Accident Prevention

Awareness of hazards

Hazards exist in the work environment, work activities, and/or the behaviour of workers. Safety hazards injure through a single contact with a person – even after years of exposures.

Understanding risks

Assessing risk considers the opportunity for contact, and/or the harmful consequences of contact. Opportunities differ in frequency or likelihood. Consequences range widely in severity and duration.

Attitudes, choices, and habits contribute to risks by influencing worker behaviours. However, attitudes, choices and habits also influence organisational systems and processes that contribute to risks.

Worker health factors affect awareness of hazards, or the ability to judge and respond to risks. Factors include attention and focus, physical fitness, personal mobility, medical health, senses and perception.

Safe behaviours include following safety policies, wearing PPE correctly, and being mentally and physically prepared for work. Unsafe behaviours include rushing and ignoring risks.

Eliminate or minimise risks

Eliminating the hazard to eliminates the opportunity for contact.

Substituting the hazard eliminates the opportunity for contact (but may introduce new risks).

Isolating the hazard (by distance, containment, or time) minimises the opportunity for contact.

Engineering the hazard minimise either the opportunity for contact, or the level of contact.

Focusing on human behaviours include:

Administrating safe behaviour minimises the opportunity for contact, and/or the level of contact.

Personal protection equipment (PPE) minimises the level of contact (when used correctly).