PROCEDURES IN HAZARDS ANALYSIS IN THE WORKPLACE:

A hazard is generically defined by safety practitioners as a condition or an object with the potential
to cause death, injuries to personnel, damage to equipment or structures, loss of material, or reduction
of the ability to perform a prescribed function. For the purpose of aviation safety risk management, the
term hazard should be focused on those conditions which could cause or contribute to unsafe operation
of aircraft or aviation safety-related equipment, products and services.

A hazard is the potential for harm. In practical terms, a hazard often is associated with a condition
or activity that, if left uncontrolled, can result in an injury or illness.

Consider, for example, a fifteen-knot wind, which is not necessarily a hazardous condition. In fact,
a fifteen-knot wind blowing directly down the runway improves aircraft take-off and landing performance.
However, a fifteen-knot wind blowing in a direction ninety degrees across a runway of intended take-off
or landing creates a crosswind condition that may be hazardous due to its potential to contribute to an
aircraft operational occurrence, such as a lateral runway excursion.

Hazards are an inevitable part of aviation activities. However, their manifestation and possible
consequences can be addressed through various mitigation strategies to contain the potential for a hazard
to result in unsafe aircraft or aviation equipment operations.

There is a common tendency to confuse hazards with their consequences or outcomes. A

consequence is an outcome that can be triggered by a hazard. For example, a runway excursion (overrun)
is a projected consequence in relation to the hazard of a contaminated runway. By first defining the hazard
clearly, one can then project the proper consequence or outcome. It may be noted that consequences
can be multi-layered, including such things as an intermediate unsafe event before an ultimate
consequence (accident).

Hazards exist at all levels in the organization and are detectable through use of reporting systems,
inspections or audits, like:

- Safety reporting
- Internal investigation of safety occurrence
- Trend analysis
- Information provided by personnel from operational perspective and training
- Analysed data from automated data collecting tools
- Results from safety surveys
- Monitoring of day-to-day normal operations and environment
- Information-exchange practices between operators/service provides

Mishaps may occur when hazards interact with certain triggering factors. As a result, hazards should
be identified before they lead to accidents, incidents or other safety-related occurrences. An important
mechanism for proactive hazard identification is a voluntary hazard/incident reporting system.

Hazards may be categorized according to their source or location. Objective prioritization of hazards
may require categorizations according to the severity/likelihood of their projected consequences

The three methodologies for identifying hazards are:

a) Reactive. This methodology involves analysis of past outcomes or events. Hazards are identified
through investigation of safety occurrences. Incidents and accidents are clear indicators of system
deficiencies and therefore can be used to determine the hazards that either contributed to the event or
are latent.

b) Proactive. This methodology involves analysis of existing or real-time situations, which is the primary
job of the safety assurance function with its audits, evaluations, employee reporting, and associated
analysis and assessment processes. This involves actively seeking hazards in the existing processes.
c) Predictive. This methodology involves data gathering in order to identify possible negative future
outcomes or events, analysing system processes and the environment to identify potential future hazards
and initiating mitigating actions.

What is a job hazard analysis?

A job hazard analysis is a technique that focuses on job tasks as a way to identify hazards before
they occur. It focuses on the relationship between the worker, the task, the tools, and the work
environment.

Why is job hazard analysis important?

Many workers are injured and killed at the workplace every day in the United States. Safety and
health can add value to your business, your job, and your life. You can help prevent workplace injuries
and illnesses by looking at your workplace operations, establishing proper job procedures, and ensuring
that all employees are trained properly. One of the best ways to determine and establish proper work
procedures is to conduct a job hazard analysis. A job hazard analysis is one component of the larger
commitment of a safety and health management system.

What is the value of a job hazard analysis?

Supervisors can use the findings of a job hazard analysis to eliminate and prevent hazards in their
workplaces. This is likely to result in fewer worker injuries and illnesses; safer, more effective work
methods; reduced workers’ compensation costs; and increased worker productivity. The analysis also can
be a valuable tool for training new employees in the steps required to perform their jobs safely. For a job
hazard analysis to be effective, management must demonstrate its commitment to safety and health and
follow through to correct any uncontrolled hazards identified. Otherwise, management will lose credibility
and employees may hesitate to go to management when dangerous conditions threaten them.

Where do I begin?
1. Involve your employees. It is very important to involve your employees in the hazard analysis process.
They have a unique understanding of the job, and this knowledge is invaluable for finding hazards.
Involving employees will help minimize oversights, ensure a quality analysis, and get workers to “buy in”
to the solutions because they will share ownership in their safety and health program.

2. Review your accident history. Review with your employees your worksite’s history of accidents and
occupational illnesses that needed treatment, losses that required repair or replacement, and any “near
misses” —events in which an accident or loss did not occur, but could have. These events are indicators
that the existing hazard controls (if any) may not be adequate and deserve more scrutiny.

3. Conduct a preliminary job review. Discuss with your employees the hazards they know exist in their
current work and surroundings. Brainstorm with them for ideas to eliminate or control those hazards.

4. List, rank, and set priorities for hazardous jobs. List jobs with hazards that present unacceptable risks,
based on those most likely to occur and with the most severe consequences. These jobs should be your
first priority for analysis.

5. Outline the steps or tasks. Nearly every job can be broken down into job tasks or steps. When beginning
a job hazard analysis, watch the employee perform the job and list each step as the worker takes it. Be
sure to record enough information to describe each job action without getting overly detailed. Avoid
making the breakdown of steps so detailed that it becomes unnecessarily long or so broad that it does
not include basic steps. You may find it valuable to get input from other workers who have performed the
same job. Later, review the job steps with the employee to make sure you have not omitted something.
Point out that you are evaluating the job itself, not the employee’s job performance. Include the employee
in all phases of the analysis—from reviewing the job steps and procedures to discussing uncontrolled
hazards and recommended solutions.

How do I identify workplace hazards?

A job hazard analysis is an exercise in detective work. Your goal is to discover the following:

• What can go wrong?

• What are the consequences?

• How could it arise?

• What are other contributing factors?

• How likely is it that the hazard will occur?

To make your job hazard analysis useful, document the answers to these questions in a consistent
manner. Describing a hazard in this way helps to ensure that your efforts to eliminate the hazard and
implement hazard controls help target the most important contributors to the hazard.

Good hazard scenarios describe:

• Where it is happening (environment),

• Who or what it is happening to (exposure),

• What precipitates the hazard (trigger),

• The outcome that would occur should it happen (consequence), and

• Any other contributing factors.

SAMPLE OF JOB HAZARD ANALYSIS FORM / TASK CARD:

LOCATION: ANALYST: DATE:

TASK ANALYSIS:

HAZARD ANALYSIS:

HAZARD CONTROL: