A hazard is the potential of a risk occurring if a particular machine, item, or process is left uncontrolled. Workplaces have several hazards which may be caused by machines, energy sources, raw materials, chemicals, technology, or human activities. Workplace hazards can be classified into physical, chemical, biological, and psychological. Potential hazards in cardboard manufacturing companies include physical hazards such as pinch points, nips, sharp surfaces, hot surfaces, slips and falls, health hazards such as dust and airborne particles, noise, and chemicals, confined spaces, water, and air hoses, and fire. Risk assessment is a crucial process that involves hazard analysis, the selection of an outcome and its severity level, the analysis of the probability of the event occurring and how it would occur, and the approximation of the level of risk. The three possible risk assessment techniques that were selected to be used in the cardboard manufacturing company were Preliminary Hazard Analysis, Failure Modes and Effects Analysis, and Bow-Tie Analysis.
Preliminary Hazard Analysis (PHA)
PHA is a risk assessment technique that involves the identification of hazards during the early stages of the design procedure. This technique is crucial in the preliminary stages of plant development in situations where experience offers little insight into the potential hazards. Some of the units that may be analyzed for potential hazards in the cardboard manufacturing company include raw materials and end products, plant machinery, working environment, operations, facilities, and safety equipment (Mannan & Lees, 2012) .
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Advantages:
It pinpoints probable hazards at the primary stages of project development.
It qualitatively assesses hazards.
It ensures plant and environment compatibility.
It enables a full hazard analysis later.
It offers the foundation for design judgments (Molland, 2011) .
Modifications are cheap and easier to install in the earlier design stages.
Disadvantages:
Hazards must be predicted by the analysts.
It is difficult to recognize the effects of hazard interactions.
It cannot provide a statement of the total system risk.
Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA)
FMEA is a risk management technique used for identifying and assessing the origins and consequences of possible failures in a system, hence, preventing them from happening. This method assesses the severity of potential consequences and the frequency of the hazards that may cause them then prioritizes actions to deal with these hazards to improve the design process (Vázquez-Valencia et al., 2018) .
Advantages:
It provides the manufacturer with information on major hazards that should receive more attention during the design or manufacturing process.
It can track the causes, effects, and failure modes of the product hence providing vital information for future product and process design.
It enables the elimination and reduction of failures based on their Risk Priority Number.
It makes the evaluation of complex systems easy to perform.
Disadvantages:
It is a tedious, time-consuming, and expensive technique.
It is applied at later stages hence it does not influence the decision-making of design or process.
It disregards the relationship between different failure components.
It relies on subjective analysis and technical experience which is only known by a few people at the enterprise level.
Bow-Tie Analysis (BTA)
BTA is a technique that applies cause and consequence analysis. This analysis method uses a bow-tie-like diagram to show a specific hazard. This technique covers all steps in risk management which include identification of hazards, hazard investigation, hazard assessment, and hazard control. The threats are indicated on the left side of the diagram while the consequences are indicated on the right side. A risk matrix is then used to evaluate and categorize the risks and further analysis is carried out on how to control these risks (Abdi et al., 2016) .
Advantages:
It simplifies the understanding of threat controls and the consequences of a particular hazard in a system.
It can be understood by non-specialists.
It can explicitly link the barriers to the safety management system.
Disadvantages:
It does not provide a quantitative assessment of the risks unless it is linked to event tree analysis.
It requires in-depth knowledge of a system and its safety components.
It does not provide a basis for the evaluation of the selected safeguards.
Assumptions
The main cause of risk in the company is the failure of components. Events will occur following a predefined order. Based on these assumptions, the recommended hazard analysis technique that should be used in the cardboard manufacturing industry is the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis. This is because this technique will prevent the failure of equipment in the company hence, ensuring reliability and safety. The prioritization of risks will enable the manufacturer to handle major risks first.
References
Abdi, Z., Ravaghi, H., Abbasi, M., Delgoshaei, B., & Esfandiari, S. (2016). Application of Bow-tie methodology to improve patient safety. International Journal Of Health Care Quality Assurance , 29 (4), 425-440. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijhcqa-10-2015-0121
Mannan, S., & Lees, F. (2012). Lee's loss prevention in the process industries . Butterworth-Heinemann.
Molland, A. (2011). The maritime engineering reference book . Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann.
Vázquez-Valencia, A., Santiago-Sáez, A., Perea-Pérez, B., Labajo-González, E., & Albarrán-Juan, M. (2018). Usefulness of failure mode and effects analysis for improving mobilization safety in critically ill patients. Colombian Journal Of Anesthesiology , 46 (1), 3-10. https://doi.org/10.1097/cj9.0000000000000002
