IHMM CSHM flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Hazard versus risk

A hazard is a source or condition with potential to cause harm; risk combines the likelihood and severity of that harm occurring, so controls are prioritized by risk level.

Hierarchy of controls

Ranked from most to least effective: elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, and personal protective equipment. Higher levels protect more workers with less reliance on behavior.

HAZOP guide words

Structured words such as no, more, less, as well as, part of, reverse, and other than are applied to process parameters at nodes to identify deviations from design intent.

FMEA risk priority number

RPN equals severity multiplied by occurrence multiplied by detection. Higher RPN values indicate failure modes requiring priority action, though high severity alone also demands attention.

Fault tree analysis

A deductive, top-down technique starting from a defined undesired top event and tracing combinations of contributing causes through AND and OR logic gates.

Job hazard analysis

A task-specific method that breaks a job into sequential steps, identifies hazards at each step, and specifies controls before the task is performed.

ALARP principle

Risk must be reduced as low as reasonably practicable, balancing control cost against risk reduction. Residual risk after controls must be documented and accepted.

Accident scene preservation

Secure and isolate the area before cleanup; photograph, sketch, and record positions of equipment and people so physical evidence remains undisturbed for analysis.

Witness interview technique

Interview witnesses separately and promptly using open-ended questions first, then confirm details. Memory decays and can be contaminated by group discussion or leading questions.

Multiple causation model

Most losses result from interacting causal factors involving the task, material, environment, worker, and management system, not a single root cause.

Five Whys technique

Repeatedly asking why a condition or event occurred, typically about five times, to move from the observed symptom toward an actionable management-system root cause.

Near miss investigation

Incident ratio pyramids show many minor incidents and near misses precede a serious injury, so near misses should be reported and investigated as free lessons.

Corrective action verification

Each corrective action needs an assigned owner, due date, and verification of effectiveness. Recurrence of the same incident indicates the corrective action failed.

Compliance versus system audit

A compliance audit checks against regulations or standards; a management system audit checks conformance to a framework such as ISO 45001. Both differ from routine inspections.

Audit finding classification

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

Audit evidence requirement

Audit evidence must be verifiable through records, interviews, or observation. An auditor's opinion alone is insufficient to raise a nonconformity.

Auditor independence

Auditors should not audit their own work. Internal auditors need objectivity, and external certification audits are performed by third-party bodies.

Audit sampling limitation

Audits rely on sampling, so reports must state scope and limitations. Absence of findings is not proof of full compliance.

Workers compensation no-fault

A statutory system paying benefits for work-related injury or illness regardless of fault, in exchange for limiting the employer's liability under exclusive remedy.

Experience modification factor

A premium multiplier comparing an employer's actual losses to expected losses for its class. Values below 1.0 indicate better-than-average loss experience and reduce premium.

Exclusive remedy doctrine

Generally bars an injured worker from suing the employer for negligence, though third-party tort suits and intentional-tort exceptions may still apply.

Modified duty program

Returning injured workers to productive modified or transitional tasks reduces indemnity costs and lost workdays, and supports faster recovery.

Recordable versus compensable

OSHA recordability under Part 1904 is separate from workers' compensation compensability. A case can be recordable but not compensable, or the reverse.

Product liability theories

Three theories support claims: negligence, strict liability for a defective product causing harm regardless of fault, and breach of warranty.

Product defect types

Defects are classified as manufacturing defects, design defects, or failure to warn through inadequate instructions or warnings. Each requires different evidence.

Risk-utility design test

A design defect test weighing product risk against utility, often asking whether a feasible safer alternative design existed at reasonable cost.

Duty to warn

Manufacturers must provide adequate, legible warnings that reach the user. Obvious hazards may reduce but do not always eliminate this duty.

RCRA cradle to grave

Hazardous waste is regulated from generation through accumulation, transport by manifest, treatment, storage, and disposal. Generator status depends on monthly quantity generated.

NPDES permit

Clean Water Act permits required for point-source discharges to waters of the United States. Industrial stormwater discharges are covered by sector-specific general permits.

CERCLA liability

Superfund imposes strict, joint, and several liability for hazardous substance releases and requires reporting releases above reportable quantities to the National Response Center.

EPCRA reporting

Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act requires Tier II chemical inventory reporting and Toxics Release Inventory Form R reporting for covered facilities.

Section 7 rights

National Labor Relations Act protections for private-sector employees to organize, bargain collectively, and engage in concerted activity for mutual aid or protection.