Principles of Hazard Identification & Risk Assessment

Hazard identification and risk assessment form the foundation of every effective occupational safety and process safety program. This two-day course introduces the scope and nature of workplace health and safety, the categories of hazards encountered in industrial environments, and a structured, repeatable method for evaluating likelihood and severity. Participants learn to apply the risk management process of ISO 31000 to routine and non-routine work, select proportionate controls using the hierarchy of controls, and produce written assessments that meet OSHA expectations and withstand audit and management review.

Who Should Attend

• Supervisors, team leaders and foremen responsible for planning and authorizing work
• HSE officers and coordinators new to formal risk assessment
• Engineers and maintenance planners who prepare job safety analyses and work permits
• Project and site personnel involved in contractor safety management
• Members of joint labor-management safety committees

Learning Outcomes

• Define hazard, risk, likelihood, severity and exposure using consistent terminology
• Identify physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic, mechanical, electrical and psychosocial hazards in a given work environment
• Rate inherent and residual risk using a semi-quantitative risk matrix
• Select and justify control measures according to the hierarchy of controls
• Prepare a written risk assessment and job safety analysis with defined actions, owners and review dates
• Explain how the ISO 31000 process of establishing context, assessment, treatment, monitoring and communication applies to site operations

Course Outline

• Module 1 — Scope and Nature of Health and Safety: employer and employee duties under the OSH Act, the General Duty Clause and the business case for prevention.
• Module 2 — Introduction to Hazard Identification: workplace inspections, task observation, incident and near-miss data, checklists and worker consultation.
• Module 3 — Categories of Hazards: physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic, mechanical, electrical and psychosocial hazards illustrated with industrial examples.
• Module 4 — Hazard Effect and Severity: exposure routes, acute and chronic health effects and consequence scaling.
• Module 5 — Risk Evaluation: qualitative and semi-quantitative matrices, risk tolerability and the ALARP principle.
• Module 6 — Risk Control: elimination, substitution, engineering and administrative controls, and personal protective equipment as the last line of defense.
• Module 7 — Documentation and Review: JSA formats, communicating risk to the workforce, monitoring control effectiveness and triggers for reassessment.

Standards & References

Course content draws on ISO 31000:2018, Risk Management — Guidelines; IEC 62198, Managing Risk in Projects — Application Guidelines; and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) general industry standards, 29 CFR 1910, read together with the General Duty Clause, Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. Participants are introduced to the scope and application of each document; the current edition should always be consulted for project work.

Assessment & Certification

The program comprises 16 contact hours (2 days) of instruction. Assessment consists of a written examination and a practical exercise in which each participant completes a documented risk assessment for a supplied workplace scenario. Successful candidates receive an IIME Certificate of Training bearing a unique verification code, which can be verified online.