) Guarding Guards must be provided when there is the potential for
people to come into contact with hazardous situations to ensure that
no part of the person (including hair, clothing etc) can be caught in the
moving part. There are several different types of guards,
movable/interlocked, fixed, and photoelectric beam. For example:

•Risk: Accessible high speed rotating parts on a machine

•Control: Placing appropriate guards to prevent access to the rotating

parts.

Administrative controls

Administrative controls are used to direct people to work in a safe

manner. They include procedures, warning signs and labels, and
training. Administrative controls do not eliminate hazards, but restrict
access to those hazards through the use of procedures and rules.
OSHA divides these types of controls into two categories, safe work
practices and administrative controls. OSHA defines safe work
practices as: "Safe work practices include your company's general
workplace rules and other operation-specific rules. For example, even
when a hazard is enclosed, exposure can occur when maintenance is
necessary. Through established safe work practices, employee
exposure to hazards can be further reduced."

OSHA considers administrative controls to be those other measures,

other than work practices, used to reduce employee exposure to
hazards. This includes measures such as additional relief workers,
exercise breaks, and rotation of workers. The controls OSHA defines as
"administrative controls" are normally used in conjunction with other
controls that more directly prevent or control exposure to the hazard.

In general, administrative controls include:

 Limiting the amount of time someone is exposed to hazards.

 Written operating procedures.
 Standards for safe work practices.
 Safety and health rules for employees.
 Alarms, signs, and labels.
 Buddy system.
 Training (and refresher training).
 Stretching and warm-up exercises
 Break policies.

Most often it requires the assessment and modification of the task(s)

performed. It may include measures such as:
(i) Amendment or establishment of new Policy and Procedures. For
example: developing documented safe work practices for a hazardous
task, or implementing restrictive policy to prevent staff or students
from coming in contact with identified hazards.

(ii) The introduction or review of existing maintenance schedules for

plant and equipment, or safe work practices. This measure is used to
ensure that existing plant, equipment and procedures do not
deteriorate to the point where they become hazardous.

(iii) Limiting the exposure of personnel to elements that are only

hazardous when they exceed a certain threshold. These types of
hazards can include: noise, radiation, heat, chemicals, etc., and can be
controlled by introducing elements as simple as job rotation.

(iv)Providing training and information in safe work practices and other

workplace health issues so that personnel can work safely. Next are
the administrative controls, such as warnings, labeling, signs, alarms,
training, isolation, exposure control and monitoring etc.

Personal protective equipment (PPE)

When no other option is available, personal protective equipment (PPE)

is used. This is the least effective, and least desirable, method of
protecting workers, and is considered as the last line of defense
against hazards. If the PPE is damaged or fails, the worker will be
exposed to the hazard. PPE is not a particularly effective control
method and should only be used:

(i) When all other control measures are impractical; or

(ii) In conjunction with other more effective, control measures.

Common PPE includes:

 Gloves
 Hard hats
 Safety shoes and boots
 Safety glasses / face shields
 High visibility clothing
 Respirators