Hazard Class Definitions

A hazard class groups hazards of the same nature — mechanical, chemical, biological, ergonomic, psychosocial. It is the primary way risk registers are organized: each risk main form covers one hazard class.

Hazard classes are stable in a way that departments are not. Organizing registers by hazard class means a reorganization does not become a data migration.

Purpose

• Register structure. One main form per hazard class keeps numbering, authorization and scoring consistent within a register.
• Consistent scoring. The same class of hazard is assessed against the same dimensions by the same people.
• Reporting. Risk profile by hazard class is one of the standard questions an OHS management review asks.

Fields

• Code
  Unique identifier for the class.

• Name
  The class title. Example: Mechanical, Chemical, Biological, Ergonomic, Psychosocial, Electrical, Fire and Explosion, Working at Height.

• Description
  Optional detail about what belongs in this class.

• Active
  Inactive classes are no longer offered when creating a new main form.

A typical hazard class list

Class	Covers
Mechanical	Moving parts, crushing, entanglement, impact.
Electrical	Contact, arc flash, static.
Chemical	Exposure, inhalation, corrosion, reaction.
Biological	Infection, contamination.
Physical	Noise, vibration, radiation, temperature.
Ergonomic	Manual handling, posture, repetition.
Psychosocial	Workload, harassment, isolated working.
Fire and Explosion	Ignition sources, flammables, dust.
Working at Height	Falls from height, falling objects.

Related definition lists

The scoring side of the module has its own lists, each maintained separately:

List	Purpose
Risk source	Where the hazard originates.
Control hierarchy level	The kind of control a measure represents — elimination through PPE. See Control Measures.
Risk probability / frequency / severity	The three scoring dimensions, each entry carrying a numeric value.
Risk value	The risk levels and their colours.
Risk formula	The score and level expressions. See Risk Formulas.

Authorization and Access Control

Creating and editing hazard classes is restricted by role-based permissions and is normally reserved for OHS administrators.

tip

Base the class list on the hazard classification your organization already uses in its legal risk assessment obligations. Inventing a parallel taxonomy means every external report has to be translated.