Overview of HIRA and key definitions
Welcome to Part 2 of Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA). In this series we will provide an overview of the why what, and how of (HIRA), including some key definitions.
1. Why HIRA – If we are to achieve the intended outcome of your Management System i.e. (Meet our SHEQ Objectives, Compliance to Legal & Other requirements and Continual Improvement) we will need to identify what could cause harm, eliminate the risk or control the risk to an acceptable level.
2. What is HIRA – Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment is the process of identifying risks associated with hazards, establishing the effectiveness of existing controls and if the remaining risk is acceptable.
3. Who is involved – In many cases legislation guides who should be involved. Common to any of the participants is that they should be competent and thus have received HIRA training. Participants should be Safety Representatives, Workers, Supervisors, Managers, Occ Health & Hygiene specialists and your SHEQ Team.
4. How to HIRA – In a very simplified format it can be reduced to 5 steps
4.1. Identify hazards linked to activities, products, services, substances, materials, plant & equipment. This can be done through:
4.1.1. Observations , checklists and reports – a JHA / JSA – Job Hazard Analysis is a good example
4.1.2. Internal & External Information sources such as MSDS , Plant & Equipment Manuals
4.2. Identify who or what can be harmed and how
4.3. Risk Analysis and Risk Evaluation (we also talk about Qualitative, Semi Quantitative and Quantitative RiskAssessments)
4.4. Risk action plan and reports
4.5. Review of the process and update
5. We also discuss some of the key definitions associated with HIRA
5.1. Hazard – is the source , situation or act with the potential for harm
5.2. Risk – is the combination of the likelihood of an unwanted event occurring and its expected consequence.
We hope you enjoy this Vlog series , in Series 2 we will be looking at the various tools that can be used to identify hazards.
Please feel free to contact us should your Organisation require Risk Assessment training or assistance with your risk assessment process.
USE SHEQ SOFTWARE
At SRM, we use Mango to communicate, determine and review client requirements. In addition, Mango makes it so simple as opposed to using a hard copy system. Not only does SRM use Mango Compliance Software, but many of our clients as well – www.mangolive.com Mango makes it easier to obtain and maintain ISO 9001:2015 certification.
Associated Blogs:
https://srmc.co.za/iso-9001-clause-4-context-of-the-organisation/
Links to our services:
https://srmc.co.za/services/consulting/
https://srmc.co.za/iso-certifications/
