An essential part of an effective health and safety program is job hazard analysis. The purpose of such as program is to identify safety issues that may be present during the performance of a specific job. A job hazard analysis takes the form of a series of five questions:

1. What can go wrong?

2. What are the consequences?

3. How could it happen?

4. What are other contributing factors?

5. How likely is it to happen?

For example, if a job hazard analysis of an operator working with a stationary rotating blade was performed, then with regard to the questions above, we might get the following answers:

1. The operator's sleeve could get caught by the rotating blade.

2. His arm or wrist could be amputated.

3. There is no machine guard to prevent such accident.

4. The operator may be fatigued due to long working hours or careless and not paying attention to the blade. He may be distracted by talking to his fellow employees while working.

5. Without machine guards or other forms of engineering control, such an accident is likely to happen sooner rather than later.

The same job hazard analysis approach can be applied to an environmental program. Let's call it an environmental hazard analysis.

As an example, while walking through the plant, it is noticed that there are severe signs of corrosion at the base of an above-ground storage tank, where hazardous chemicals are stored. The answers to the original questions might then be:

1. The structural integrity of the tank can fail.

2. The tank could rupture and cause a massive spill of hazardous chemical.

3. The tank could fail if no action is taken to address the corrosion of the tank.

4. Strong wind, minor earthquake or any external forces on the tank could contribute to its structural failure.

5. It is likely to happen if nothing is done.

This simple environmental hazard analysis, fashioned after OSHA's Job Hazard Analysis, can help identify small environmental problems before they fester into a much larger and more costly event. As with safety, preventative steps can be taken to avoid injury and fines.

This process is similar to doing an internal environmental audit. There is no point in doing an audit unless you have the management commitment and financial resources to fix the uncovered problems. PE