Hazards in the Workplace
Recognise and avoid
Electrical: shock, arc flash and stored energy in capacitors; isolate, lock off, prove dead, and remove rings and metal watch straps. Gas and oxygen: oxygen enrichment makes materials burn fiercely, and oil or grease on oxygen fittings is a fire risk. Chemicals and fumes: solvents, paints, sealants, adhesives and cleaning agents; use ventilation, consult the safety data sheet, and wear gloves and eye protection. Fire: know the classes of fire, the correct extinguisher, alarm points and escape routes.
Physical hazards: moving machinery and rotating parts, sharp edges, hot surfaces, noise, slips and trips, working at height, confined spaces, foreign object debris on ramps, jet blast, propellers and aircraft movement.
Hierarchy of control
Eliminate the hazard, substitute something safer, apply engineering controls (guards, extraction, interlocks), then administrative controls (procedures, training, rotation), and only then personal protective equipment. PPE is the last line because it protects only the wearer and only if correctly used.
Reporting and housekeeping
Good housekeeping removes a large share of hazards. Any hazard or near miss must be reported so it can be assessed and controlled; the right to stop an unsafe job is part of a healthy safety culture.
Traps
The most common wrong answer is to make PPE the first control. Another is assuming a hazard only matters if someone has already been injured.
Rule of thumb: when a question asks for the first step in controlling a hazard, the answer is to eliminate or isolate it, not to issue gloves.