HAZID Represents – Hazard Identification. It is a risk assessment and management tool used to identify inherent hazards/risks in a process or system. By identifying these hazards/risks early, guided actions can be taken to eliminate the hazard or control the effect of exposure.
It is a means of identifying and describing hazards and threats at the earliest practicable stage of development.
HAZID Study
A HAZID (Hazard Identification) Study is a systematic process used to identify potential hazards and assess their risks in industrial and operational settings. It aims to detect issues that could compromise safety, health, or the environment, ensuring preventive measures are in place before any incident occurs. By involving multidisciplinary teams, a HAZID Study helps organizations proactively manage risks, enhancing overall safety and operational efficiency. This process is essential for maintaining regulatory compliance and protecting assets and personnel.
Benefits of Conducting a HAZID Study
The benefits of the HAZID study include, but not limited to:
- Reveal hazards at an early stage, before they happen.
- Guide in the elimination or control of the hazard/risk.
- Any special preparations required to be taken to handle these can be pre-planned.
- Avoid budget overruns since the hazards/risks are controlled early.
- Provide essential input to project development decisions.
- Any specific process modifications if required can be established at an early stage.
- Establish safeguards to manage hazards; identify areas where further understanding of safeguard effectiveness is needed.
NOTE: The scope of this study will depend on the particular project, task, or process.
Read Also: HAZOP study | Steps to carry out a HAZOP study
When HAZID Should Be Done
Generally speaking, Hazard identification can be done at any time, what will be different is the depth of the study at the different times.
For example, Hazard identification carried out during job design will be different from what is done for an ongoing process.
Be it as it may, here are some points where hazard identification can be done:
- During design and implementation
- Before tasks are done
- While tasks are being done
- During inspections
- After incidents
HAZID Methodology
The methodology adopted in this study is a combination of identification, analysis, and brainstorming by the HAZID team members. Also, appropriate controls are put in place to prevent or control each identified threat at the end of the study.
This study can be carried out for a singular task or a process. For process HAZID, the study may be conducted on a session basis, grouping the processes with the PFD (Process Flow Diagram) and plant layout into a series of sections where the various sources will have similar characteristics and hence consequences.
Read Also: Failure analysis – Methods and Steps for carrying it out
This study is not done by one person but by a team. Assembling a competent team is one of the hallmarks of a successful study.
This team will include:
- Design Consultant / Project Manager
- Production Manager
- Chemical engineer / Chemist
- Maintenance Manager
- Electrical Engineer
- Instrument Engineer
- Quality Control Engineer
- HSE Representative, etc.
Within the team, a lead facilitator should be nominated to lead the study. The lead facilitator should be a competent and experienced person in the conduct of the HAZID study.
Steps to Carry out HAZID Study
The steps are:
- Assemble a team of competent and experienced personnel.
- Draw out the scope of the HAZID
- Identify hazards, causes, consequences, and safeguards: This can be done successfully when a competent and experienced team is set up.
Other information needed when identifying hazards are:
- Information about the hazards present or likely to be present in the workplace.
- Information from the conduct of initial and periodic workplace inspections of the workplace to identify new or recurring hazards.
- Information from the incident investigation.
- Information from trend analysis
- Information from the severity and likelihood analysis of incidents that could result from each hazard identified, and use this information to prioritize corrective actions.
Backup documents for effective hazard identification
Some important documents are good sources of information when carrying out hazard identification.
These documents may be internal documents or external documents.
Example of internal documents:
- Equipment and machinery operating manuals.
- Safety Data Sheets (SDS) 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/worker privacy).
- Existing safety and health programs (lockout/tagout, confined spaces, process safety management, personal protective equipment, etc.).
- Results of job hazard analyses, also known as job safety analyses.
External documents:
- 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.
- Information from other national regulatory bodies.
Read Also: FMEA analysis – What it is and how it is done
Standardize HAZID Excel template workbook
The HAZID Excel Template workbook is easy to use and customizable to your needs.
This is a product of CGE Risk Management Solutions.
See the guide on the use of the template workbook here.
Follow the link to contact them for the template workbook.
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