Every workplace has hazards.
Hazard identification and risk assessment is the process that turns those hazards from something you notice into something you manage.
Some are obvious, such as moving equipment, working at heights or exposed electrical components. Others can be easier to overlook, including poor ergonomics, excessive noise, repetitive tasks, chemical exposure or changing workplace conditions.
A strong health and safety program starts with three basic steps:
Identify the hazard. Assess the risk. Implement effective controls.
This process helps businesses move from reacting to incidents after they happen to preventing them in the first place.
Step 1: Identify Workplace Hazards
A hazard is anything that has the potential to cause injury, illness or harm.
Ontario’s Ministry of Labour describes hazard recognition as the first step in protecting workers. Once hazards are recognized, they can be assessed and controlled.
Common workplace hazards can include:
- machinery and equipment;
- slips, trips and falls;
- working at heights;
- electrical hazards;
- hazardous chemicals;
- noise and vibration;
- manual material handling;
- mobile equipment and vehicles;
- poor ergonomics; and
- unsafe work practices.
Hazards should be identified before work begins whenever possible, but hazard identification should also continue throughout the job.
Conditions can change. New equipment may arrive, another contractor may begin working nearby, weather conditions may deteriorate or a routine task may suddenly be performed differently.
Workers and supervisors should therefore be encouraged to continually ask:
What could hurt someone here?
Step 2: Risk Assessment
Finding a hazard is only the beginning.
Once a hazard has been identified, the next step is determining how much risk it creates.
Risk assessments generally consider two important questions:
How likely is it that something could happen?
and
How serious could the consequences be?
For example, a small amount of water on an isolated floor may present a relatively low risk. That same slippery surface at the top of a frequently used staircase could create a much more serious situation.
Similarly, a piece of equipment may have several hazards, but some could result in minor injury while others could result in a critical injury or fatality.
Assessing risk helps businesses determine where immediate action is needed and allows resources to be focused on the most significant hazards first.
Step 3: Apply the Hierarchy of Controls
Once a hazard has been identified and assessed, something needs to be done about it.
Ontario’s hazard-control guidance emphasizes controlling hazards as close to their source as possible.
A common approach is the hierarchy of controls.
The preferred options are generally:
- Elimination – remove the hazard completely.
- Substitution – replace the hazard with something safer.
- Engineering controls – physically separate workers from the hazard.
- Administrative controls – use procedures, training, scheduling or rules to reduce exposure.
- Personal protective equipment (PPE) – protect the worker when exposure cannot otherwise be eliminated.
The strongest safety programs do not automatically jump to PPE.
For example, if workers are exposed to a fall hazard, providing fall protection equipment may be necessary, but eliminating the need to work at height or installing guardrails may provide better protection.
The goal should always be to find the most effective and practical control available.
How to Review Whether Controls Are Working
Implementing a control does not mean the process is finished.
Employers should confirm that the control is actually working.
Ontario’s recommended hazard-management approach includes evaluating controls to determine whether hazards have been adequately controlled or eliminated.
Ask questions such as:
- Did the control reduce the risk?
- Are workers actually using it?
- Did the control create another hazard?
- Have workplace conditions changed?
- Is there a better solution available?
Regular inspections, worker feedback, incident investigations and workplace observations can all help determine whether controls remain effective.
Worker Responsibilities Under the OHSA
Hazard identification should not be limited to managers or health and safety representatives.
Workers are often the people most familiar with the equipment, tasks and changing conditions in their work areas.
Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act also requires workers to report hazards they are aware of to their employer or supervisor.
Businesses should create an environment where workers are comfortable reporting hazards, near misses and concerns.
A reported hazard should be viewed as an opportunity to prevent an incident—not as a complaint.
Risk Assessment Is More Than a Compliance Exercise
Under section 25 of Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act, employers must take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of workers and make workers aware of workplace hazards. Those duties are set out in clauses 25(2)(h) and 25(2)(d).
But effective hazard assessment should be about more than meeting a legal requirement.
When hazards are identified and controlled properly, businesses can:
- reduce workplace injuries;
- prevent equipment damage;
- improve productivity;
- reduce interruptions and downtime;
- improve worker confidence; and
- strengthen the overall safety culture.
Safe work is usually more organized work.
Make Hazard Assessment Part of Everyday Work
Hazard identification does not need to be complicated.
Before starting a task, encourage supervisors and workers to ask three questions:
What are the hazards?
How serious is the risk?
What are we going to do to control it?
That simple conversation can prevent an incident before work even begins.
Hazard Assessment Support for Ontario Businesses
Safety Training and Consulting Services Ltd. (STC) helps Ontario businesses identify workplace hazards, assess risk and develop practical controls that work in real workplaces.
Whether your organization needs assistance with workplace inspections, hazard assessments, safe work procedures, training or improving an existing health and safety program, STC can help turn safety requirements into practical solutions.
The best time to identify a hazard is before someone gets hurt.