Hazard, Cause, Consequence and Safeguard

Four words that teams mix up

A hazard identification (HAZID) workshop produces a record that other people will act on. If the team uses its core words loosely, the record becomes confusing: a cause is written as a hazard, a consequence as a cause, and a hope as a safeguard. A facilitator must use the four terms precisely and help the team do the same.

• A hazard is a source of potential harm: a substance, an energy, a condition or an activity. Examples: hydrocarbon under pressure, a suspended load, working at height, extreme heat.
• A cause is what makes the hazard lead to an event: corrosion of a pipe, a crane overload, a dropped tool, a failed cooling fan.
• A consequence is the outcome if the event happens: injury, fire, environmental damage, loss of production.
• A safeguard (or barrier, or control) is something that prevents the cause from leading to the event, or reduces the consequence.

Two workshop examples

Example 1: the lifting node. An engineer says: "The hazard is the crane." The facilitator asks what could cause harm. The team agrees the hazard is "a suspended load over a work area", with causes such as rigging failure, overload and wind. The crane is the equipment; the suspended load is the hazard. This makes it easier to find safeguards such as exclusion zones and lift plans.

Example 2: the false safeguard. For a desert site, a team lists "operators will drink water" as a safeguard against heat stress. The facilitator asks how this is assured. The team realises it depends on water supply, shaded rest areas and work–rest schedules. Those become the safeguards, and an action is raised to confirm them in the design.