Center for Chemical Process Safety. A Practical Approach to Hazard Identification for Operations and Maintenance Workers

New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2010. — 312 p.The ability to recognize and respond to hazards at the field level is important to the safety of workers at any facility. While hazard identification may be viewed as a first step towards formal risk analysis, some situations require immediate action if serious incidents are to be avoided. This book is about identifying, ranking and addressing workplace hazards so that all workers can return home safely at the end of a work day.
As an experienced process operator or maintenance technician, you have acquired considerable skills and knowledge. Some of this knowledge
makes you aware of workplace hazards such as pinch points, moving machine parts or objects falling from elevated heights. That knowledge was likely gained with time through minor encounters resulting in the wisdom of "common sense". Process or chemical hazards, though relatively safe when they are enclosed within equipment, can result in fires, explosions or toxic effects when they escape to the open air. You may not be aware of your exposure to these during normal work. Process hazards are less obvious than physical hazards and cannot always be detected at first glance.
Consequently, some additional effort and different strategies may be required to identify process hazards so that they are addressed appropriately.
This book contains many photographs of hazards, abnormal situations and consequences of incidents. It explains what was learned and how you might use this information along with your skills and senses to improve workplace safety. We hope that you are able to apply the material provided here to better anticipate and prevent problems from occurring. In the future, if you find yourself effectively managing a hazardous situation with the help of this book, then we will have succeeded in our endeavor.The first part of this book (Chapters 1 and 2) provides an introduction and discusses basic concepts.
Chapter 3 deals with the use of the basic human senses for identifying hazards.Chapter 4 deals with different classes and categories of hazards.Chapter 5 deals with techniques and methodologies for identifying and evaluating hazards.Chapter 6 deals with making risk based decisions.Chapter 7 deals with follow-up and call to action.Chapter 8 deals with learning and continuous improvement.The Appendices provide references, case studies, hazard presentations and additional pictures.