Hazard Identification Risk Assessment (HIRA)

One of the primary objectives of the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act 85 of 1993 and its regulations is to create a healthy, safe and prepared working environment for all.

Doing so assist in preventing injuries and illness to employees, damages to company assets such as equipment and property and also not cause unnecessary damage to our environment.

This can be achieved by identifying the hazards, assessing their risks and formulating a health and safety risk reduction management plan, to effectively implement effective controls to address, reduce the hazards and to try and eliminate them altogether.

If the hazard is slight or has a low-risk rating, it could also be mitigated or accepted by management. Risk assessments are a skill that has to be learned and our course provides candidates with good knowledge and the necessary skills to conduct a risk assessment in the workplace.

There are many references made to hazard identification or risk assessment in the OHS Act and its regulations. Below are a few examples:

• OHS Act (8) – Employers must ensure a workplace free of risks by taking steps to eliminate or mitigate hazards or potential hazards;
• OHS Act (10) – Manufacturers must ensure that their products are safe and without risk;
• OHS Act (12) – Employers must identify hazards and evaluate the risks associated with work which constitutes a hazard to the health of employees;
• OHS Act (18) – Health and safety representatives must identify potential hazards and potential major incidents in the workplace;
• Major Hazard Installation Regulations (5) – An employer shall carry out risk assessments and submit them to the chief inspector, relevant local government and provincial director;
• Construction Regulations (5) – The client must prepare a baseline risk assessment for an intended construction project;
• Construction Regulations (9) – A contractor must, before the commencement of any construction work and during such construction work, have risk assessments performed by a competent person;
• Construction Regulations (10) – A fall protection plan must include a risk assessment of all work carried out from a fall risk position and the procedures and methods used to address all the risks identified per location;

Performing risk assessments is not about creating endless amounts of paperwork, but rather together identifying, measures and control risks in the working environment. We suggest that the health and safety representatives and management attend the training in hazard identification risk assessments.

Course Modules:

• Legal requirements pertaining to risk assessments – The Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act laws which pertain to risk assessments, the difference between baseline, continuous, issue-based risk assessments and also look into the process of continuous risk assessments;
• The importance of conducting risk assessments – The need to and when to conduct a continuous risk assessment;
• Risk assessment documentation – Various documentation used in risk assessments e.g. checklists, planned task observation forms, standard operating procedures, etc.;
• Common hazards and risks encountered during a continuous risk assessment – The common risks and hazards encountered in the workplace;
• Recording of findings – It is important to know how to record findings of your risk assessment so that it can be clearly communicated to the health and safety committee and the employer;
• Remedial and follow up actions – Once hazards and risks have been identified and ranked, the employer then needs to act appropriately, as well as implement control measures and methods to improve the safety of the working environment by reducing, mitigating or eliminating the hazards.