Risk assessments, Emergency response and Accidents

Job safety analysis (JSA)

a process which helps assess a job to identify hazards and necessary control measures. In a job safety analysis, each basic step of the job is broken down into steps to identify potential hazards and to recommend the safest way to do the job.

It includes - Sequence of Events, Potential Incidents or
Hazards, Preventive Measures

Who should conduct a job safety analysis?

a supervisor, health and safety specialist, or health and safety committee member.

What are the steps of a JSA?

• Select the job to be analyzed

• Break the job down into a sequence of steps

• Identify potential hazards

• Determine preventive measures to control these hazards

• Communicate the results

What is important to know when "selecting the job"?

• Incident frequency and severity

• Potential for severe injuries or illnesses

• Newly established jobs

• Modified jobs

• Infrequently performed jobs

How do I "identify potential hazards"?

use questions such as these:

• Can any body part get caught in or between objects?

• Do tools, machines, or equipment present any hazards?

• Can the worker make harmful contact with moving objects?

• Can the worker slip, trip, or fall?

• Can the worker suffer strain from lifting, pushing, or pulling?

• Is the worker exposed to extreme heat or cold?

• Is excessive noise or vibration a problem?

• Is there a danger from falling objects?

• Is lighting a problem?

• Can weather conditions affect safety?

• Is harmful radiation a possibility?

• Can contact be made with hot, toxic, or caustic products?

• Are there dusts, fumes, mists, or vapours in the air?

Hazard and Operability Analysis (HAZOP)

a widely used technique for identifying the hazards on

process facilities.

The Hazard and Operability Analysis technique

A HAZOP is organized by dividing the unit to be analyzed into nodes. A node represents a section of the process where a significant process change takes place.

The steps in HAZOP

1. Select a node, define its purpose and determine the process safe limits.

2. Select a process guide word.

3. Identify the hazards and their causes using the deviation guide words.

4. Determine how the hazard is "announced", i.e., how the operator knows a safe limit has been exceeded.

5. Estimate the consequences (safety, environmental, economic) of each identified hazard.

6. Identify the safeguards.

7. Estimate the frequency of occurrence of the hazard.

8. Risk rank the hazard, with and without safeguards.

9. Develop findings and potential recommendations.

10. Move on to the next process guide word, or to the next node if the guide word discussion is complete.

Incident

an occurrence, condition, or situation arising in the course of work that resulted in or could have resulted in injuries, illnesses, damage to health, or fatalities.

Accident

an unplanned event that interrupts the completion of an activity, and that may (or may not) include injury or property damage.

Near miss/ dangerous occurrence

any event that doesn't lead to harm but does have the potential to cause illness or injury.

Reasons to investigate a workplace incident

• to find out the cause of incidents and to prevent similar incidents in the future

• to fulfill any legal requirements

• to determine the cost of an incident

• to determine compliance with applicable regulations (e.g., occupational health and safety, criminal, etc.)

• to process workers' compensation claims

The steps involved in investigating an incident?

• Report the incident occurrence to a designated person within the organization.

• Provide first aid and medical care to injured person(s) and prevent further injuries or damage.

• Scene management and scene assessment (secure the scene, make sure it is safe for investigators to do their job).

• Witness management (provide support, limit interaction with other witnesses, interview).

• Investigate the incident, collect data.

• Analyze the data, identify the root causes.

• Report the findings and recommendations

• Develop a plan for corrective action.

• Implement the plan.

• Evaluate the effectiveness of the corrective action.

• Make changes for continual improvement.

What should be looked at as the cause of an incident?

• task

  • Had conditions changed to make the normal procedure unsafe?

  • Was a safe work procedure used?

• material

  • Was there an equipment failure?

  • What caused it to fail?

• environment

  • What were the weather conditions?

  • Was poor housekeeping a problem?

• personnel

  • Can they physically do the work?

  • What was the status of their health?

• management

  • Were written procedures and orientation available?

  • Were the safe work procedures being enforced?

How are the facts collected?

The steps in the investigation are simple: the investigators gather data, analyze it, determine their findings, and make recommendations.

• Physical Evidence

• Witness Accounts

• Interviewing

How should follow-up be done?

• Respond to the recommendations in the report by explaining what can and cannot be done (and why or why not).

• Develop a timetable for corrective actions.

• Monitor that the scheduled actions have been completed.

• Check the condition of injured worker(s).

• Educate and train other workers at risk.

• Re-orient worker(s) on their return to work.