Identify the hazards

Hazard sources

Hazards in a workplace can come from various sources. Those sources include, for example:

• poor workplace design
• hazardous tasks
• poorly designed plant
• incorrect installation, commissioning, use, inspection, maintenance, service, repair or alteration of plant
• exposure to hazardous substances, processes or environments.

Don’t let hazards in

Identifying hazards before they enter the workplace should be your priority. It is far better to keep hazards out rather than discover you have a problem.

To keep hazards out of the workplace, think about health and safety when you:

• buy new materials, plant and equipment
• design new workplaces, work processes and activities.

Identifying hazards involves more than finding the hazards in your workplace. It also involves understanding the harm the hazards can cause.

A piece of plant, a substance or a work process can have many different hazards. You must identify each of those hazards.

For example, a production line may have:

• mechanical hazards
• noise hazards
• electrical hazards
• body-stressing hazards from manual handling
• psychosocial hazards.

Psychosocial hazards may arise from:

• the work design
• the system of work
• the management of work
• the way the work is carried out
• personal or work-related interactions.

Work closely with your employees and any HSRs. Look at every task in your workplace. Find the hazards – anything that could be harmful.

It’s a good idea to keep written records. This will help ensure you don't miss anything when identifying hazards and risks.

Common workplace hazards

Following are lists of common workplace hazards:

Mechanical hazards

They include plant and equipment and parts of them that have the potential to:

• cut
• rip
• tear
• abrade
• crush
• penetrate
• produce projectiles
• cause sudden impact.

Chemical and biological hazards

These include chemicals, compounds, dusts, gases, vapours and infectious diseases that can:

• impair health
• have negative effects on human reproduction
• cause disease
• have explosive, flammable, toxic or corrosive properties.

Energy hazards

A range of energy sources can cause harm. They include:

• electricity
• heat
• cold
• noise
• ultra-violet radiation
• radioactive sources
• vibration
• stored energy.

Body stressing or impact hazards

These are activities that cause stress to the muscles or skeleton. They involve:

• manual handling of people, animals, goods or materials
• repeated, sustained or high force
• repetitive movements
• exposure to sustained vibration
• loads that are unstable, unbalanced or hard to hold
• things or situations that can cause a person to slip, trip or fall.

Gravity hazards

Activities in which a person can fall, or an object or structure can fall onto people.

Psychosocial hazards

A psychosocial hazard is anything that could cause an employee to have a negative psychological response. This response can lead to psychological or physical harm, or both.

Some people might describe a negative psychological response as 'stress' or 'feeling stressed'. Stress itself is not a psychological injury. But stress may lead to psychological or physical harm, or both, if it is:

• frequent
• prolonged
• severe.

Types of psychological harm include:

• anxiety
• depression
• post-traumatic stress disorder
• sleep disorders
• physical harm including –
  • musculoskeletal injuries
  • chronic disease
  • fatigue-related injuries.

Examples of psychosocial hazards can include:

• aggression or violence
• bullying
• sexual harassment
• gendered violence
• exposure to traumatic events or content
• high job demands
• low job control
• low job demands
• low role clarity
• low recognition and reward
• poor environmental conditions
• poor organisational change management
• poor organisational justice
• poor support
• poor workplace relationships
• remote or isolated work.

Hazard identification tools

There are various ways to identify hazards. The following are some of the most common:

Inspecting the workplace

A walk-through inspection is a direct way to identify many hazards in the workplace. Consult with employees and any HSRs to develop a workplace hazard checklist. Use the checklist on a walk through the workplace.

WorkSafe has checklists for various workplace hazards. You'll find the checklists on the WorkSafe website.

Do not limit inspections to physical items such as plant, equipment and structures. The inspection should also look at systems of work and work procedures.

Some problems may be simple to fix. For example, the problem could be a risk control not being used. Or it could be something put in the wrong place. There is no need to do a detailed risk assessment in these situations. You can take immediate action to eliminate or control the risks. Consultation can take place on the spot. Consult with the employees or HSRs doing the inspection and with the people doing the work.

At the other end of the scale, a walk-through may detect an immediate or serious danger to people doing work. Immediately stop the work causing the risk or move people to safety. Start the process to assess and control the risk.

Finding and applying available information

Information is available to help identify, assess and control hazards and risks. The information is available for particular industries, types of activity and job types. For example:

• WorkSafe publishes information on its website and in hard copy. The information covers a range of OHS topics and industries.
• Industry groups and unions. They can provide information about hazards in various industries and jobs.
• Manufacturers and suppliers. They can provide information about the hazards of specific plant, substances or processes.
• Safety Data Sheets from manufacturers or suppliers of workplace substances.
• WorkSafe’s workers’ compensation insurance agents. The agents provide advice and support on WorkSafe’s behalf.
• Technical and OHS specialists.

Testing and measuring

Some hazards may require measurements to decide whether further action is necessary. For example, noise and atmospheric contaminants. Testing and measuring can provide a more accurate understanding or assessment of the hazard.

Surveys of employees and others at the workplace

Employees are familiar with the workplace and work activities. They know how the work is actually done. They may also have seen or experienced near-misses and other incidents.

Consider surveying employees and others at the workplace. Surveys can provide valuable information about potential hazards. Examples include matters such as:

• bullying
• stress
• muscle and skeletal aches and pains.

Analysing records and data

Records of injuries or incidents are useful sources of information about hazards. The results of investigations may also provide information. Larger organisations may have records or data that show incident and injury trends.

WorkSafe publishes data about sources of injury in particular industries. Other workplace safety authorities also publish injury data. Industry associations may also have data about hazards that have caused injuries.

Hazard identification outcomes

Hazard identification helps you understand the hazards in the part of the workplace you’ve checked. Keep a list of what the hazards were and where they were identified. Keeping a list helps ensure you don't forget or miss something.