Hazard Prioritization

Time, cost and personal misery are three factors that concern safety in the workplace. The
employer must identify hazards associated with the job to ensure the employee is trained to
perform the work both accurately and safely. According to the job, each hazard must be
prioritized from most critical to least critical according to the hierarchy of control. (Recognizing,
Controlling, Assessing and Evaluating Hazards, 2019)

Recognizing, Controlling, Assessing and Evaluating Hazards. (2019). In OSG. Retrieved 2019,
10th November from
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qCgb0EKTlYrfa2kpn2e7XLPTUXKPAaGnH6JuXDZc6So/
edit

Qualitative vs Quantitative

It was decided that combining both qualitative and quantitative risk analysis would be suitable
for hazard prioritization. The purpose of qualitative approach would be to collect information
based on employee attitude, safety culture and training. According to Jarvis et al., the qualitative
assessment would include safety survey, safety interview, and safety meetings. Jarvis et al.
emphasize that qualitative assessment focused on bridging the gap between employee
involvement and workplace relations on promoting safe working environment. The qualitative
assessment includes recording hazardous scenarios from the workflow process such as visual
observation, inspection, interviews, surveys and reviewing past incidents.

Jarvis et al. had used the quantitative approach towards by statistically categorizing each
factors relating to employee involvement and workplace relations. Quantitative assessment can
also be used on comparing the amount of accidents and near miss incidents which can assist to
quantify the most and the least hazardous scenarios.

Bridging both qualitative and quantitative approach can bring both data and observation
together. The data collected from the study can be supported by the observation done
throughout the study.

Reference: Jarvis, M., Virovere, A., and Tint, P. (2019, November 11th). Formal Safety Versus
Real Safety: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches to Safety Culture – Evidence from
Estonia. Proceedings of the Latvian Academy of Sciences. Section B, Vol. 70 (2016), No. 5
(704), pp. 269–277. DOI: 10.1515/prolas-2016-0042

Factors for Hazard Prioritization

Essential factors:

- Probability of exposure to the hazard

- Probability of immediate danger to the hazard
- Frequency of exposure
- Frequency of occurrence
- Health Severity
Non-essential factors:

- Areas where Personal Protective Equipment would be the only hierarchy of control
- Range of foreseeable conditions
- Monitoring of safe systems of work

The non-essential factors have been less hazardous since these scenarios had been
controlled and monitored over a period of time. Such incidents could cause only minor
impacts on the employees.

The risk matrix chart had been developed to identify, assess, control, reassess, review
and monitor hazardous scenarios. An example of risk assessment chart shows different
levels of hazardous scenarios outlining both severity and possibility of employee being
susceptible towards the hazard.

Plain Safe: A Straight-Talking Guide to the Site-Specific Safety Plan. (2019, June). Site Safe.
Retrieved from https://www.sitesafe.org.nz/globalassets/products-and-services/sssp/sssp-v2-
2019/plain-safe-guide-v22019june.pdf
Yong, A. (2018,1st April). Branz: Risk Control. Build 165. Retrieved 2019, 10th November from
https://www.buildmagazine.org.nz/index.php/articles/show/risk-control
Highle, S. (2018, April 16th). Hastam: Are you taking risks with risk assessment? Retrieved
2019, 10th November from https://www.hastam.co.uk/are-you-taking-risks-with-risk-
assessment/

The likelihood and consequences are assigned from scores of 1 to 5 where 1 would be minimal
score and 5 would be the maximum score. Each set of scores had been categorized
accordingly with likelihood and consequence to observe the level of impact on the employee
from the hazard.

Once the impact of the hazard had been determined, the hierarchy of controls can be applied to
determine the best control methods to prevent the hazard from recurring. The hierarchy of
controls would include elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls
and personal protective equipment (Yong, 2018).

Yong, A. (2018,1st April). Branz: Risk Control. Build 165. Retrieved 2019, 10th November from
https://www.buildmagazine.org.nz/index.php/articles/show/risk-control