Session 7 Flashcards
(24 cards)
Define a hazard.
Any source of potential damage, harm or adverse health effects on something or someone under certain conditions at work.
What are the 7 categories of hazards and give examples of each.
- Biological - bacteria, viruses, fungi & parasites
- Chemical - depends on the physical/toxic properties of chemicals, e.g acid, fumes, dust
- Ergonomic - repetitive movement, improper setup of workstation
- Physical- radiation, magnetic fields, pressure extremes, noise
- Psychosocial - stress, violence
- Social - relationships
- Mechanical (unsafe actions & conditions) - slipping/tripping conditions, inappropriate machine guarding, equipment malfunctions or breakdown
Define a risk.
Chance/ probability that a person will be harmed or experience an adverse health effect if exposed to a hazard.
What are the 3 factors that influence the degree of risk?
- How much a person is exposed to a thing or condition (frequency)
- How the person is exposed
- How severe are the effects under the conditions of exposure
What is a risk assessment?
A process where you:
- identify hazards
- analayse or evaluate the risk ass. w/ that hazard
- determine appropriate ways to eliminate or control the hazard
Define an adverse health effect and give practical examples.
Any change in body function or the structures of the cells that can lead to disease or health problems.
- bodily injury
- disease
- change in the way the body functions, grows and develops
- decrease in life span
- effects on a developing foetus
- effects on children and grandchildren (inheritable genetic effects)
- change in mental condition resulting from stress, traumatic experiences, exposure to solvents
- effects on the ability to accommodate additional stress
What must be considered in order to determine whether hazards will always cause adverse health effects?
- What hazards are present
- How a person is exposed
- What kind of effect could result from the specific exposure a person experiences
- The likelihood that exposure to a hazardous thing would cause an injury
- How severe would the damage/injury be from exposure to the hazard
What does having an acute effect to a hazard mean?
The person experiences the injury/harm as soon they come into contact w/ the hazardous agent.
What does having a chronic effect to a hazard mean?
The injury/harm is delayed and occurs at a later stage after exposure to the hazard.
What is a reversible effect and what is an irreversible effect of a hazard?
Reversible- the injury heals completely
Irreversible- untreatable disease
Define an injury.
Derived from the Latin word “not right”
- Results from acute exposure to physical agents such as mechanical energy, heat, electricity, chemicals, and ionising radiation interacting w/ the body in amounts that exceed the threshold of human tolerance.
Define unintentional injuries.
Injury that occurring w/o anyone intending that harm be done
Define intentional injuries.
Injury that is purposefully inflicted, whether by the victim or another
Define injury prevention/control.
An organised effort to prevent injuries or minimise their severity.
What are the 4 characteristics of unintentional injury?
- Unplanned event
- Preceded by unsafe act
- Accompanied by economic loss
- Interrupt efficient completion of tasks
Define an unsafe act.
Behaviour that would increase the probability of an unintentional injury.
Define an unsafe condition.
Any environmental factor that would increase the probability of an unintentional injury.
Define an accident.
An undesirable event caused by unsafe acts or unsafe conditions that result in or has the potential for causing physical harm, damage to a property or business interruption.
What 2 factors must be brought together before an accident can actually happen?
- Those in the environment
* Those in the individual
Name the 3 key elements of an accident.
- A sudden, undesirable happening
- Causes/ has potential to produce unintended injury or death
- Property damage/ activity interruption
Define an accident according Heinrich’s Domino Theory.
An accident is one factor in a sequence that may lead to an injury.
- the factors may be visualised as dominoes
- each of the factors is dependent on the preceding factor
Describe the 5 steps of an accident causation in Heinrich’s Dominos Theory.
- A personal injury occurs only as a result of an accident.
- An accident only happens as a result of a personal/mechanical hazard.
- Personal/mechanical hazards only occur through the fault of careless persons/poorly designed equipment.
- Faults of persons are inherited/acquired as a result of their social environment/ ancestry.
- The environment is where and how a person was raised and educated.
Describe the 3 critical issues for prevention of accidents according to Heinrich’s Domino Theory.
- Factor preceding accident must receive the most attention.
- Loss control manager should be concerned primarily w/ the accident and appr. causes of accidents.
- Accidents, not injuries/ property damage should be the point of attack.
Describe Heinrich’s Domino Theory’s Corrective Action Sequence (The 3 Es).
- ENGINEERING
- Control hazards through product design/ process change - EDUCATION
- Train workers regarding all facets of safety
- Impose on management that attention to safety that pays off - ENFORCEMENT
- Ensure that int. & ext. rules, regulations, and standard operating procedures are followed by workers and management
