Hazardous Conditions
A hazardous condition is any situation, object, or material that has the potential to cause harm, injury, or illness to people in the workplace.
Just remember MEEPS when you inspect.
All workplaces contain hazardous conditions that fall into one or more of five categories. It is easy to remember the categories by using the "MEEPS" acronym:
- Materials: Any material, such as chemicals, wood, metals, fibers, and plastics, may present hazards.
- Environments: Two categories of hazardous environments exist:
- Physical – hazardous atmospheres, excessive noise, temperature extremes, ergonomic hazards.
- Psychosocial - inadequate time, unreasonable schedules, unobtainable goals, or any form of intimidation or coercion can create a high level of anxiety and distress, leading to illness.
- Equipment: Defective tools, unguarded equipment, complex machinery. Anything that moves is hazardous.
- People: Lack of knowledge, skills, or abilities represent hazardous states of being. A poorly trained worker, physical weakness, limited cognitive ability, distraction, or any kind of stress, etc., can all create "walking hazardous conditions."
- System: Poorly designed and deployed programs, policies, plans, processes, procedures, and practices are ultimately the conditions that cause most accidents.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
5-3. Which hazard category do poorly trained workers fit into?
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