704.0 Hazard Identification and Control Course Introduction

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This material is for training purposes only to inform the reader of occupational safety and health best practices and general compliance requirements and is not a substitute for provisions of the OSH Act of 1970 or any governmental regulatory agency.

COURSE INTRODUCTION

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 requires that each employer "...furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm..." (29 U.S.C. 651, Sec. 5(a)(1)).

Basic Employer Responsibilities

The employer should see that workers are properly instructed and supervised in the safe operation of any machinery, tools, equipment, process, or practice which they are authorized to use or apply. This should not be construed to require a supervisor positioned on every part of an operation or to prohibit workers from working alone.

The employer should take all reasonable means to require employees:

To work and act in a safe and healthful manner;
To conduct their work in compliance with all applicable safety and health rules;
To use all means and methods, including but not limited to, ladders, scaffolds, guardrails, machine guards, safety belts and lifelines, that are necessary to safely accomplish all work where employees are exposed to a hazard
Not to remove, displace, damage, destroy or carry off any safety device, guard, notice or warning provided for use in any employment or place of employment while such use is required by applicable safety and health rules.

Every employer should be responsible for providing the health hazard control measures necessary to protect the employees' health from harmful or hazardous conditions and for maintaining such control measures in good working order and in use.

Employers should inform the employees regarding the known health hazards to which they are exposed, the measures which have been taken for the prevention and control of such hazards, and the proper methods for utilizing such control measures.

Basic Employee Responsibilities

All employees should conduct their work in compliance with their employer's safety policies and rules. Employees should report all injuries immediately to the person in charge or other responsible representative of the employer. Employees should make full use of safeguards provided for their protection.

If your employer does not currently have general formal/written safety rules, please begin now to make sure these rules and other specific to your workplace are written and communicated to employees.

Safety Inspections

Employers should make sure their workplaces are inspected by a qualified person or persons as often as the type of operation or the character of the equipment requires. Defective equipment or unsafe conditions found by these inspections should be replaced or repaired or remedied promptly. Make sure a written and dated report, signed by the person or persons making the inspection, is completed and used to provide information to improve the safety management system.

Course Objectives

This online course will cover some of the basic principles and concepts related to hazard identification and control. More specifically, if you complete the reading and assignments, at the end of the course, you will be able to:

identify the 14 general workplace hazard categories
describe the four primary procedures used to identify hazards
discuss the various accident types that might result if hazards are not corrected
describe possible engineering and management hazard control strategies
discuss various problem-solving techniques to help control hazards
prepare an effective recommendation

See the Comprehensive Course Synopsis

GO TO MODULE ONE

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