Injury and Illness Prevention Programs

Hazard
Mapping

Training from the

NJ Work Environment Council

This material was produced under grant SH-23529-12-60-F-34 from the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration, U.S. Department of Labor. It does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S.
Department of Labor, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply
endorsement by the U.S. Government.
About WEC

The New Jersey Work Environment Council (WEC) is a non-profit collaboration of

organizations working for safe, secure jobs, and a healthy, sustainable environment.

Visit WEC’s website at www.njwec.org

For more information about WEC programs and services, contact:

Cecelia Gilligan Leto
New Jersey Work Environment Council
142 West State Street – Third Floor, Trenton, NJ 08608-1102
Telephone: (609) 695-7100 Extension 308
Fax: (609) 695-4200
E-mail: [email protected]

ii Injury and Illness Prevention Programs

Injury and Illness Prevention Programs
Training from the New Jersey Work Environment Council

About Prevention Programs

Every employer should have an overall injury and illness prevention program. Prevention
programs improve health and safety conditions for both large and small employers, reduce
workplace injuries and illnesses, improve compliance with laws and regulations, and reduce
workers’ compensation premiums.

OSHA has announced that it will develop an Injury and Illness Prevention Program standard (rule)
in the near future.

Effective training about Injury and Illness Preventions Programs can help achieve safer, healthier,
and more productive workplaces.

WEC’s curriculum covers key aspects of an effective workplace prevention program. Training
introduces the concept of effective management systems and explain why facilities should
establish a prevention program at their workplace.

The New Jersey Work Environment Council (WEC) can provide free training at your workplace.
This training includes free materials. The training is supported by a grant from the U.S.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Training can be from two to eight hours.

For more information, contact:

Cecelia Gilligan Leto, Project Coordinator
WEC, 142 West State St., Third Floor
Trenton, New Jersey 08608

Call: (609) 695-7100, Extension 308

Fax: (609) 695-4200
E-Mail: [email protected]

Injury and Illness Prevention Programs iii

The Small Group Activity Method

Basic Structure

The Small Group Activity Method* is based on a series of problem-solving activities. An activity
can take from 45 minutes to an hour. Each activity has a common basic structure:
• Small Group Tasks
• Report-Back
• Summary

1. Small Group Tasks: The training always begins with groups working together at their tables.
Each activity has a task, or set of tasks, for the groups to work on. The task asks that the groups
use their experience and the factsheets to solve problems and make judgments on key issues.

2. Report-Back: For each task, the group selects a scribe who takes notes on the small group
discussion and reports back to the class as a whole. During the report-back, the scribe informs
the entire class as to how his or her group solved the particular problem. The trainer records
each scribe’s report-back on large pads of paper in front of the class so that everyone can refer to
them.

3. Summary: Before the discussion drifts too far, the trainer needs to bring it all together
during the summary. Here, the trainer highlights the key points of the activity and brings up any
problems or points that may have been overlooked during the report-back.

*The Small Group Activity Method (SGAM) is based on a training procedure developed by England’s Trades Union Congress (TUC) in the
1970s. The Labor Institute and Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers Union (now part of the United Steelworkers) used a similar method
around economic and health and safety issues for workers and further developed the procedure into SGAM. The New Jersey Work
Environment Council has used SGAM since 1986.

iv Injury and Illness Prevention Programs

Three Basic Learning Exchanges

The Small Group Activity Method (SGAM) is based on the idea that every training is a place where
learning is shared. With SGAM, learning is not a one-way street that runs from trainer to worker.
Rather SGAM is a structured procedure that allows us to share information. It is based on three
learning exchanges:
• Worker-to-Worker
• Worker-to-Trainer
• Trainer-to-Worker

Worker-to-Worker: Most of us learn best from each other. SGAM is set up in such a way as to
make the worker-to-worker exchange a key element of the training. The worker-to-worker
exchange allows participants to learn from each other by solving problems in their small groups.

Worker-to-Trainer: Lecture-style training assumes that the trainer knows all the answers. With
SGAM it is understood that the trainers also have a lot to learn and this is the purpose of the
worker-to-trainer exchange. It occurs during the report-back and it is designed to give the trainer
an opportunity to learn from the participants.

Trainer-to-Worker: This is the trainer’s opportunity to clear up any confusion and make points
they think are key. By waiting until the summary section, trainers know better what people need
to know.

Injury and Illness Prevention Programs v

The Factsheet Reading Method

The process described below focuses everyone on the important information in the factsheets.

The process is as follows:

• First, select a scribe for this Task.

Each of you will be assigned a small number of factsheets to read. You will then share the
factsheet information with your table.
• Your trainer will assign your individual factsheets this way:
• S tarting with the scribe and moving to the left, count out loud from one to eight. Keep
going around the table until all numbers (factsheets) are distributed. The assigned
numbers correspond to Factsheets 1 through 8 on the following pages.

Once everyone has read their assigned factsheets individually, your scribe will go around the
table and ask each of you to explain to the group what you have learned. Factsheets should be
explained in the order assigned (1 through 8), since the factsheets build on the previous one.
In this way, we all start at the same place and with the same information.

vi Injury and Illness Prevention Programs

Injury and Illness Prevention Programs
Training from the New Jersey Work Environment Council

Hazard Mapping
Purposes:
• To examine the hazards in our industries.
• To learn how to develop a Hazard Map that workers can use to identify and locate
hazards so that those hazards can be targeted for elimination.
• To learn the importance of making Hazard Mapping a participatory process that
involves as many coworkers as possible.

This Activity has three tasks.

Injury and Illness Prevention Programs 1

Task 1

In your groups, choose a scribe. Working together, list the hazards commonly associated with
the industry in which you work. Be prepared to explain how each item constitutes a hazard at
your facility.

Have there been any accidents at your facility from the hazards you identified?

2 Injury and Illness Prevention Programs

Task 2

In your groups, choose a scribe and review the factsheets on pages 4 through 12. The factsheets
will help you learn about Hazard Mapping and how it can be used to help you identify the areas in
your facility where the risks of accidents and injuries are greatest.

Then, based on your own experience and the factsheets, use the sheet of paper and markers
and follow steps 1 through 5 below to help you create your Hazard Map. Write large and use the
entire sheet of paper for your map. Use the factsheets to help you label and describe the specific
hazard areas.

Step 1:
Make a drawing on the sheet of paper that shows the basic layout of your facility. (See Factsheet
6, pages 9 through 12 for examples of what a hazard map looks like.)

Step 2:
Identify the hazards in each area of the facility using a color-coded circle on the map. (See
Factsheets 3 and 4 on pages 6 and 7.)

Step 3:
Rate each hazard on a scale of 1 to 4. (See Factsheets 3 and 4 on pages 6 and 7.)

Step 4:
Label each hazard with a name or brief description. (See Factsheets 5 and 6, on pages 8 through
12.)

Step 5:
Based on your map, make a list of the hazards that concern you the most and be ready to tell us
why these hazards are a concern for your group.

Injury and Illness Prevention Programs 3

1. Using Hazard Mapping to Identify Possible Risks
A Hazard Map is a visual representation of the workplace where there are hazards that could
cause injuries or illness.

The Hazard Mapping method draws on what workers know from on the job experience. The
Hazard Mapping approach works best when conducted with a small group of workers with some
similarity in their work. For example, a group of workers from the same building or a group of
maintenance workers who all worked in several buildings but do the same kind of work.

For example, these maps might target:

• Physical hazards;
• Frequency of exposure;
• Level of exposure;
• A specific chemical or agent; or
• Workers or job titles most likely to be exposed.

4 Injury and Illness Prevention Programs

2. U
 sing Hazard Mapping to Identify Facility-wide Hazards or Hazards in
Specific Areas of Work

The Hazard Mapping process can be used to identify risks at an entire facility and to specify
hazards associated with an AREA, BUILDING, JOB CLASSIFICATION or PROCESS.

The facility map can be used to show at a glance the major hazards throughout the facility.

After completing the facility map, it may be obvious that a more detailed map of certain buildings
would be helpful in “narrowing down” the processes, areas or jobs that have more dangerous
hazards or where worker exposures to hazards are greatest.

To get more specific information, you can conduct another Hazard Mapping session to focus on a
specific area, building, job classification or process. These area-specific Hazard Maps can be used
to get more detailed information.

Injury and Illness Prevention Programs 5

3. Why Hazard Map?

Hazard Mapping is only one method for identifying occupational safety and health hazards. If
your workplace has other systems for identifying hazards, those results can be included on your
Hazard Map.

The point of Hazard Mapping is to pool the knowledge about hazards from all of your coworkers
so that you can organize to eliminate the hazards. In the next Activity you will discuss how to
organize effective involvement in the process. In additional Activities you will discuss how to
assess ways to fix the hazards you have identified.

We use the same principles in Hazard Mapping as we use in the Small

Group Activity Method of learning:
• Respect;
• Working Collectively; and
• Sharing the Power.

Hazard Mapping respects the vast array of skill, experience and know-how that workers have
about their jobs and their dangers.

Hazard Mapping requires working collectively to more completely and creatively pool our
knowledge and prioritize what problems to eliminate. Both Systems of Safety and Hazard
Mapping share the power by involving all our coworkers in organizing for safer workplaces.

6 Injury and Illness Prevention Programs

4. Hazard Mapping Labels

Hazard Code Key

Blue Electrical Hazards

Green Chemical Hazards

Physical Hazards (heat, noise, air quality, slippery

Orange floors, poor lighting, poorly designed work
stations, etc.)

Brown Flammable/Explosive Hazards

Black Other Hazards (specify)

Level of Hazard

1 Low Hazard

2 Medium Hazard

3 High Hazard

4 Very High Hazard

NOTE: Definitions of the four hazard levels vary from industry to industry and site to site. Each
workplace should develop their own guidelines.

Injury and Illness Prevention Programs 7

5. Examples of Hazard Mapping Labels

Hazard Codes and Levels of Hazards

A number “2” inside a Blue Circle indicates

2
“Class 2, Medium Hazard, Electrical.”

A number “3” inside a Green Circle indicates

3
“Class 3, High Hazard, Chemical.”

A number “1” inside an Orange Circle Indicates “Class 1, Low

1
Hazard, Physical.”

A number “4” inside a Brown Circle indicates

4
“Class 4, Very High Hazard, Flammable/ Explosive.”

A number “2” inside a Black Circle indicates

2
“Class 2, Medium Hazard, Other Hazard.”
3

8 Injury and Illness Prevention Programs

6. Some Examples of Hazard Maps

On the next three pages are examples of Hazard Maps. These are included to:
• S how how a home would appear when you identify present hazards and assign them a
level of severity (6a);
• S how how a workplace would appear when you identify present hazards and assign
them a level of severity. The two examples shown are from a paper plant and a
chemical plant (6b and 6c);
• Allow workers to begin to view their workplace with hazards in mind; and
• Begin to think about how to create a Hazard Map of an area in your workplace.

Injury and Illness Prevention Programs 9

6a. Home Diagram (Entire House)

10 Injury and Illness Prevention Programs

6b. In a Paper Coating Room in a Paper Plant
(One Small Area of Plant)

Injury and Illness Prevention Programs 11

6c. Chlorine Dioxide Generator
(One Small Area of the Workplace)

12 Injury and Illness Prevention Programs

Task 3

In your groups, choose a scribe. Answer the following questions and be prepared to report your
answers to the group.

1. What were the positive aspects of working in a group while creating this map?

2. What would be the advantages of using Hazard Maps at your workplace?

Injury and Illness Prevention Programs 13

Summary: Hazard Mapping

1. A Hazard Map is a visual representation of the workplace where there are hazards that
could cause injuries.
2. Hazard mapping can help you identify occupational safety and health hazards.
3. The point of Hazard Mapping is to gather the knowledge about hazards from your
coworkers so you can work together to eliminate and/or reduce the risks of accidents and
injuries.

14 Injury and Illness Prevention Programs

Injury and Illness Prevention Programs
Training from the NJ Work Environment Council
PROGRAM EVALUATION FORM
Location:
Date:

Trainer(s): Cecelia G. Leto

Training Topic: Hazard Mapping

1. Overall, how would you rate this training session?

___Excellent ___Good ___Fair ___Poor ___N/A

2. Were the teaching methods (activities, exercise) effective?
___Yes ___No ___Not sure

Comments: _________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
3. Were the hand-outs and materials useful?
___Yes ___No ___Not sure

Comments:__________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
4. Will the information you received in the training program be useful on your job?
___Yes ___No ___Not sure

Comments: _________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
5. How could this training program be improved?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
6. What subjects/topics should be added to (or taken away from) this training program to make it more
useful?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
7. Additional comments:_________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________

This material was produced under grant SH-23529-12-60-F-34 from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of
Labor. It does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Labor, nor does mention of trade names, commercial
products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Injury and Illness Prevention Programs 15

16 Injury and Illness Prevention Programs