Many folks think they are far and away from having a formal Hazard Identification process in place. But in reality, if they are auditing their “compliance” with OSHA/Safety standards, they are in phase 1 of a Hazard ID exercise. As I like to say, we must DEFINE and QUANTIFY our safety expectations to MEASURE and VALIDATE their effectiveness.
OSHA standards do this by defining and quantifying safety for us, although their expectations are far below the standard of excellence it takes to achieve greatness in safety. Identifying a gap in our safety controls (i.e., safety compliance programs, training) equates to a HAZARD identified in the workplace. That HAZARD needs to be analyzed using some recognized methodology; when that HAZARD is a deficiency in a safe work practice (i.e., formal control plan), we need to understand why that SWP was DEVIATED from to put a management system fix in place. We then develop a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) to address the DEVIATION/HAZARD.
So, a great starting point in Hazard ID is to audit “compliance” with our safe work practices. This is simply an easy starting point for formalizing a safety management system using the most fundamental elements… HAZARD ID and AUDITING. A couple of years of real dedication by management and the workforce to eradicate deviations from safe work practices will go a long way to improving BOTH performance and culture.
But be VERY aware that these Hazard Analyzes are NOT a “blame game”!
