Step 1 - Look for the hazards
Look for those things or processes at your workplace that could cause harm, asking the question ‘does this task/activity/situation/event have the potential to harm a person?’
Be aware that workplace hazards are not always obvious. Some are concealed or not readily visible, like electricity, gases or high frequency noise. Others may develop over time, like wear and tear on plant or equipment, and others may be intermittent or temporary.
Some examples of the types of workplace hazards to look for include:
- work environment (such as slippery floor surfaces, poor lighting, heat or cold)
- energy (such as electricity or heat)
- manual tasks
- noise
- substances (such as chemicals)
- plant, machinery and equipment
- workplace activities or arrangements such as purchasing policies, shiftwork rosters, performance expectations, maintenance and servicing programs and training programs that impact upon the safety of the workplace.
For more information on the types of hazards refer to Section 3 of Supplement 1 of the Risk Management Code of Practice 2007.
There are a number of ways of looking for hazards including:
- Walking through your workplace and looking for hazards in a systematic way looking at physical things and workplace activities.
- Asking workers about hazards.
- Consulting with workplace health and safety representatives and committees.
- Considering how people use equipment and materials and how they could be hurt directly and indirectly by workplace activities.
- Conducting a safety audit.
- Scientific or technical evaluation.
- Reviewing your workplace records such as sick leave and incident reports.
- Acquiring information from designers, manufacturers and suppliers.
- Talking to anyone who can help such as your industry association and suppliers of equipment and consumables.
For more information on identifying hazards refer to Supplement 1 of the Risk Management Code of Practice 2007.
Once hazards are identified it is good practice to record them in a hazard register.
View/print an example of a hazard identification and register (PDF, 18KB)
Last updated 22 July 2008