Every workplace, be it a busy construction site or a quiet office space, harbours unseen risks. Some risks are obvious, while others lie in wait beneath everyday activities. The difference between a safe workplace and a potentially disastrous one is sometimes a simple process, a process that is both safe and efficient. The process is called Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment, which is a process also known by its acronym HIRA.
What Is a Hazard Assessment?
A hazard assessment is a systematic approach to identifying possible sources of harm in a work environment. It is not merely a tick-the-box exercise in a compliance report. Rather, it is a living, breathing tool that changes over time, much like the workplace itself does.
Hazards can take the form of physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic, or psychosocial risks. The process of carrying out a hazard assessment incorporates all of these. It requires both theoretical and practical understanding. At its most basic level, a hazard assessment is simply answering three questions: What can go wrong? How likely is it to go wrong? And what will happen if it does go wrong?
One of the most searched questions regarding workplace safety is who is liable for conducting the hazard assessment. The answer is not as simple as stating that the employer is liable; the answer involves many people. The employer is ultimately liable, but the safety officer, supervisor, and employees also play an active role in the process. Knowing who is liable for conducting the hazard assessment helps create a culture where everyone is responsible for safety, not just the employer.
Understanding HIRA Framework
Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA) is a methodology by which organizations identify hazards and assess risks associated with those hazards before any work activity commences or any change takes place. HIRA is not just a legal requirement, but its essence is the intellectual foundation of any serious and credible Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) program.
The process of HIRA generally follows a particular sequence-
- Hazard Identification- Teams walk through the work areas, analyze job tasks, look at incident histories, and talk to people to identify all possible sources of hazards, no matter how small they may be.
- Risk Evaluation- Each hazard identified in this process is analyzed on two parameters, which are: what is the likelihood of this hazard leading to a loss (probability), and what would be the consequence of this loss (severity). These two parameters are used to arrive at a risk rating, which is generally represented on a risk matrix.
- Risk Control Measures- After rating the risks, control measures are taken according to the hierarchy of control, which includes elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, and PPE, in that order.
- Monitoring and Review– HIRA is not a one-time process. It should be reviewed periodically, i.e., whenever there is a change in the process, equipment, or personnel, or in case of an incident.
Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment conducted uncompromisingly which can prevent injuries, reduce downtime, decrease legal liabilities, and, most importantly, it can save lives.
Who Is Responsible for Conducting a Hazard Assessment?
HIRA is the most misunderstood area in workplace safety. Who should be responsible for the hazard assessment? The honest answer is everyone. The Employers and Senior Management have the primary responsibility, legally and morally. The employers have the ultimate responsibility, according to most national OSH regulations, whether it is the UK’s Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, India’s Factories Act, or the US’s OSHA regulations.
The employer must provide the necessary resources and must ensure that the employees have the right culture, in which safety is not compromised in favour of productivity. Supervisors and Line Managers are very important at the operational level. They are the ones closest to the work being done, and their observations are invaluable during the hazard identification phase. They are also the ones charged with the responsibility of making sure the risk controls are actually implemented at the shop floor level.
Workers and Frontline Employees are an indispensable part of the hazard assessment process. Who knows the reality of the job being done better than the employee doing the job? They can point out hazards that the management and safety officers might overlook. From the legal point of view, the workers have the right and in many cases, the obligation to take part in the hazard assessment process and to refuse to do work they think is unsafe.
External Consultants and Competent Persons may be consulted for specialized assessment work, such as confined space entry, chemical exposure analysis, and ergonomic assessment, where internal expertise is not sufficient. However, this does not absolve the employer of accountability. Who is accountable for performing a hazard assessment? The answer is that everyone is accountable, but the employer is ultimately accountable. Real safety culture is about shared accountability throughout an organization.
How to Bring HIRA into Practice?
One of the most important misconceptions about Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment is that it is a documentation activity. There are cases when a comprehensive report is written and placed in a folder and never looked at again. This is safety theatre, and safety theatre is dangerous.
A good Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment is a living process. It is a response to near misses as well as accidents. It is a response to a new machine arriving in the workplace, a response to a change in working hours, a response to a new chemical entering the workplace, or a response to a young and inexperienced worker being assigned to a team.
Technology is starting to play a role in Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment as well. There are mobile technology solutions available that enable a supervisor to complete a Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment in real-time and identify hazards directly from the workplace, and assign actions immediately. This is a step that is rarely addressed in traditional systems.
HIRA Legal and Ethical Imperatives
Aside from compliance, the Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment process also has a deep ethical significance. Every employee deserves to come back home in the evening after leaving for work in the morning. Every employer who understands the importance of carrying out the hazard assessment and takes it seriously is making a commitment to the dignity of man.
Any organization which takes the HIRA process seriously reaps the benefits in terms of lower accident rates, lower insurance costs, improved employee satisfaction, and improved regulatory compliance. Those who take it lightly suffer the consequences in terms of heavy fines, lawsuits, loss of reputation, and even loss of life.
Conclusion
From recognizing a slippery floor to controlling risks associated with intricate chemical processes, Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment is the foundation of a safe work environment. Knowing who is accountable for completing a hazard assessment, and who owns this responsibility is key to changing safety from a departmental activity to a corporate value. Hazard assessment is not about fear, but about foresight. And in today’s ever more complex work environments, no other safety tool rivals foresight in its power.
