Neena Ittera 11EN18F

Hazard / Risk
Hazard means the potential to cause injury or illness and can apply to substances, methods or machines. Risk means the probability and consequences of occurrence of injury or illness. Risk will depend on factors such as the nature of the hazard, the degree of exposure and individual characteristics.

y A risk assessment is simply a careful

examination of what, in our work, could cause harm to people, so that we can weigh up whether we have taken enough precautions or should do more to prevent harm. y It is an important step in protecting the workers and business, as well as complying with the law. It helps us to focus on the risks that really matter in our workplace the ones with the potential to cause harm.

y The law does not expect us to eliminate all risk, but we

are required to protect people as far as is reasonably practicable. y The assessment carried out will very much depend on the nature of the work and the type and the extent of the hazards and risks.

Objectives of Risk Assessment

y Evaluate the risks


Environmental contaminant, drugs, pesticides, industrial chemical Food, air, water, work place Regulatory agencies, Manufacturers, Environmental/Consumer Agencies

y Set target levels of exposure



y Provide information to agencies



Risk Analysis

Identification of hazards Estimation of the risk for each hazardous situation

Risk Evaluation

Risk control
Risk control option analysis Implementation of risk control measures Residual risk evaluation Risk / benefit analysis Risk arising from risk control measures Completeness of risk control

Evaluation of overall residual risk acceptability

Risk management report

Production and post-production information

Five steps to risk assessment . y Identify the hazards y Decide who might be harmed and how y Evaluate the risks and decide on precaution y Record the findings and implement them y Review the assessment and update if necessary

y efore any risk assessment can proceed, a team has to

be selected, background information has to gathered and processed and the team has to be prepared for the task ahead. y Safety professionals have an important role

HAZARD IDENTIFICATION
y first and most important stage y adopt some systematic way, allowing us to 'see' the

hazards present in the workplace. y If not carried out carefully, the subsequent analysis of risk and the development of risk control measures become pointless. y It acts very effectively to change the way people think, causing them to act more safely and so become more proactive in hazard awareness.

hazard identification tools

Top down techniques y The technique involves working from a top event downwards to arrive at the underlying causes and also those of potential other events. Examples of this approach involve checklists, Fault Tree Analysis Bottom up techniques y The approach is one of breaking the system or problem into small components and then seeing how they or others may fail, building up to a major event. Examples of this type of technique include hazard and operability studies (HAZOP), Failure Modes Effects Analysis (FMEA)

RISK MEASUREMENT
y Objective- they provide the risk assessment team with

a means of deciding on CONSEQUENCE and FREQUENCY and then help them at setting priorities. y Several approaches which can be used for the measurement of risk- include Risk Matrix type approaches, whereby those who are carrying out the risk assessment categorise the consequences of the hazard and its likelihood separately and then combine them on a matrix to produce a priority.

PREVENTATIVE AND PROTECTIVE MEASURES

y If possible, risks should be eliminated. y If this is not possible, they should either be

mitigated/controlled or minimised or, if all else fails, personal protection should be provided.

REPORTING AND RECORDING

y It is important that the risk assessment is recorded so

that there is reliable statement and evidence of what appropriate actions management is taking to protect health and safety. y It should become an integral part of a company's overall management system. y It should be easily accessible by employees, their representatives and inspectors

REVIEW AND REVISION

y Risk assessment is a continuous process and as work

changes, the hazards and risks may change and therefore the risk assessment process must also change. y If an accident occurs, or if more is learnt about hazards in the workplace, one may need to review or modify one's risk assessments.

y The way a risk assessment is carried out depends very

much on its final use. y The risk assessment process at a mine should be continuous and should not be regarded as a one-off exercise. y There are three essential forms of risk assessment. Baseline Risk Assessment Issue Based Risk Assessments Continuous Risk Assessment

y Baseline Risk Assessment

Mines will have to assess where they are in terms of risk, identifying the major risks and thereby establishing their priorities and a programme for future risk control. comprehensive should be periodically reviewed, to ensure that it is still relevant and accurate.

y Issue Based Risk Assessments

As circumstances and needs arise, separate risk assessment studies will need to be conducted. for example: A new machine is introduced into the mine A system of work is changed or operations are altered.

y Continuous Risk Assessment

This is the most important form of risk assessment which should take place continually, as an integral part of day-to-day management. conducted by frontline supervisors. Examples of continuous risk assessment include: Audits; General hazard awareness linked to a suggestion scheme; and Prework assessments using checklists.

A Coal Mining Risk Assessment Report should comprise three key stages: Stage 1: Obtain coal mining information for the development site Stage 2: Use the information to identify what risk coal mining poses to the development Stage 3: Identify how coal mining issues have influenced the proposed development and any other mitigation required

Coal Mining Issue

Yes

No

Risk Assessment

Underground coal mining (recorded at shallow depths)

Underground coal mining (probable at shallow depths)

Coal mining geology (fissures)

Record of emissions

past

mine

gas

Recorded coal mining surface hazard

Surface mining (opencast workings)

y Hazard identification- gas emission y Risk assessment based on frequency and

consequences y Preventive & protective measures - adopt alternate processes, use of personal protective equipment y Reporting & recording y Review & revision

Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA)

Plant / Section:S No Particulars of the Activity Carried out Potential Hazard identified Potential Injury / Impact E/L/I Severity Probability Present Control (S) (P)

Date Section Revision

Risk Index Whether Control S X P X PC Significant Measure

Remarks: E = Emergency, L = Legal Concern, I = Interested party Concern, Significant Risk = Any Risk Index equal to or more than 60 or any Emergency, or any Interested Party Concern or any Legal Concern Prepared by EHS Committee Reviewed and Approved By:

Signature

DEC / Dept Manager

TEN STEPS TO EFFECTIVE RISK ASSESSMENT

1) make sure the risk assessment process is practical and realistic. 2) Involve as many people as possible in the process, especially those at risk and their representatives. 3) Use a systematic approach to ensure that all risks and hazards are adequately addressed. 4) Aim to identify the major risks; don't waste time on the minor risks. 5) Gather all the information you can and analyse it as possible before starting the risk assessment.

6) Start by identifying the hazards. 7) Assess the risks arising from those hazards, taking into account the effectiveness of the existing controls 8) Look at what actually occurs and exists in the workplace and, in particular, include non-routine operations. 9) Include all employees, visitors and contractors. 10) Always keep a written record of the assessment, including all assumptions you make, and the reasons for those assumptions.

REFERENCES
y Frank P. Lees , Loss Prevention in the Process Industries , Volume 1, 184-189 y K. Vijay and Ramachandra T.V., Environmental Management, capital publishing company, 143-151 y www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_assessment y www.cip.msu.edu/ComFacRAM-HowtoUse.pdf