Eight-Step Approach to Hazard Identification
Eight Steps for Potential Hazard Investigation
June this year marks the 24th National "Work Safety Month", with the theme "Everyone Talks Safety, Everyone Can Respond" - focusing on finding potential safety hazards around us.
Step 1: Establish a Responsibility System for the Investigation and Management of Potential Accidents
Define Positions and Personnel: Clarify the duties and responsible personnel for each position, ensuring every step has someone accountable.
Define Safety Responsibilities: Determine corresponding safety responsibilities based on job roles, ensuring every employee understands their responsibilities in work safety.
Define Responsibility Assessment: Establish an assessment mechanism to evaluate employees' fulfillment of safety responsibilities, rewarding good performance and penalizing poor performance, thereby motivating employees to actively fulfill their safety duties.
Step 2: Establish Rules and Regulations for the Investigation and Management of Potential Accidents
Regulatory Framework: The framework should include elements such as scope of application, safety responsibilities, management requirements, and record forms.
Basis for Regulatory Content: Based on current laws and regulations, government documents, relevant technical standards and norms, notices from higher-level units, safety management systems, as well as the unit's business scope, characteristics, risk level, work nature, and specific job content.
Compile Regulatory Content: Stipulate the departments responsible for organization and implementation and their division of duties; define the scope, content, methods, and cycle of inspections; and specify requirements for process management and archiving throughout the stages of potential accident identification, registration, reporting, monitoring, remediation, and acceptance.
Step 3: Risk Identification and Determination of Key Areas for Potential Accident Investigation
Risk Identification and Assessment: Based on risk identification and assessment, areas with relatively high-risk levels are typically determined as key areas for potential accident investigation.
Major Hazard Installation Determination: Areas identified as major hazard installations according to "Identification of Major Hazard Installations for Hazardous Chemicals" (GB 18218-2018) are designated as key areas for potential accident investigation.
Establish Ledgers: Establish a ledger for key areas of potential accident investigation, approved by the primary responsible person.
Step 4: Criteria for Determining Potential Accidents and Regular Investigation
Criteria for Determining Potential Accidents:
Includes human factors, material factors, environmental factors, and management factors.
Can refer to the list of potential accidents in key local industries.
Where no such list exists, refer to the technical specifications for work safety grade assessment within the industry.
Regular Investigation of Potential Accidents:
Unit-level comprehensive safety inspection: no less than once every six months.
Department-level comprehensive inspection: no less than once per quarter.
Specialized safety inspection: no less than once every six months.
Seasonal and holiday safety inspections.
Team leader and safety officer inspections: at least once per week.
Daily inspections by technical and management personnel.
Pre-shift, mid-shift, and post-shift hazard identification by operational post personnel.
Develop Checklists: To facilitate frontline personnel in investigating and identifying hazards, develop checklists for key areas.
Inspection Forms and Frequency:
Complete Record Forms and Notices: Fill out safety inspection record forms and hazard rectification notices.
Step 5: Classification, Grading, Public Announcement, and Reporting of Potential Accidents
Methods for Classifying Potential Accidents:
By responsibility for remediation (e.g., department responsible for the hazard).
By frequency of occurrence (first-time occurrence vs. recurring).
By professional characteristics.
Methods for Grading Potential Accidents:
Can be divided into general potential accidents and major potential accidents. General potential accidents can be further subdivided.
Refer to relevant major potential accident determination criteria for major hazards.
Public Announcement of Potential Accidents:
Frequency: At least once per month.
Methods: Bulletin boards, information platforms, hazard circulars, WeChat groups, meetings, team activities, etc.
Content: Includes the department/location of the hazard, the responsible department for remediation, and the status of remediation completion.
Warning Signs: For hazards that cannot be promptly eliminated, warning signs should be erected at the location or site, promptly informing employees of the hazard's degree of danger, scope of impact, remediation measures, and emergency measures.
Reporting Potential Accidents: Report promptly to the local department responsible for work safety supervision under the following circumstances:
If a potential hazard cannot be eliminated promptly and may endanger public safety.
If the potential hazard is caused or may be caused by reasons not attributable to the unit.
The report should include the current status, causes, harmful consequences, and scope of impact of the potential hazard.
Step 6: Development and Implementation of Remediation Plans and Measures
Develop Remediation Plans and Measures: The plan includes goals and tasks, methods and measures, allocation of funds and equipment/supplies, responsible teams and personnel, time limits and requirements, corresponding safety measures, and implementation of emergency plans. Small and micro enterprises can simplify based on their actual situation.
Monitoring and Preventive Measures: During the remediation process, corresponding monitoring and preventive measures should be taken, and if necessary, personnel should be assigned to stand guard.
Maintain Records and Documents: Keep relevant records and documents from the remediation process.
Step 7: Acceptance and Effectiveness Evaluation of Potential Accident Remediation
Evaluate Effectiveness: Assess the effectiveness of the remediation in preventing the recurrence of the potential hazard.
Record Acceptance Information: Record the departments and personnel involved in the acceptance, the acceptance date, and the acceptance conclusion.
Sign-off by Acceptance Personnel: Acceptance personnel should sign and confirm the acceptance record.
Step 8: Ledgers, Statistical Analysis for Potential Accident Investigation and Management
Establish Ledgers: Create ledgers for the investigation and management of potential accidents.
Statistical Analysis: Conduct statistical analysis of potential accidents to predict trends, serving as an effective means for forecasting and early warning of work safety trends. Analysis methods include:
By hazard characteristics (e.g., fire protection, electrical, hazardous chemicals, equipment/facilities).
By cause of the hazard (e.g., unsafe human behavior, unsafe material conditions, management deficiencies).
By location where the hazard was found (e.g., warehouse, substation, plant environment).
By time the hazard was found (e.g., monthly, quarterly, annually).
By hazard level (e.g., general, major, key, other).
By frequency of occurrence (e.g., first-time, repeated).
Form Statistical Analysis Reports: Based on the analysis results, form annual statistical analysis reports for potential accidents, etc.
