Safety Engineering and Disaster Risk

Management

Chapter 3
Basic Safety Engineering: Hazard
Identification

Presented By: Umesh Sukamani

 Introduction
Definition of a hazard
A hazard is simply a condition or a set of
circumstances that present a potential for harm.

Hazards are divided into two broad categories:

• Health hazards (cause occupational illnesses)
• Safety Hazards (cause physical harm - injuries)

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 Introduction
Hazard:
Anything (e.g. condition, situation, practice,
behavior) that has the potential to cause
harm, including injury, disease, death,
environmental, property and equipment
damage.
A hazard can be a thing or a situation.

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 Introduction
Hazards are the main cause of
occupational health and safety
problems. Therefore, finding ways
of eliminating hazards or controlling
the risks is the best way to reduce
workplace injury and illness.

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 Introduction
Hazard Identification:
This is the process of examining each work area and
work task for the purpose of identifying all the hazards
which are “inherent in the job”.
Work areas include machine workshops, laboratories,
office areas, agricultural and agricultural environments,
stores and transport, maintenance and grounds, and
lecture theatres and teaching spaces.
Tasks can include using screen based equipment, audio
and visual equipment, industrial equipment, hazardous
substances and/or teaching/dealing with people, driving a
vehicle, dealing with emergency situations, construction.
This process is about finding what could cause harm in
work task or area.
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 Introduction
 To assess safety management, check whether you have:
 Regular hazard assessment surveys of operations, equipment,
substances and tasks
 A system of recording injuries, near misses and identified
hazards
 Safe procedures for tasks
 Safety training and supervision for new and young
employees
 Protective clothing and equipment
 Safety training and practice for each new piece of equipment
 Safety discussions between employers, contractors and
employees
 Safety information readily available for hazardous substances
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
6 Copies of the regulations
 Introduction
Develop a plan
 Develop a written safety and health program covering the points
listed above.
 Discuss the program with others on the farm during
development to assure their safety concerns are met. Incorporate
a system for hazard identification, risk assessment and risk
control.
 Make sure employees and others on the farm are familiar with
the plan, safe work procedures, and current legal safety and
health requirements.
 Other components include providing farm workers with safety
information, orientation for new employees, safety training for
new procedures, special safeguards for young workers, and
keeping a record of injuries, near misses and potential hazards.

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 Introduction
Hazards may be identified in:
 Environments (light, noise, rain, heat, sun)
 Substances (pesticides, fuels, dusts)
 Workplace layout (parlor designs, cattle passes)
Work organization (unnecessary manual handling)
Equipment (ladders, squeeze chutes, crowd gates)
 Farm animals (that bite, kick, butt, crush, toss, infect)
 Heights (roofs, vertical and horizontal silos, manure pits)
Electricity (switches, cables, leads, power tools,
connections)

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Hazards may be identified by:
Introduction
 Observation - use your senses of sight, hearing, smell and touch - combined with
knowledge and experience.
 Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) - obtain them from manufacturers and suppliers.
Read them carefully to identify possible harm from hazardous substances and precautions
that need to be taken.
 Hazard and risk surveys - conduct hazard spotting surveys of main work areas. Talk to
others about their safety concerns.
 Children and visitors - include in your surveys areas and activities in which children or
visitors could be at risk.
 Record analysis - keep records of identified hazards, near misses, injuries and workers'
compensation claims to help identify possible trends.
 Discussion groups - are useful for identifying hazards and recommending solutions.
 Safety audits - consider creating a safety committee to investigate safety and help
prepare a management plan.
 Information - keep informed of hazards in the industry through the latest available
information.
 Consumer information - carefully read and follow consumer guidelines on equipment
and substances.
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 Regulations and best practices
 3.1 Mechanical Energy Hazards
Mechanical energy hazards involve system hardware
components that cut, crush, bend, shear, pinch, wrap,
pull, and puncture.

Such hazards are associated with components that move

in circular, transverse (single direction), or reciprocating
("back and forth") motion.

Traditionally, such hazards found in typical industrial

machinery have been associated with the terms "power
transmission apparatus," "functional components," and
the "point of operation."
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 3.1 Mechanical Energy Hazards
Sources of Mechanical Energy Hazard:
Projections and rotating parts and unguarded
shafting
Shaft ends, belt drivers, chain and sprocket
drivers
Exposed component of machines which rotate
rapidly, elevators,
Pressure vessels, explosives

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 3.1 Mechanical Energy Hazards
Types of injuries due to mechanical hazards:
Work persons whirled to death when their
clothing is caught by projecting shaft or set of
screws on the line shafting.
Crushed flat between belt and pully.
Flesh eaten away upon falling into an unprotected
floor level acid vat.
Mangle of fingers by the gears of spinning
machines in textile plants etc.
Chewed upon inch by inch when caught in
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 Electrical Energy Hazards
 An electrical hazard is a dangerous condition where a worker can
or does make electrical contact with energized equipment or a
conductor. From that contact, the person may sustain an injury
from shock, and there is a potential for the worker to receive an arc
flash (electrical explosion) burn, thermal burn or blast injury.

 Electricity can either be "static" or "dynamic". Dynamic electricity

is the uniform motion of electrons through condition (electric
current). Static electricity is the accumulation of charge on
surfaces as a result of contact and friction with another surface.

 According to the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) there were 83

electrocutions in Ontario from 2001 through 2010. According to
ESA, the most common cause of occupational electrocution is
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 Electrical Energy Hazards
What the law says
 Employers need to develop and implement a written health and safety program that
supports the control of electrical hazards in the workplace and follow the regulations that
apply to electrical hazards in the workplace. For example, the Construction Regulation
(Ontario Regulation 213/91 Section 182) is very specific about who can work on
electrical equipment e.g. an electrician certified under the Trades Qualification and
Apprenticeship Act.
 Guidelines for working on or near electrical equipment and conductors are found in
several documents, including:
 Construction Regulation (Ontario Regulation 213/91)
 Ontario Electrical Safety Code
 Ontario Regulation 213/07 (2007)
 Fire Code Part 4, Subsection 4.1.8 (Handling Flammable and Combustible Liquids)
 Ontario Regulation 851, Regulation for Industrial Establishments, Section 22,
Subsection 4
 NPFA 70E Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace
 CSA Z462 Workplace Electrical Safety
 CSA Z460-05 Control of Hazardous Energy - Lockout and Other Methods
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 Electrical Energy Hazards
How having an electrical hazards program can help your business
 Thirty thousand (30,000) electrical shock incidents occur every year. Since 1998,
according to the Ministry of Labour, 69 people were killed, 263 were critically injured
and 844 workers received more than minor injuries as a result of exposure to electrical
hazards.
 Nearly half of these incidents involved people working on electrical equipment while it
was energized, including 28 workers who were killed and 255 who received serious burns
from an arc flash. Other causes of injury involved malfunctioning meters, faulty
equipment and the use of equipment in close proximity to live electricity.
 The most common type of work to result in an electrocution is routine work involving
repair and maintenance. Ensure lockout procedures are followed and that circuits are
tested to ensure that they are de-energized. The main dangers of electrical hazards are
electrical shock and/or fire. In the past decade, 21 per cent of electrical-related fatalities
have involved workers in an electrical trade such as electricians. However, the other 79
per cent involved workers in other occupations such as maintenance workers,
millwrights, apprentices, labourers, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC)
technicians, equipment operators, supervisors, and drivers.
 The impact of an electrical injury or fatality can be devastating for the workers involved
and crippling in terms of production downtime, legal fees and associated costs.
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 Electrical Energy Hazards
ELECTRICAL INJURIES
Direct:
Electrocution or death due to electrical shock
Electrical shock
Burns
Indirect:
Falls
Fire

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 Electrical Energy Hazards
COMMON ELECTRICAL HAZARDS
 Improper Grounding
 Exposed Electrical Parts
 Inadequate Wiring
 Damaged Insulation
 Overloaded Circuits
 Damaged Tools & Equipment
 Wet Conditions

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 Acoustic Energy Hazards
 Acoustic energy hazard involves excessive noise and vibration.
 Sound level above 85 db are potentially hazardous.
Sources:
Sound generated by
machine such as vibrator, generator
amplifier, loud speaker
traffic congested roads
blasting, explosion
Earthquake, lighting, thunder

Types of injuries:
 Permanent loss of hearing, changes on various body system such
as low concentrated.
 Interference with sleep, irritation and aversion.
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 Chemical Energy Hazards
 Chemical energy pertains to the power related to pressurized liquids that are not
water. The pressure can be relatively static (such as holding tanks) or in motion
though tubing or hoses.
 Chemicals may be needed for the equipment to perform a given function, for
example, cutting fluid or cooling fluids. In other cases the chemicals are part of
the process or final product (e.g. paint, adhesives, etc.)

Associated Chemical Energy Hazards

 Per OSHA, there are hundreds of injuries annually due to improper handling of
Chemical energy.
 Injuries associated with Chemical energy generally consist of the following:
 Eye injuries due to chemical contact
 Burns or suffocation, depending upon the type chemical
 Personnel exposure to hazardous material conditions, depending upon the
type of chemical
 Proper Lockout/Tagout can virtually eliminate the risk involved with
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 Radiant Energy Hazards
 Some of the most serious arc welding hazards are harmful light rays emitted
from the arc and the oxyfuel flame.
 You must guard your body against these harmful light rays by wearing proper
personal protective equipment. This equipment also helps protect you from
grinding sparks, flying slag and weld spatter.

 You must also put up screens and warning signs when arc welding, cutting or
grinding at work sites in the vicinity of the general public. Do not use any high
gloss or shiny surfaces for screens because reflected rays can also be dangerous.
Both visible and invisible light rays are given off by the oxyfuel torch and the
electric arc.
 This radiant energy can be divided into three types:
 visible light,
 ultraviolet rays and
 infrared rays.

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 Radiant Energy Hazards
Visible Light Rays
 Visible light rays are those that you can see. They may come from the source or
they may be reflected off shiny surfaces. Intense rays of this light can cause eye
strain or in extreme cases temporary or permanent blindness.

Ultraviolet Rays
 Ultraviolet rays are invisible. They cause burns to exposed skin and blistering of
the eyeball. These are more common with electric arc welding than with other
methods.
 Arc flash (sometimes called welding flash or arc eye) is the term for eyes burned
by ultraviolet rays. When you experience arc flash, your eyeballs are covered
with small water blisters causing extreme pain when you open your eyes or
when you blink. Symptoms of arc flash are profuse watering of the eyes and a
feeling of sand in the eyes usually hours after the actual flash has occurred.

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 Radiant Energy Hazards
Infrared Rays
 Infrared rays are also invisible. They penetrate deeply and can
cause temperature increases and burns to exposed skin.
 These rays may also penetrate the interior of the eye and can cause
retina damage. Over a long period of time, infrared rays can cause
cataracts.

X-Rays and Gamma Rays

 X-rays and gamma rays are produced from non-destructive testing
of welds. Exposure may result in cancer or damage to body tissues.
 Distance is the best protection, so stay away from the equipment or
cordoned-off areas.

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 Thermal Energy Hazards
Thermal energy hazards involve things that
are associated with
extreme or excessive heat,
extreme cold,
sources of flame ignition,
flame propagation, and
heat related explosions.

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 Thermal Energy Hazards
Sources:
Open flames, boiling liquid and red hot
coils
Equipment that is indirectly heated by other
equipment
Exposed light bulbs and metal housing on
equipment
Heat sinks and combustible products
Dry ice and liquid nitrogen
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 Thermal Energy Hazards
Types of injuries:
Burns
1st degree: skin color changes
2nd degree: swelling
3rd degree: severe, inner skin appears
First bite
First bite is the injury most likely to result
from contact with cold thermal hazards such
as liquid nitrogen
Injuries such as gangrene occurs as frozen
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tissue thows.
 Kinetic Energy Hazards
Kinetic energy hazards involve "things in motion"
and "impact," and are associated with the collision
of objects in relative motion to each other.

This would include impact of objects moving

toward each other, impact of a moving object
against a stationary object, falling objects, flying
objects, and flying particles.

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 Kinetic Energy Hazards
Sources of Kinetic Energy Hazard:
Heavy transportation work on industries, construction
sites
Collision of vehicles
Flowing water in hydropower, irrigation
Bombarding, blasting

Injures types:
Perforation of skull, fracture of skull
Hemorrhage of brain or circulatory problems, fracture of
heads, legs
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 Sea, Land, Air Energy Hazards
These are called natural energy hazard and
generally is called disaster.

These are because of unstable or unbalance of

natural forces and natural processes.

Land slide, volcano, cyclone, typhoon

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 POTENTIAL (STORED) Energy Hazards
Potential energy hazards involve "stored energy." This
includes things that are under pressure, tension, or
compression; or things that attract or repulse one another.
Potential energy hazards are associated with things that
are "susceptible to sudden unexpected movement."
Hazards associated with gravity are included in this
category, and involve potential falling objects, potential
falls of persons, and the hazards associated with an
object's weight.
This category also includes the forces transferred
biomechanically to the human body during manual
lifting.
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 Biological Energy Hazards
These hazards are associated with poisonous plants,
dangerous animals, biting insects and disease carrying
bacteria.

Accidents can be defined as undesired and unexpected or

untimely released exchange or action of energy resulting
or having the potential to result in system damage or
injury.

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