Industrial Safety and Occupational Hazards
Hazard and risk
A hazard is a thing with potential to harm; risk is the chance and severity of that harm. Risk = likelihood x severity. Controls follow the hierarchy: eliminate the hazard, substitute something safer, engineer controls (guards, ventilation), administrative controls (permits, training, rotation), and personal protective equipment last. PPE protects one person and can fail.
Site hazards
Common hazards are slips, trips and falls from poor housekeeping, manual handling injuries, electrical contact, noise, dust, chemicals, confined spaces, working at height, and vehicle movement. Read the safety data sheet (MSDS) before using a chemical: it gives hazards, PPE requirements, first aid and spill response. Use lockout-tagout (LOTO) before maintenance so machinery cannot start. A permit-to-work controls hot work, confined-space entry and height work.
Reporting
Report near misses as well as injuries; a near miss is a free warning. Keep walkways clear, mark wet floors, stack safely, and use the correct PPE for the task.
Worked example. A cleaner mixes two cleaning chemicals and fumes appear. The guard moves people away, opens ventilation, checks the MSDS for first aid and spill advice, calls the supervisor, and does not re-enter without PPE. Reasoning: mixing can release chlorine or another toxic gas; the MSDS gives the specific response and the area is treated as unsafe until ventilated.
Traps that cost marks
Treating PPE as the first control, bypassing LOTO because the job is short, entering a confined space without a permit or standby person, and assuming a near miss needs no report.