ISPON HSE Level 3 key terms

Any source, situation, or act with the potential to cause harm, injury, ill health, or damage to property and the environment. It exists independently of whether anyone is currently exposed to it.

The combination of how likely a hazardous event is to occur and how severe the resulting harm would be. It expresses exposure to a hazard in terms of likelihood and consequence.

A structured process of identifying hazards, evaluating who might be harmed and how, judging the adequacy of existing controls, and deciding what further action is needed. It is recorded and reviewed when circumstances change.

A ranked order of measures for reducing risk, from most to least effective: eliminate the hazard, substitute it, use engineering controls, apply administrative controls, and finally rely on personal protective equipment.

The level of risk that remains after all planned control measures have been applied. It must be judged tolerable before work is allowed to proceed.

A principle meaning risk should be reduced As Low As Reasonably Practicable, balancing the cost and effort of further controls against the reduction in harm they would achieve. It is used to justify why a residual risk is acceptable.

A technique that breaks a task into sequential steps, identifies the hazards in each step, and specifies controls before the work begins. It is often used for non-routine or high-risk tasks.

A formal written authorisation that controls high-risk work such as hot work, confined space entry, or isolation of energy. It confirms that specified precautions are in place before, during, and after the task.

A procedure for isolating hazardous energy sources and fitting locks and warning tags so equipment cannot be started or energised while maintenance or repair is in progress. Only the person who applied the lock removes it.

An unplanned event that did not cause injury or damage but had the potential to do so. Reporting near misses reveals weaknesses in controls before a real loss occurs.

Any unplanned event arising from or in connection with work that caused or could have caused injury, ill health, or property and environmental damage. It includes accidents, near misses, and dangerous occurrences.

A systematic method of tracing an incident back beyond its immediate cause to the underlying management, design, or behavioural failures that, if corrected, would prevent recurrence. Tools include the five whys and cause-and-effect diagrams.

The direct act or condition that triggered an incident, such as a slip, a missing guard, or an unsafe lift. It is distinguished from the underlying causes that allowed it to happen.

An action taken to eliminate the cause of a detected nonconformity or incident so that it does not recur. It differs from a correction, which only fixes the immediate problem.

A work-related injury that results in the injured person being unable to attend work for at least one full scheduled shift or day after the day of the injury. It is a common lagging indicator of safety performance.

A measurable value used to track how well safety objectives are being met. Lagging indicators record harm already caused, while leading indicators measure preventive activity such as inspections and training completed.

The organised set of policies, procedures, responsibilities, and resources an organisation uses to manage health and safety. It typically follows a plan-do-check-act cycle of planning, implementation, monitoring, and review.

The shared values, attitudes, and behaviours of an organisation toward health and safety, reflected in how people actually act when no one is watching. A positive culture encourages reporting and learning rather than blame.

A living record listing identified hazards, the people exposed, the assessed risk rating, the controls in place, and the responsible owner and review date. It supports prioritisation and tracking of actions.

Equipment worn or held by a worker to protect against one or more hazards, such as helmets, gloves, respirators, and safety boots. It is the last line of defence and depends on correct selection, fit, and use.

Devices worn over the face to reduce inhalation of airborne contaminants, either by filtering the air or by supplying clean air from a separate source. Correct fit testing and face-seal checks are essential.

A benchmark concentration of an airborne substance in workplace air that is considered acceptable for an average healthy worker over a defined reference period, usually expressed as a time-weighted average. It guides control and monitoring decisions.

The systematic measurement of hazards such as airborne dust, noise, or vibration in the work environment to determine whether exposure limits are being exceeded and whether controls are effective.

A programme of ongoing health checks, such as audiometry or lung function testing, used to detect early signs of work-related ill health in exposed workers so that action can be taken promptly.

The preferred order of noise reduction: remove the source, reduce noise at source, enclose or isolate it, limit time of exposure, and use hearing protection only as a last resort. Engineering measures protect everyone without relying on behaviour.

An enclosed or partially enclosed space that is not intended for continuous occupancy and may have a hazardous atmosphere, risk of engulfment, or restricted entry and exit. Entry requires assessment, controls, and often a permit.

A documented set of arrangements describing how an organisation will respond to fire, spill, medical, or other emergencies, including alarm systems, evacuation routes, roles, and communication. It is practised through drills and reviewed regularly.

A rehearsed exercise in which occupants practise responding to an alarm and leaving the site by designated routes to a safe assembly point. Drills test the emergency plan and reveal weaknesses before a real event.

A designated safe assembly location where people gather after evacuation so that they can be accounted for. It must be clear of the building, marked, and known to everyone on site.

A model showing that fire requires three elements together: fuel, oxygen, and a source of heat. Removing any one of these elements extinguishes the fire or prevents ignition.

A classification of fires by the fuel involved, such as solids, flammable liquids, gases, and electrical equipment, used to select the correct extinguishing medium. Using the wrong type can spread fire or cause injury.

The lowest temperature at which a liquid gives off enough vapour to form an ignitable mixture with air near its surface. Liquids with low flash points present a greater fire and explosion risk.

Any work involving open flames, welding, cutting, grinding, or other activities that generate sparks or sufficient heat to ignite flammable material. It normally requires a permit and fire watch.

An element of an organisation's activities, products, or services that interacts or can interact with the environment, such as emissions, waste, or water use. Significant aspects are those with or potentially with significant impact.

Any change to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial, wholly or partly resulting from an organisation's environmental aspects. Examples include pollution of water, land contamination, and loss of habitat.

A priority order for managing waste: prevent it, reduce it, reuse it, recycle it, recover energy from it, and only then dispose of it. It encourages the least environmentally damaging option first.

The planned actions for containing, absorbing, and safely disposing of a released hazardous substance, including stopping the source, protecting drains, and notifying the relevant authorities. Spill kits and trained personnel must be available.

Meeting the duties imposed by health, safety, and environmental legislation and the conditions of permits and licences. Non-compliance can lead to enforcement action, prosecution, fines, and reputational damage.

The legal and moral obligation of employers and workers to take reasonable steps to protect the health, safety, and welfare of themselves and others affected by their work. It underpins most safety legislation.

A legal test requiring an employer to weigh the risk against the cost, time, and difficulty of controlling it. If the risk is significant and the control is feasible, it should be implemented.