Identify Hazards & Manage Risk

Identifying and Managing Workplace Hazards: A Proactive Approach

Did you know that, as an employer, you’re legally required to monitor your workplace for potential hazards and manage risk? Don’t worry – it’s not as overwhelming as it sounds, particularly if you break down the process into manageable steps.

A hazard is anything that can cause physical or psychological injury, illness, or property damage. Risk is the likelihood that someone will be harmed if they’re exposed to a hazard. You can reduce risk by controlling hazards.

Hazards can be caused by:

• People using new equipment without proper training or supervision
• Poor maintenance of vehicles or equipment
• Exposure to biological or chemical agents
• Working alone, excessive work hours, or psychological distress (such as fatigue, substance abuse or being exposed to a traumatic event)
• Unclear work expectations, a lack of respect or civility and inadequate communication about health and safety
• External threats, either natural or human-caused (such as climate-related events)

There are several ways to identify hazards, including:

• Walking around your workplace and observing how work is carried out
• Conducting a written assessment using templates like Hazard Assessments, a Job Safety Analysis, and a Job Demands Analysis
• Consulting with your Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC), worker health and safety representative or workers about any health and safety concerns they’ve encountered
• Pre-job meetings, worksite inspections, and incident investigations
• Recognizing factors that could impact the psychological wellbeing of your workers

Now that you know how to identify potential hazards, how do you manage risk? Let’s break it into steps:

Step 2: Control Risks

The next step is to control the risks you’ve identified, starting with the most harmful. A handy reference is the hierarchy of controls (see Figure 1), which is simply a way to reduce workplace hazards. The hierarchy of controls includes:

1. Elimination: remove the hazard completely
2. Substitution: replace the hazard with safer processes or products
3. Engineering controls: modify equipment or processes before they come in contact with the worker
4. Administrative controls: develop procedures or ways of work that minimize hazards
5. Protective personal equipment (PPE): minimize hazards at the worker level

Emergency planning is a further step that helps to mitigate future risk before it arises.

So, which risk should you tackle first? Take a look at the risk rating – for example, extreme risk should be addressed immediately, while minor risk might require only monitoring for now (see Figure 2):

Step 3: Train and Communicate

The best way to ensure everyone is on the same page when it comes to identifying and controlling workplace hazards is to provide training for both supervisors and workers. You can also write down your safe work procedures and policies and share them with everyone in the workplace.

Step 4: Monitor and Update

Continue to monitor your control measures and replace or update any that are no longer working. Remember: risk management is an ongoing process. The more you go through the steps, the easier the process becomes!

For more information:

• Understanding Hazards and Risks (WorkSafeBC)
• Managing Risk (WorkSafeBC)
• Psychological Health and Safety: A framework for success (WorkSafeBC)
• Health & Safety Manual Template (go2HR)
• Hazard Identification & Risk Assessment Tool for Ski Areas (go2HR)
• Risk Assessment Tool for Accommodation (go2HR)
• Health and safety training (go2HR)

go2HR is BC’s tourism & hospitality, human resources and health & safety association driving strong workforces and safe workplaces that deliver world class tourism and hospitality experiences in BC. Follow us on LinkedIn or reach out to our team.