• Review documents/records in the workplace to identify hazards.
• Look for similar injuries and illnesses when analyzing injury and illness records.

Another way to identify hazards is to review documents/records in the workplace. For example, injury and illness and workers’ compensation records can highlight areas where attention is needed, or emerging trends are present. In addition, documents such as safety data sheets, manufacturer’s operating manuals, and warning labels can help identify hazards.

Injury and illness records analysis: Since there must be enough information for patterns to emerge, small sites may require a review of three to five years of records. Larger sites may find useful trends yearly, quarterly, or monthly. When analyzing injury and illness records, look for similar injuries and illnesses. These generally indicate a lack of hazard controls. Look for where the injury or illness occurred, what type of work was being done, time of day, or type of equipment.

Analysis of other records: Repeat hazards, just like repeat injuries or illnesses, mean that controls are not working. And patterns in hazard identification records can show up over shorter periods of time than accidents or incidents. Upgrading a control may involve something as basic as improving communication or accountability. Hazards found during worksite analysis should be reviewed to determine what failure in the safety and health system permitted the hazard to occur. The system failure should then be corrected to ensure that similar hazards do not reoccur.