Congratulations! I'm sure you did really well in that activity. What we're going to do now is we'll look at linking these two different elements together. So, we've looked at outcomes and harms, and we've also looked at hazards and activities, and you've done an activity to reinforce the learning.
What I'm interested in is the relationship between these two things, and there is a relationship between these two things, of course. We've touched on it already; it's this box here, and this is the risk box.
Now, what's interesting about the term risk is it's massively problematic. It's poorly defined, and it often creates unnecessary confusion. The best approach to risk is to consider it as a measurement like distance. Now, distance only exists if two points have been defined. The question "What is the distance?" has no meaningful answer.
However, "What is the distance between point A and point B?" is a meaningful question, and a precise answer can be given. We need to apply the same logic to risk. "What is the risk?" has no meaningful answer. However, "What is the risk of this hazard causing this outcome while undertaking this activity?" is meaningful, and an answer can be given.
The model above the picture forces us to clearly define the context prior to doing anything with risk. So, filling in those two boxes – the outcome, the harm, the activity, and the hazard – is incredibly important when we're talking about and understanding risk management and, by default, safety.
Let's look at a few examples to help clarify the thinking. Here we've got the model. Let's put something in. Let's say a vehicle is a hazard. Absolutely, people get hurt by vehicles. Vehicles are a hazard. What's the activity that we're doing?
In this case, we're worried about driving a vehicle. So, the hazard is a vehicle, the activity is driving the vehicle. What could an outcome be from driving a vehicle? We could have a crash. What could the result of a crash be? It could be injury. Vehicle, driving, crash, injury. Can we calculate the risk of that? In theory, we can. Absolutely, we've got context, so the risk exists.
Let's have a look at another example. The harm this time is amputation. Sometimes it's okay to start with the outcome or the harm rather than always focus on the hazard. Let's fill in the rest of it. What could cause amputation? Entanglement. What could we be entangled in? Machinery.
What are we doing with the machinery? We're operating the machinery. So, machinery is the hazard. We're operating machinery. It could lead to entanglement, which could lead to amputation. There is a risk of that happening. We can't deny that; that's what safety is all about.
Let's do a few more examples. Acid – acid's a hazard. Acid can hurt you. What can acid do to you? Well, it can burn you. How do you get burnt by acid? You make contact with it, you touch it. What's the activity that we're doing with acid that could lead to contact and getting burned? It's decanting. So, we've got acid, we're decanting the acid, we could get contacted by it, and therefore, we could get burned. There is a risk of that happening. So, the risk box is relevant.
Let's have a look at another one. Oh, this one's a cool one. Yep, the harm is sunburn. What causes sunburn? The hazard – it's the sun or ultraviolet light if you want to be technical. What's the activity that we're doing that could lead to us getting sunburnt from the sun? It's working outside. If we're working outside, could we get sunburn?
Yes. Is there a risk of us getting sunburnt outside? Yes. At the moment, we've got the outcome box blank, and it's interesting because we don't really need to fill that in because we're trying to stop the sunburn. But what is the thing that happens just before the sunburn? If we wanted to, we could put too much sun in there. I've put it in that light gray because I don't think it's that important. We're trying to stop the harm, but sometimes we try and stop the outcome, and that's why you always try to fill both boxes in. But don't sweat over it if you can't fill them both in.
So, let's look at another example, a couple more examples. I hear you say, "Okay, if you insist." Working at height – it's an activity; it's not a hazard. What's the outcome that we worry about when people are working at height? Primarily, it's falling. What could falling lead to? It could lead to injury.
What's the hazard? Well, it's height. It isn't really, but it'll do for now, and I'll talk more about why height isn't classically a hazard, but it works pretty well as a hazard if we're also working at. There's other things that could happen. Yeah, so falling objects – yeah, could falling objects hurt people? Absolutely, when you work at that height. Absolutely.
What's the outcome? It's impact. What's the harm? It's injury. In both of these examples, the outcome is more important than the injury. We're much better off trying to stop the fall and stop the impact rather than mitigate the injury. And again, that can be something that we can look at later on. But in both of these examples, when you're working at height, is there a risk of falling? Yes, there is. That's why risk exists between the two. When you're working at height, is there a risk of falling objects impacting people? Yes, there is. That's why the risk sits in the center there.
So, understanding the relationships between these three separate boxes is incredibly important in understanding the principles of safety.