Hierarchy of hazard control is a system used in industry to minimize or eliminate exposure to
hazards
A hazard is a potential source of harm. Substances, events, or circumstances can constitute hazards when their nature would allow them, even just theoretically, to cause damage to health, life, property, or any other interest of value. The probabi ...
.
[MANUAL HANDLING HIERARCHY OF CONTROLS](_blank)
It is a widely accepted system promoted by numerous safety organizations. This concept is taught to
managers in industry, to be promoted as standard practice in the
workplace
A workplace is a location where someone works, for their employer or themselves, a place of employment. Such a place can range from a home office to a large office building or factory. For industrialized societies, the workplace is one of ...
. It has also been used to inform public policy, in fields such as
road safety. Various illustrations are used to depict this system, most commonly a triangle.
The hazard controls in the hierarchy are, in order of decreasing effectiveness:
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Elimination
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Substitution
Substitution may refer to:
Arts and media
*Chord substitution, in music, swapping one chord for a related one within a chord progression
*Substitution (poetry), a variation in poetic scansion
* "Substitution" (song), a 2009 song by Silversun Pic ...
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Engineering controls
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Administrative controls
Administrative controls are training, procedure, policy, or shift designs that lessen the threat of a hazard to an individual. Administrative controls typically change the behavior of people (e.g., factory workers) rather than removing the actu ...
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Personal protective equipment
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, ...
Components of the hierarchy
Elimination
Physical removal of the hazard is the most effective hazard control.
For example, if employees must work high above the ground, the hazard can be eliminated by moving the piece they are working on to ground level to eliminate the need to work at heights.
Substitution
Substitution, the second most effective hazard control, involves replacing something that produces a hazard with something that does not produce a hazard or produces a lesser hazard—for example, replacing
lead-based paint with
titanium white. To be an effective control, the new product must not produce
unintended consequences. Because airborne dust can be hazardous, if a product can be purchased with a larger
particle size, the smaller product may effectively be substituted with the larger product.
Engineering controls
The third most effective means of controlling hazards is engineered controls. These do not eliminate hazards, but rather isolate people from hazards.
Capital costs of engineered controls tend to be higher than less effective controls in the hierarchy, however they may reduce future costs.
For example, a crew might build a work platform rather than purchase, replace, and maintain
fall arrest equipment. "Enclosure and isolation" creates a physical barrier between personnel and hazards, such as using remotely controlled equipment.
Fume hoods can remove airborne contaminants as a means of engineered control.
Administrative controls
This sign warns people that there are explosives in Walker Lake; however, it cannot prevent people from swimming in it., right
Administrative controls are changes to the way people work. Examples of administrative controls include procedure changes, employee training, and installation of signs and warning labels (such as those in the
Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System
The Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS; french: links=no, Système d'information sur les matières dangereuses utilisées au travail, SIMDUT) is Canada's national workplace hazard communication standard. The key elements of ...
).
Administrative controls do not remove hazards, but limit or prevent people's exposure to the hazards, such as completing
road construction at night when fewer people are driving.
Personal protective equipment
Personal protective equipment
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, ...
(PPE) includes gloves,
Nomex
Nomex is a flame-resistant meta- aramid material developed in the early 1960s by DuPont and first marketed in 1967.
Properties
Nomex and related aramid polymers are related to nylon, but have aromatic backbones, and hence are more rigid and m ...
clothing, overalls,
Tyvek suits,
respirator
A respirator is a device designed to protect the wearer from inhaling hazardous atmospheres including fumes, vapours, gases and particulate matter such as dusts and airborne pathogens such as viruses. There are two main categories of respi ...
s,
hard hats,
safety glasses,
high-visibility clothing
High-visibility clothing, sometimes shortened to hi vis or hi viz, is any clothing worn that is highly luminescent in its natural matt property or a color that is easily discernible from any background. It is most commonly worn on the torso and ...
, and
safety footwear. PPE is the least effective means of controlling hazards because of the high potential for damage to render PPE ineffective.
Additionally, some PPE, such as respirators, increase physiological effort to complete a task and, therefore, may require medical examinations to ensure workers can use the PPE without risking their health.
Role in Prevention through Design
The hierarchy of controls is a core component of
Prevention through Design, the concept of applying methods to minimize
occupational hazards early in the design process. Prevention through Design emphasizes addressing hazards at the top of the hierarchy of controls (mainly through elimination and substitution) at the earliest stages of project development.
Variations on the NIOSH Control Hierarchy
While the control hierarchy shown above is traditionally used in the United States and Canada, other countries or entities may use a slightly different structure. In particular, some add isolation above engineering controls instead of combining the two.
The variation of the hierarchy used in the
ARECC decision-making framework and process for
industrial hygiene (IH) includes modification of the material or procedure to reduce hazards or exposures (sometimes considered a subset of the
hazard substitution option but explicitly considered there to mean that the efficacy of the modification for the situation at hand must be confirmed by the user). The
ARECC version of the hierarchy also includes warnings as a distinct element to clarify the nature of the warning. In other systems, warnings are sometimes considered part of
engineering controls and sometimes part of
administrative controls
Administrative controls are training, procedure, policy, or shift designs that lessen the threat of a hazard to an individual. Administrative controls typically change the behavior of people (e.g., factory workers) rather than removing the actu ...
.
See also
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ARECC - Decision-making framework and process used in the field of
industrial hygiene (IH) to anticipate and recognize hazards, evaluate exposures, and control and confirm protection from risks
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Normalization of deviance – one reason people stop using effective prevention measures
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References
External links
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety documentHierarchy of prevention and control measureson OSH Wiki (EU)
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Hazard analysis
Occupational safety and health