Hazard Report Form

Hazard report forms are especially needed in inherently dangerous environments such as oil rig fields, underground mines, and other construction sites. Quality managers can also use hazard report forms in chemical processing plants to isolate spills and stop the spread of contamination.

This article will discuss the following:

• the 6 types of hazards in the workplace;
• how to encourage people to report hazards;
• why use iAuditor hazard report forms; and
• free ready-to-use hazard report form templates.

iAuditor hazard report form

6 Types of Hazards in the Workplace

Hazards are dangers to not only the people in the company but also to the company’s reputation in the industry and its relationship with clients. Aside from negatively impacting the lives of workers and their families, injuries caused by unreported hazards also cost the company time and money through a reduced workforce and long-term medical expenses. Hazards can come in many forms, but they generally fall under the following categories.

Safety Hazards

Safety hazards are mostly general hazards that can be found in any workplace, even in plush corporate offices. These can be something as simple as wet floors or something deadly like malfunctioning equipment. While the kind of safety hazard to look out for will depend on the nature of the work and the specific location of the workplace, safety hazards in specific industries such as construction should never be overlooked. 

Chemical Hazards

Unlike safety hazards, chemical hazards are usually only found in places that deal with chemicals and other hazardous substances. There is a much higher risk that an accident will occur when handling hazardous substances and there are specific hazards that can only be found in sites that store and handle them, including corrosive substances such as strong acids and oxidizers, as well as flammable and/or toxic gases, liquids, and solids. Science laboratories in academic institutions, especially in elementary and secondary schools, are prone to situations in which an untrained student mishandles a chemical and inadvertently causes a fire. 

Physical Hazards

While a safety hazard can also be classified as a physical hazard, the main difference between them is that physical hazards are always present and are not necessarily caused by an incident or a mistake on the part of the employee. One profession that is exposed to many physical hazards is a flight attendant. Flight attendants constantly experience poor cabin air quality, lowered barometric pressure, hypoxia (reduced oxygen levels), low humidity, and cosmic ionizing radiation.

Psychosocial Hazards

Aside from physical hazards, flight attendants are also vulnerable to sexual harassment and verbal abuse, which are psychosocial hazards. Surveys show that as many as 65% of flight attendants experience sexual harassment, with 1 in 3 having experienced physical sexual harassment from passengers. Other psychosocial hazards include bullying and unfair treatment or discrimination.

Biological Hazards

These hazards adversely affect one’s health and can cause serious, long-term health conditions. Biological hazards include mold, dust, insects, bacteria, and viruses. While biological hazards can be found in any workplace, the management of these hazards in the food industry is critical. One way to do so is to follow HACCP, a food monitoring system endorsed by the FDA and recognized internationally. 

Ergonomic Hazards

Ergonomic hazards are primarily experienced by manual laborers and those in professions which require heavy lifting or extreme physical exertion. However, improper workstation setups in offices, uncomfortable chairs, and poor posture can also be ergonomic hazards. Like physical hazards, the effects of ergonomic hazards develop over time and may not be noticed before it’s too late. 

How to Encourage Hazard Reporting

HSE (Health, Safety and Environment) managers have to actively promote hazard reporting among employees if they want to reduce their TRIR, a metric used by OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) to evaluate working conditions. Though this can be challenging, here are three tips on how to encourage people to report hazards:

Build Trust

Employees won’t report hazards if they don’t believe in the organization’s commitment to safety. While building trust will look differently for each organization, one way to do it is to foster engagement between field workers and HSE managers. HSE managers have to show field workers that their feedback is crucial for the organization to improve its safety and overall processes. 

Keep Promises

Aside from creating a culture of open communication between employees and leaders, one of the most effective ways to encourage people to report hazards is to take action, fix what needs fixing, and do what’s needed to eliminate hazards. Listen to field workers when they flag an issue or raise a concern. If necessary, visit the site to inspect the hazard or seek assistance from an executive to solve the problem.

Don’t Use Paper Hazard Report Forms

Filling out a paper hazard report form can make hazard reporting a hassle for employees and takes up too much of their valuable working time. Even if the employee succeeds in accomplishing the hazard report form, getting that piece of paper to the HSE manager is a struggle in itself. Once that paper form finally reaches the HSE manager’s desk, days might have passed since the incident took place and the investigation is prolonged. 

Unlike paper, digital hazard report forms make hazard reporting easy for field workers and HSE managers. With a digital hazard report form, a field worker can take photos and make annotations to provide a detailed explanation of what happened. It also allows the HSE manager to get that information instantly, despite being miles away from the site. This can lead to the investigation being completed within hours of the incident, instead of days or even weeks.

iAuditor Hazard Report Forms

iAuditor by SafetyCulture is a digital corrective action platform and hazard reporting solution. It is specifically built for issue resolution and team observations, meaning anyone can speak up when the problem is urgent. Together with iAuditor, you can raise the safety standards across your organization. iAuditor also has the following features:

• All your data in one place with powerful data visibility and analytics
• Interactive, real-time hazard recognition via SMS, email, or in-app notifications
• Collaborative actions make hazard reporting a team or company-wide effort
• Automatic documentation for case management and other relevant stakeholders

Get started for free with iAuditor, available on web, iOS or Android. Check out our featured hazard report form templates below, all of which you can use and download for free.