Hazard Recognition
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Introduction
This refers to “Recognize” in RACE. Typically identified by basic or advanced screening tools, workers’ and other feedback and monitoring of injury and illness. Risk Assessment is the process of identifying hazards, performing preliminary risk assessment, eliminating hazards if possible, performing further assessments as necessary, and choosing and implementing controls. A goal is to decide if hazard elimination or a control is required. If an MSD hazard is not clearly identified or understood and a root cause cannot be determined, then more studies are needed.
The progression from Preliminary Risk Assessment to Simple Risk Assessment to Full Risk Assessment minimizes the resources required for a decision on an MSD hazard.
If control of MSD Hazard is later needed, then in order to control it, an in-depth Root Cause Analysis will be essential in eliminating hazards and controlling risks in a sustainable way.
Hazard Identification
Use the checklists below to identify common MSD hazards in the workplace. For more Hazard Recognition tools, see the Related Resources section.
MSD Preliminary Risk Assessment Checklist
Risk assessment checklist that considers grip force, manual material handling (MMH) tasks, awkward postures, static postures, repetition, impacts, and vibration.
Workplace Health and Safety Inspection for Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD) Hazards
This resource provides sample cues to use during a workplace inspection for identifying tasks where there may be increased MSD risk, along with a sample checklist provided on page 2.
MSD Hazard Identification Tool - Computer Workstation
Tables of common MSD hazards, space to check "yes/no", and corrective options are provided to use if the hazard is present. Chairs, keyboard/mouse, monitors, and environmental components are covered.
General MSD Hazard Identification Tool
Checklist to help identify MSD Hazards including gripping, force, awkward/fixed posture, repetition, and others.
Video Collection
Taking a video of a job or task may be completed for multiple reasons. Video may be necessary for different phases of the RACE process, including:
- Screening for Hazards
- Comprehensive Risk Assessment
The requirements to use video for comprehensive risk assessments are much stricter than for screening purposes and require much more time and effort. This page provides the suggested steps to capture effective video of tasks, as well as highlighting common problems you may run into.
Work Observation
Effective Risk Assessment (and the choice and implementation of controls) is based upon a good understanding of the work processes. It is important to consider:
- Who to observe?
- What task or tasks to observe?
- When to observe tasks?
- Where to observe tasks?
- How to observe tasks?
Related Resources
Want to search the resource library?
Find all the available resources on the MSD prevention website, including posters, videos, and links to relevant websites.