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Identifying Actual and Potential Hazards
Unit: Health and Safety Procedures

Identifying Actual and Potential Hazards

There may be many hazards in the workplace that you come across daily. Each year, over a third of all major injuries are reported as a result of a slip or trip at work and many such incidences could be avoided if people were aware of the risks before they happened. Therefore, you and everyone else at work has a responsibility to recognise what a hazard is, whether to deal with it immediately yourself, whether you need help to deal with it, or if you have to report it, who to report it to.

There are many hazards that are important to recognise. Things like:

* Trailing wires/leads

* Uneven floor surfaces

* Using unsuitable objects to stand on to reach for items

* Slippery surfaces

* Unsuitable footwear

* Equipment, trolleys or rubbish left in the way

* Loose clothing that catches on furniture, equipment or appliances

* Poor or faulty lighting

* Exposure to some chemical substances

* Hit by a moving or falling object.