Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L00414:body:0:p10
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L00414
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 23026–26178

fire can get out of control quickly in the presence of large amounts of combustible materials.

Work out how hazards may cause harm
In most cases, incidents occur as a result of a chain of events and a failure of one or more links
in that chain. If one or more of the events can be stopped or changed, the risk may be eliminated or reduced.
One way of working out the chain of events is to determine the starting point where things begin
to go wrong and then consider: 'If this happens, what may happen next?' This will provide a list
of events that sooner or later cause harm. See the case study in Appendix A.
In thinking about how each hazard may cause harm, you should consider:
    * the effectiveness of existing control measures and whether they control all types of harm,
    * how work is actually done, rather than relying on written manuals and procedures
    * infrequent or abnormal situations, as well as how things are normally meant to occur.
Consider maintenance and cleaning, as well as breakdowns of equipment and failures of health and safety controls.

Work out the likelihood of harm occurring
The likelihood that someone will be harmed can be estimated by considering the following:
    * How often is the task done? Does this make the harm more or less likely?
    * How often are people near the hazard? How close do people get to it?
    * Has it ever happened before, either in your workplace or somewhere else? How often?
Table 2 contains further questions that can help you estimate likelihood.
You can rate the likelihood as one of the following:
    * Certain to occur - expected to occur in most circumstances
    * Very likely - will probably occur in most circumstances
    * Possible – might occur occasionally
    * Unlikely – could happen at some time
    * Rare – may happen only in exceptional circumstances
The level of risk will increase as the likelihood of harm and its severity increases.

Table 2

Questions to ask in                                                                             Explanation and examples
determining likelihood
How often are people exposed to the hazard?                                                     A hazard may exist all of the time or it may only exist occasionally. The more often a hazard is present, the greater the likelihood it will result in harm.
                                                                                                For example:
                                                                                                    * Meshing gears in an enclosed gearbox can cause crushing only
                                                                                                      if the gearbox is open during maintenance, and therefore the potential for harm will not occur very often.
                                                                                                    * Continuously lifting heavy boxes has the potential to cause harm whenever the work is done.
How long might people be exposed to the hazard?                                                 The longer that someone is exposed to a