Hazard Identification - Action Item 1

Action Item 1: Collect existing information about workplace hazards.

Management should collaborate with workers to collect, organize, and review information in order to determine current hazards. This information could include the following details and concepts:

• Equipment and machinery operating manuals
• Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) provided by chemical manufacturers
• Self-inspection reports and inspection reports from insurance carriers, government agencies, and consultants
• Records of previous injuries and illnesses, such as OSHA 300 and 301 logs and reports of incident investigations
• Workers' compensation records and reports
• Patterns of frequently-occurring injuries and illnesses
• Exposure monitoring results, industrial hygiene assessments, and medical records (appropriately redacted to ensure patient and worker privacy)
• Existing safety and health programs (lockout/tagout, confined spaces, process safety management, personal protective equipment, and so forth)
• Input from workers, including surveys or minutes from safety and health committee meetings
• Results of job hazard analyses, also known as job safety analyses

Management and employees may need to consult outside sources, including the following:

• OSHA, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) websites, publications, and alerts
• Trade associations
• Labor unions, state and local occupational safety and health committees/coalitions ("COSH groups"), and worker advocacy groups
• Safety and health consultants

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