Short Answers For Workplace Safety Questions

Short Answers for Workplace Safety Questions

Question 6: Identification of hazards in the workplace involved several technique available to the safety professional. Name 3 (three) of the five and list their perceived benefits or strengths and weaknesses of each technique.

1. Job Safety Analysis (JSA): Benefits include detailed hazard identification for specific tasks; weaknesses include time-consuming nature.

2. Safety Audits: Provide comprehensive assessments of safety compliance; weaknesses involve potential subjectivity and resource intensiveness.

3. Employee Observations: Encourage employee involvement and real-time hazard reporting; weaknesses may include underreporting or lack of accuracy.

Question 1: Hazard identification techniques can be quantified as either proactive or reactive…. Give a specific example of a reactive hazard identification technique and why using a real world example of why is not a good idea to rely on this technique to identify work hazards.

An example of a reactive hazard identification technique is incident investigation. Relying on incident investigations alone is not ideal because they only identify hazards after an accident has occurred, which means hazards are unaddressed until they cause harm. For example, investigating a workplace fire after it happens does not prevent future fires.

Question 3: What is the difference between a Permit-Required Confined Spaces and a Confined Space? What are the conditions in which employers can reclassify a Permit-Required Confined Spaces to Confined Space? Explain and provide an example.

A Confined Space is a space with limited entry and egress, not designed for continuous occupancy. A Permit-Required Confined Space (permit space) has additional hazards such as toxic atmospheres or entrapment risks requiring a permit. Employers can reclassify a permit space to a non-permit confined space if hazards are eliminated or controlled, such as purging toxic gases, making it safe for entry without a permit.

Question 4: Each level of worker in and organization (management, Supervisors, Employee) bears some responsibility and accountability to Management of Risk responsibility within an organization. Make a case as to which “level” or category of worker is most critical to Risk Management effectiveness. Which level of worker is most important in your view to risk management?

While all levels are crucial, employees are most critical because they are directly exposed to hazards and their actions impact safety outcomes. Engaged and well-trained employees can identify hazards, follow safety protocols, and intervene, making them essential to effective risk management.

Question 8: The first step in keeping workers safe is to recognize and identify existing and potential hazards in the workplace and understand the consequences of worker exposure. Identity the 5 (five) steps of analyzing and assessing hazards in the workplace listed in the text.

The five steps are:

1. Hazard Identification

2. Hazard Exposure Assessment

3. Risk Analysis

4. Risk Evaluation

5. Control Measures Implementation

Question 10: After hazard identification is done and controls and training measures put into place, workers still put themselves at risk of injury by placing or participation in at-risk event. What are at-risk events and in your view contributes to EE’s participating in at-risk events or how are they developed?

At-risk events are behaviors or situations that increase the likelihood of injury, such as not wearing PPE or rushing through tasks. Contributing factors include complacency, inadequate training, peer pressure, and overconfidence, which develop from a culture that undervalues safety or insufficient supervision.

References

• Geller, E. S. (2016). The psychology of safety handbook. CRC Press.
• Manuele, F. A. (2014). Advanced safety management: a virtually risk-free approach. Wiley.
• OSHA. (2020). Permit-Required Confined Spaces. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. https://www.osha.gov/confined-spaces
• Leveson, N. (2011). Engineering safer systems: System safety and risk management. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics.
• Hale, A., & Hovden, J. (2016). Safety management: The relationship between safety culture and safety performance. Safety Science.
• American Society of Safety Professionals. (2022). Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment. ASSE Publications.
• Griffin, M. A., & Hu, X. (2013). The role of safety climate in safety performance. Journal of Safety Research.
• Reason, J. (2016). Managing the risks of organizational accidents. Ashgate Publishing.
• Cochran, D., & Elder, B. (2018). Safety management principles and practices. CRC Press.
• Kennedy, C., & Kirby, C. (2020). Occupational Safety and Health Management. Routledge.