IHMM CSHM cheat sheet

Hazard analysis distinguishes hazard (source of harm) from risk (likelihood × severity of harm); risk assessment estimates both dimensions before controls are chosen.

Hierarchy of controls, strongest to weakest: elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, personal protective equipment; PPE is the last line of defense.

Preliminary Hazard Analysis (PHA) screens a system early using qualitative severity/likelihood categories; it precedes detailed design-stage studies.

HAZOP uses guide words (no, more, less, as well as, part of, reverse, other than) applied to process parameters at nodes to find deviations from design intent.

FMEA/FMECA scores severity, occurrence, and detection; RPN = S × O × D, and actions target high-severity or high-RPN failure modes first.

Fault Tree Analysis is deductive and top-down from a defined undesired event; Event Tree Analysis is inductive and forward from an initiating event.

Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) breaks a task into steps, identifies hazards per step, and specifies controls; it is task-specific, not facility-wide.

ALARP requires risk reduced as low as reasonably practicable, weighing control cost against risk reduction; residual risk must be documented and accepted.

Investigation goals are fact-finding and prevention, not blame assignment; disciplinary action and investigation should be kept procedurally separate.

Preserve and secure the scene first: isolate the area, photograph, sketch, and record positions before cleanup or re-entry disturbs evidence.

Collect four evidence types: physical, documentary, human (interviews), and electronic (alarms, video, SCADA trends); corroborate witness accounts against physical evidence.

Interview witnesses separately and promptly; use open-ended questions first, then confirm details; memory decays and can be contaminated by group discussion.

Multiple causation model: most losses result from interacting causal factors (task, material, environment, human, management), not a single root cause.

Root cause analysis tools include 5 Whys, fishbone (Ishikawa) diagrams, and causal trees; stop when causes become actionable management-system deficiencies.

The accident ratio pyramid (Heinrich/Bird) shows many minor incidents and near misses precede a serious injury, so near misses warrant investigation.

Corrective action tracking must assign owner, due date, and verification of effectiveness; recurrence of the same incident indicates failed corrective action.

Audit types: compliance audit checks against regulations/standards; management system audit checks conformance to a standard such as ISO 45001; both differ from a walk-through inspection.

Audit process sequence: scope and criteria definition, auditor selection, document review, opening meeting, evidence collection, findings, closing meeting, report, corrective action follow-up.

Findings are classified as conforming, nonconformity (major/minor), observation, or opportunity for improvement; classification drives corrective action priority.

Audit evidence must be verifiable: records, interviews, and observation; auditor opinion alone is insufficient to raise a nonconformity.

Independence matters: auditors should not audit their own work; internal auditors need objectivity, external audits use third-party certification bodies.

Sampling is inherent in audits; the report states scope and limitations so readers do not treat absence of findings as proof of full compliance.

Corrective action for a nonconformity requires root cause analysis, not just correction of the observed condition; verification closes the loop.

Leading audit indicators include overdue corrective actions, repeat findings, and training currency; lagging indicators are injury rates and losses.

Workers' compensation is a no-fault statutory system: benefits are paid for work-related injury or illness regardless of who was at fault, in exchange for limited employer liability.

Exclusive remedy doctrine generally bars an injured worker from suing the employer for negligence, but third-party tort suits and intentional-tort exceptions may apply.

Benefit categories: medical care, temporary total disability (TTD), permanent partial/ total disability, death benefits, and vocational rehabilitation, varying by jurisdiction.

Premium is experience-rated: the experience modification factor (EMR or MOD) compares actual losses to expected losses for the class; below 1.0 is better than average.

Claim reserves are set by adjusters for expected ultimate cost; reserve adequacy affects reported loss ratios and future premium.

Return-to-work and modified duty reduce indemnity costs and lost workdays; early reporting of claims lowers overall claim cost.

Fraud and subrogation recovery affect net claim cost; subrogation pursues third parties responsible for the injury.

Recordability under OSHA 1904 is separate from compensability; a case can be OSHA-recordable but not compensable, or the reverse.

Product liability theories: negligence, strict liability (defective product causing harm regardless of fault), and breach of warranty.

Defect types: manufacturing defect, design defect, and failure to warn (inadequate instructions or warnings).

Design defect tests include consumer expectation and risk-utility (cost-benefit); a feasible safer alternative design is central to risk-utility analysis.

Product safety tools: design FMEA, hazard analysis, human factors review, and compliance testing against standards such as UL, ANSI, and IEC requirements.

Duty to warn requires warnings be adequate, legible, and reach the user; obvious hazards may reduce but do not always eliminate the duty.

Post-market surveillance includes complaint tracking, field failure analysis, and recall procedures; reporting obligations may exist under CPSC rules.

Traceability via lot/serial marking supports recall scope determination and field action effectiveness.

Substantial modification or misuse by the user can shift liability, but foreseeable misuse must be designed against.

Clean Air Act regulates stationary and mobile sources via NAAQS, permits (Title V), and New Source Review; major modifications can trigger review.

Clean Water Act regulates discharges to waters of the U.S. through NPDES permits; stormwater permits cover industrial sites by sector.

RCRA governs hazardous waste from cradle to grave: generation, accumulation, transport (manifest), treatment, storage, and disposal; generator status depends on monthly quantity.

CERCLA (Superfund) imposes strict, joint, and several liability for release of hazardous substances and requires reporting of releases above reportable quantities.

EPCRA requires emergency planning and community right-to-know reporting, including TRI Form R and Tier II inventory reporting.

Spill reporting: releases of hazardous substances above reportable quantities must be reported to the National Response Center under CERCLA.

Environmental management systems follow ISO 14001 with aspects/impacts analysis, legal register, objectives, and continual improvement.

Environmental audits and self-disclosure policies can reduce penalties; knowing violations carry higher penalties than self-reported ones.

National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act, 1935) protects private-sector employees' rights to organize, bargain collectively, and engage in concerted activity.

Taft-Hartley Act (1947) added union unfair labor practices, banned closed shops, and allowed states to pass right-to-work laws.

Section 7 rights cover concerted activity for mutual aid or protection, which can protect some safety complaints even without a union.

Mandatory bargaining subjects: wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment; permissive subjects may be bargained but not required.

Safety committees and hazard reporting are terms and conditions of employment; unilateral changes to them during a bargaining relationship may violate the duty to bargain.

OSHA Section 11(c) prohibits retaliation for exercising safety rights; NLRA Section 8(a)(1) can also apply to discipline for safety complaints.

Grievance and arbitration procedures interpret the collective bargaining agreement; arbitration awards are generally final and binding.

Impasse resolution: mediation, fact-finding, and for some public employees binding interest arbitration; private-sector strikes are permitted after impasse with notice.

Cost-benefit analysis compares present value of safety investment to present value of avoided losses; discount future costs and benefits to present value.

Return on investment (ROI) = (net benefit ÷ cost) × 100; payback period = cost ÷ annual net savings.

Direct costs (medical, claims, fines) are visible; indirect costs (lost productivity, training replacement workers, investigation time) often exceed direct costs.

Iceberg ratio concept: uninsured indirect costs of an injury commonly exceed insured direct costs; budgeting should include both.

Total cost of risk = insurance premiums + retained losses + administrative costs + risk control costs; used to compare risk financing options.

Risk financing options: retention (self-insurance), transfer (insurance), and hybrid (deductibles, captives); choice depends on loss frequency and severity.

Break-even analysis: fixed costs ÷ (unit price − variable cost per unit) gives the volume needed to cover safety program investment.

Financial statements: balance sheet (assets, liabilities, equity at a point in time) versus income statement (revenues and expenses over a period).