COSHEM key terms

A legal obligation on employers and others to protect the health, safety and welfare of workers and affected persons so far as is reasonably practicable, including providing safe systems, information, training and supervision.

A test weighing the likelihood and severity of harm against the cost, effort and difficulty of eliminating or reducing it, so that disproportionate measures are not legally required.

As low as reasonably practicable: the principle that residual risk should be driven down until further reduction would be grossly disproportionate to the benefit gained, commonly applied in high-hazard industries.

The legal and practical process of seeking workers' views and involving them in decisions about health and safety before changes are made, distinct from merely informing them afterwards.

Someone who has the training, qualifications, experience and knowledge needed to perform a specified safety task reliably, such as inspecting equipment, assessing risk or investigating an incident.

A structured set of policies, responsibilities, planning, operational controls and review activities that an organisation uses to manage health and safety systematically and continually improve performance.

A cyclical improvement model in which hazards and controls are planned, implemented, monitored and reviewed, with findings feeding back into the next planning cycle of the management system.

A short written commitment by senior leadership setting out health and safety intentions, principles and responsibilities, and providing the framework against which objectives and performance are set.

A periodic top-level evaluation of the management system's suitability, adequacy and effectiveness, using performance data, audit results and incident trends to decide on improvements and resources.

Any source, situation or action with the potential to cause harm to people, property or the environment, whether or not anyone is currently exposed to it.

The combination of the likelihood that a hazardous event occurs and the severity of harm it would cause, often expressed qualitatively or as a numerical score.

A systematic process of identifying hazards, evaluating who might be harmed and how, judging the adequacy of existing controls and deciding what further action is needed.

A ranked order of risk-reduction measures, from eliminating the hazard through substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls and finally personal protective equipment, with preference given to higher levels.

The level of risk that remains after existing and planned control measures have been applied, which must be judged acceptable or reduced further.

A rapid, ongoing judgement of changing conditions made by workers in real time, used to adjust controls when the situation on site differs from the planned static assessment.

A technique that breaks a task into sequential steps, identifies the hazards at each step and specifies controls, often used to write safe work procedures and training content.

The proactive process of finding and recording hazards before harm occurs, using methods such as inspections, task observation, worker reports, incident data and process analysis.

A structured document supplied with a hazardous chemical that describes its hazards, composition, safe handling, exposure controls, first aid and emergency measures, used to inform risk assessment and training.

A chemical or mixture classified as physically or health hazardous, such as toxic, corrosive, flammable or carcinogenic material, which triggers specific duties for labelling, information and control.

A regulatory or advisory limit on the concentration of a contaminant in workplace air or on biological markers, usually expressed as a time-weighted average or short-term limit.

The practice of anticipating, recognising, evaluating and controlling workplace exposures to chemical, physical and biological agents, often through sampling, monitoring and engineering design.

A living organism or its products, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, blood-borne pathogens or allergens, capable of causing infection, sensitisation or other ill health in exposed workers.

A measure of sound energy reaching a worker over a period, usually an eight-hour average with a peak limit, used to decide whether hearing protection and hearing testing are required.

A combined set of measures including noise assessment, engineering controls, hearing protection, audiometric testing and training, designed to prevent occupational hearing loss.

Vibration transmitted into the hands and arms from tools and machinery, which can cause numbness, tingling and vascular or nerve damage with repeated exposure.

Vibration transmitted through the seat or feet to the whole body, typically from driving vehicles or machinery, associated with back pain and musculoskeletal disorders.

The load placed on the body when working in hot or cold environments, where heat production and loss become imbalanced, raising the risk of heat illness or cold injury.

High-energy radiation such as X-rays, gamma rays or alpha and beta particles that can damage cells and DNA, requiring dose limits, shielding, monitoring and controlled areas.

Any transporting or supporting of a load by hand or bodily force, including lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling and carrying, which can cause musculoskeletal injury.

The design of work, equipment and tasks to fit human physical and cognitive capabilities, reducing strain, error and injury while improving comfort and efficiency.

An injury or pain affecting muscles, joints, tendons, nerves or the back, often caused or worsened by repetitive work, awkward postures, force, vibration or manual handling.

A work-related factor such as excessive workload, low control, poor support, bullying, violence or unclear roles that can harm psychological and physical health.

The adverse psychological and physical response that occurs when work demands exceed a person's perceived ability or resources to cope, potentially leading to illness and reduced performance.

A state of exhaustion, cynicism and reduced efficacy resulting from prolonged unresolved work stress, recognised as an occupational phenomenon affecting wellbeing and safety behaviour.

The overall physical, mental and social health of workers, supported by work design, supportive culture, fair conditions and access to assistance, and linked to safer performance.

A structured inquiry into an unplanned event to establish what happened, why it happened and what changes will prevent recurrence, focusing on system failures rather than blame.

A method such as the five whys or a fishbone diagram used to trace an incident beyond immediate actions to underlying management, design or cultural failures that allowed it.

An unplanned event that did not cause injury or damage but had the potential to do so, providing free lessons if reported and investigated like an incident.

A change made to eliminate the cause of a detected nonconformity or incident and prevent recurrence, tracked to completion and checked for effectiveness.

Planning and arrangements such as evacuation routes, alarms, drills, first aid and communication that enable an effective response to fire, chemical release, medical or other emergencies.

A systematic, evidence-based examination of the management system or workplace conditions against defined criteria, producing findings and corrective actions.

A routine, often checklist-based check of physical conditions, behaviours and controls in a workplace, used to detect hazards and verify that standards are being maintained.

A measurable metric chosen to show whether health and safety objectives are being achieved, ideally combining lagging outcomes such as injuries with leading indicators such as inspection completion.

A measure of outcomes that have already occurred, such as injury rates or lost days, which confirms results but gives little warning of emerging risk.

A proactive measure of preventive activity, such as training completion, near-miss reporting or control verification, that predicts future safety performance.

The planned, regular monitoring of workers' health through examinations or tests where a specific work exposure could cause identifiable disease, with results used to protect individuals.

Equipment worn or held by a worker, such as helmets, gloves, respirators or hearing protectors, that reduces exposure but is the last resort in the control hierarchy.

A formal written authorisation for high-risk tasks, specifying the hazards, controls, isolations and time limits, and requiring sign-off before and after the work.

A documented step-by-step method for performing a task safely, derived from risk assessment or job safety analysis and used as the basis for instruction and supervision.

Introductory health and safety instruction given to new, transferred or contractor workers covering site rules, hazards, emergency arrangements and reporting before work begins.

A joint forum of worker and management representatives that reviews hazards, incidents and proposed changes and advises on health and safety matters.

A simple, accessible mechanism allowing workers to report hazards, near misses and concerns, with feedback on actions taken so that reporting is encouraged rather than discouraged.