Hazard Identification in the Workplace

### Why Hazard Identification Matters You cannot control a hazard you have not identified. Hazard identification is the first step of every risk assessment and underpins an effective health and safety management system. ### Approaches to Identification * **Walk-through observation**: physically inspect the workplace * **Task analysis**: break down activities into steps and identify hazards at each * **Review of incident data**: learn from accidents, near misses and ill-health reports * **Consultation**: involve employees who carry out the work * **Document review**: existing risk assessments, COSHH inventory, equipment registers ### Common Hazard Categories * Physical (machinery, slips, trips, falls, noise, vibration) * Chemical (COSHH, dangerous substances) * Biological (infection, waste) * Ergonomic (manual handling, DSE) * Psychosocial (workload, work-related stress) * Fire and explosion ### Recording and Review Hazards should be recorded, linked to risk assessments, and reviewed when activities, equipment or premises change.