people, products, and processes that provide a capability to satisfy a stated need or objective. (ANSI/ASSP Z590.3‐2011(R2016))
The organization of hardware, software, material, facilities, personnel, data, and services needed to perform a designated function within a stated environment with specified results. (MIL‐STD‐882E‐2012)
System Safety:
The application of engineering and management principles, criteria, and techniques to achieve acceptable risk within the constraints of operational effectiveness and suitability, time, and cost throughout all phases of the system life cycle. (MIL‐STD‐882E‐2012)
Task:
Any specific activity that is done on or around the machine during its life cycle. (ANSI B11.0‐2020)
Threat:
Potential source of danger, harm, or other undesirable outcome. (ANSI/ASSP/ISO 31010‐2019)
Often used in security‐related concerns, a threat is an indication of an approaching or imminent menace. A threat is a negative event that can cause a risk to become a loss, expressed as an aggregate of risk, consequences of risk, and the likelihood of the occurrence of the event. A threat may be a natural phenomenon such as an earthquake, flood, storm, or a man‐made incident such as fire, power failure, sabotage, etc. (adapted from Businessdictionary.com). Anything that might exploit a vulnerability of an asset. Examples include arson, theft, cyber‐attacks, sabotage, and terrorism (Rausand, 2011).
Trigger:
An event or action that initiates the exposure to a hazard allowing a pathway to a mishap. (Authors)
User:
An individual, corporation, partnership, other legal entity or form of business that utilizes a machine, machine production system, or related equipment. (ANSI B11.0‐2020)
Validation:
Final testing on the as‐built machine to confirm that the safety functions operate as designed to meet the requirements of the risk assessment. (ANSI B11.0‐2020)
Verification:
The process of checking that the design and development outputs have met the requirements of the risk assessment during the design phase. (ANSI B11.0‐2020)
Vulnerability:
Degree to which an asset is susceptible to harm, degradation, or destruction by being exposed to a hazard (adapted from Businessdictionary.com). A weakness of an asset that can be exploited by one or more threat agents. Vulnerability refers to the security flaws in a system that allow an attack to be successful (Rausand 2011).
Warning:
A means used to call attention to a hazard. (ANSI B11.0‐2020)
Workplace:
Place under the control of the organization where a person needs to be or to go for work purposes. (ANSI/ASSP/ISO 45001‐2018)
Worst Conceivable Risk:
The worst conceivable consequence from an incident that could occur, but probably will not occur, within the lifetime of the system. (ANSI/ASSP Z590.3‐2011(R2016))
Worst Credible Consequence:
The worst credible consequence from an incident that has the potential to occur within the lifetime of the system. (ANSI/ASSP Z590.3‐2011(R2016))
2.14 Summary
Safety, health, and environmental professionals should develop an understanding of standards and guidelines prescribing operational risk assessment for organizations, and their importance in shaping the SH&E professional’s role in occupational safety and health. The key terms and definitions for operational risk assessment and management reviewed in this chapter are fundamental and should be in every SH&E professional’s vocabulary. As the operational risk profession matures, reference to these standards and future trends in standard development regarding the practice of risk assessment will be required.
Review Questions
1 1 Explain the deference between a consensus standard and a compliance standard. Provide examples of each.
2 2 Provide five examples of where OSHA standards require hazard determination and analysis.
3 3 Summarize the main requirements of operational risk management systems and list three standards for such systems.
4 4 List the name and purpose of the ANSI standard series for risk management.
5 5 List the steps of a hazard analysis and risk assessment as outlined in ANSI Z590.3 Prevention through Design standard.
6 6 Which ANSI standard series addresses machine safety and provide the primary standard for machine risk assessment.
7 7 Provide examples that can be found in the workplace for acceptable risk level.
References
1 ANSI/ASSP Z10.0‐2019 (2019). Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems. Park Ridge, IL: American Society of Safety Professionals.
2 ANSI/ASSP Z590.3‐2011(R2016) (2016). Prevention through Design: Guidelines for Addressing Occupational Hazards and Risks in Design and Redesign Processes. Park Ridge, IL: American Society of Safety Professionals.
3 ANSI/ASSP Z690.1‐2011 (2011). Vocabulary for Risk Management. Park Ridge, IL: American Society of Safety Professionals.
4 ANSI/ASSP/ISO 31000‐2018 (2018). Risk Management. Park Ridge, IL: American Society of Safety Professionals.
5 ANSI/ASSP/ISO 31010‐2019 (2019). Risk Management – Risk Assessment. Park Ridge, IL: American Society of Safety Professionals.
6 ANSI/ASSP/ISO 45001‐2018 (2018). Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems – Requirements with Guidance for Use. Park Ridge, IL: American Society of Safety Professionals.
7 ANSI B11.0‐2020 (2020). Safety of Machinery. Houston, TX: B11 Standards, Inc.
8 ANSI B11.TR3‐2000 (2000). Risk Assessment and Risk Reduction – A Guide To Estimate, Evaluate, and Reduce Risks Associated with Machine Tools. The Association for Manufacturing Technology: McLean, VA.
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