Which term describes recognizing items or materials that may cause injury or harm to people?

Which term describes recognizing items or materials that may cause injury or harm to people?

• A. Risk Assessment
• B. Incident Investigation
• C. Hazard Identification
• D. Job Hazard Analysis

Answer: (C)

Hazard identification is the process of spotting items, materials, conditions, or practices that could cause injury or harm to people. It’s the proactive step where you look around the workplace to recognize potential dangers—like a chemical with a toxic label, a frayed electrical cord, clutter that could cause trips, or machinery lacking proper guards. Identifying hazards is essential because you can’t manage what you don’t see. Once hazards are identified, you can move on to risk assessment, which evaluates how likely harm is and how severe it could be, so you can prioritize controls. Incident investigation looks backward at what caused a past incident to prevent recurrence, and Job Hazard Analysis examines a specific task step by step to uncover hazards within that task.

Hazard identification is the process of spotting items, materials, conditions, or practices that could cause injury or harm to people. It’s the proactive step where you look around the workplace to recognize potential dangers—like a chemical with a toxic label, a frayed electrical cord, clutter that could cause trips, or machinery lacking proper guards. Identifying hazards is essential because you can’t manage what you don’t see.

Once hazards are identified, you can move on to risk assessment, which evaluates how likely harm is and how severe it could be, so you can prioritize controls. Incident investigation looks backward at what caused a past incident to prevent recurrence, and Job Hazard Analysis examines a specific task step by step to uncover hazards within that task.