What is a hazard?
What is the difference between hazards and risks?
Can you explain these to someone else?
Why do you need to know the difference between hazard or risk or consequences?
Here is the reason.
Safety is the number one priority for most companies. And if you don’t know the definitions of hazard and risk, it holds you back in three ways.
Number one, it stops you from coming up with more ideas and high-quality strategies that are effective in making significant changes. Because you don’t know all the features and angles that create a hazardous situation.
Number two, it creates doubts in your mind and stops you from sharing your ideas. What if you are wrong? When you are unsure, your brain tries to protect you by creating fear in your mind.
Number three, you were wrong, you shared your ideas and now people started wondering “why is he talking about risks when we all are talking about hazards”.
All of these create barriers for you in your mission of establishing yourself as a top professional.
On the other hand, when you have a clear understanding, you can generate great ideas and effective strategies, share them with confidence and if necessary defend your ideas.
Most important of all, you are not relying on luck or random inspirations, you are using a system to generate ideas and solutions. You are more methodical. More consistent. And people start to notice that. People start to see you as a knowledgeable person.
Definition of hazards
So, what is a hazard?
The definition I use is this one.
Hazard is a thing or situation that can cause harm.
Let me repeat that again.
Hazard is a thing or situation that can cause harm.
And by causing harm, it means causing harm to
- People
- Environmental
- Property or physical assets
Can you think of some examples?
Here are some examples of things that can cause harm:
- Fire
- Electricity
- Your Mother in law
Now, some examples of hazardous situations, situations that can cause harm:
- Working on heights
- Driving while intoxicated
- Forgetting your partner’s birthday
10-second objectivity test
I think of hazard as an objective; because it is a fact, a yes or no question.
Can this cause harm to people, environment or assets? If the answer is yes, then it is a hazard. From this angle, I see a hazard is objective by nature.
Difference between hazards and risks
Hazards don’t become risks.
Hazard can lead to harm.
For example, electricity can lead to electrocution, which can lead to injury or death.
Here electricity is the hazard.
Electrocution is the immediate consequence.
Injury and death are the ultimate consequences.
So, where is the risk?
Risk is our perception. It is our assessment on the chance that the hazard will lead to undesirable consequences.
Risk is the product of likelihood and consequence.
For example, if the source of electricity is in an environment where children are present nearby, you can consider there is a higher likelihood of someone touching it. So, you can assess the risk level is high.
On the other hand, if an electrician is present, though he is exposed to the same hazard and there is the potential of the same consequence happening to him. But because he has skilled knowledge and appropriate tools, you may assess that the risk level is lower compared to the previous case.
So, you can see that risk levels can be different in different contexts.
Risks can be subjective too. different people can look at the same hazard and have different assumptions about the likelihood or consequences.
Developing strategic ideas to counter hazards and lower risks
Now, you have some choices when you are dealing with hazards or hazardous situations:
- You can eliminate the hazards
- You can reduce the probability
- You can reduce the severity of the consequences
You can eliminate the hazard or lower the risk by applying barriers to reduce the probability that someone might get hurt. You can also place mitigative barriers to lower the impact of the consequences.