Page 88 - OHS, July/August 2021

FACILITY SAFETY
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BY SASO KRSTOVSKI
Occupational health is a critical aspect of any industry. Organizations understand the impact and significance of the elimination of any hazards for the workforce. Occupational hazards require continuous assessment
and evaluation to ensure the sustainment of zero hazard occurrences. The first step is a categorization of the occupational hazard. Two categorical approaches for hazard mitigation are reactive and proactive. Reactive is a result of an incident occurrence. Proactive is driven based on indicators signaling potential and preventive measures that are developed to mitigate future failures. A severity assessment guides solution strategy based on process, design or blended actions. The final phase in the framework requires a thorough evaluation of potential replication in other areas within the organization.
Hazard Categorization
Concern resolution is categorized as reactive or proactive. Reactive is after the fact requiring the team to work backward from the actual incident to understand the root cause. Proactive requires anticipation of concern potential. A visionary approach challenges teams to think differently at potential hazards. Both approaches are vital for occupational health management.
Reactive Approach. A reactive approach is critical in the management of hazard incidents. Every incident requires immediate remediation to prevent further incidents. Based on the severity of hazard mitigation, efforts range from process changes to complete redesign of the process. The natural human instinct for reactive measurements drives quick actions. This drives concentrated effort on particular concerns and prevents a holistic view of the complete system. These actions could impose additional risks in the process. Occupation health mitigation efforts for reactive concerns
Proactive Approach. Proactive approaches are derived from 84 Occupational Health & Safety | JULY/AUGUST 2021
the three “R”s reports, recognition and replication.
Reporting encompasses teams analyzing current data collection methods for hazard activities. The process requires significant efforts to not only research data but also confirm accuracy and consistency in reporting. A structured approach utilizing PDCA or six sigma DMAIC problem-solving methodology is necessary to facilitate hazard concern identification and resolution. Pareto analysis of the highest functional area, procedural task or hazard condition is the first step in determining focus efforts. Recognition requires having an “eye for safety.” Hazard conditions are observed during regular activity. Recognizing hazards afford teams to formulate a temporary mitigation plan and focus on a robust permanent corrective action. This mechanism requires individuals to train themselves to have an “eye for safety.” Individuals assess every potential scene on how activities or tasks can generate a hazard condition. Enhancement of sensory skills and innovative thinking mindset is vital to discover potential concerns based on the current state. This requires a unique personal ability and requires continuous out of the box thinking. Replication involves finding best practices implemented elsewhere and incorporating them internally. Research and assessment have already been conducted; therefore, implementation effort is minimal. This is analogous to “low hanging fruit.” The effort to pick low fruit is significantly less than ones higher in the tree. This proactive approach is greatly overlooked. Implementation is simple to perform and value is significant. Organizations lack prioritization of this proactive
approach.
Replication vetting is critical after any hazard mitigation
effort. Every solution strategy implemented reactive or proactive must be assess for replication internally or externally. The step-in hazard mitigation is critical to achieve avoidance and sustainment.
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