Tips for identifying workplace hazards

This blog post is a repost of the original by Roger Ward from UK consultancy Maple SHEQ Management Services. The original post can be found here.

We decided to repost this with Roger’s consent as we thought his post was an excellent reminder and it provides a good straightforward framework for spotting more hazards – an important topic to us at SaferMe!

An important aspect of your risk assessment is to identify potential hazards in your workplace. A good starting point is to walk around your workplace and consider what activities, processes or substances could injure your employees or harm their health?

Here are some pointers to help you spot them:

• Check manufacturers’ instructions and safety data sheets, these will assist in determining the hazards and putting them in their true perspective.
• Look at previous accidents, injuries, ill health records, and/or near-misses, these often help to identify the less obvious hazards.
• Consider non-routine operations, such as maintenance, changes in production layout etc.
• Consult with employees, for their knowledge of the process or work activity, as very often they have a feel for some of the more specific work-related hazards.
• Think about long-term hazards to health, such as high levels of noise, exposure to harmful substances and those associated with mental ill-health at work.

The only thing we (at SaferMe) add to the above is to make it accessible and make it easy for everyone to contribute and share hazards at your workplace. Engaging everyone and having everyone involved in the process is key to a healthy safety culture.

For more about Maple SHEQ’s services in the UK – visit their website here.

Read here for more about easy-to-use hazard reporting in SaferMe