Original Post:
What are the primary elements of each of the three types of risk control? Assume you are in a hazard hunt; list a few factors in your job that may contribute to a hazard and how likely is it that a hazardous situation will occur?
Initial Response:
What are the primary elements of each of the three types of risk control?
The three risk controls are engineering controls, administrative controls and personal protective equipment (PPE). The primary elements of engineering controls are elimination of the hazard and built-in safety systems to reduce the hazard (Gantt, 2009). Removing hazards that can be removed creates a hazard free environment. When hazards can't be removed built-in safety systems can reduce risks. Administrative controls primary elements are work rules, standard operating procedures signage, and other methods used to warn of hazards. Administrative controls inform employees of safe working practices as well as place warning labels and signage in hazardous areas. PPE primary elements are protective equipment in hazardous environments that require expertise and training (Gantt, 2009). PPE consists of protective equipment such as respirators, safety glasses and suits etc. that are used in hazardous environments.
Assume you are in a hazard hunt; list a few factors in your job that may contribute to a hazard and how likely is it that a hazardous situation will occur?
When considering my job and some of the factors that could contribute to a hazard, I see the transporting of hazardous chemicals as a key hazard. Along with this is the lack of hand and eye wash stations and clean up kits that need to be in place should a hazard occur. The company has a warehouse that is used as a cross dock which maintains little inventory, however we move thousands of pieces of equipment through the building and onto our trucks each night. Some of our goods are hazardous chemicals and spills could occur. To my knowledge there are no chemical cleanup kits for the type of chemicals we transport, only basic warehouse sawdust wet spill cleanup. If a spill occurred and chemicals got on someone's skin or into their eyes there are no chemical cleanup stations. It is very likely that a spill could occur because we are moving a lot of freight at a fast pace by hand, forklifts and pallet jacks. Containers could drop or be punctured. An event like this may not occur very often, but having the protective means in place will help prevent injury and reduce down time due to an incident.
References
Gantt, P.W. (2009). Hazardous materials, regulations, response, and site operations. Delmar: Cengage Learning
Latest Question:
Your discussion of hazards and risk controls was informative. You provided some good examples of areas of possible improvement at your work place. The issues you have mentioned could be considered as OSHA safety violations if there is to be an environmental inspection. Another aspect of this issue can be related to training. Risks of working around hazmat can be managed with appropriate training and response planning. Do you know if there is an emergency response process/manual if there was a hazmat incident?