Through the years, industrial safety gurus have followed two approaches to managing risks.
The first approach involved a simplistic method advocated by safety experts as far back as the 1930's. This included initiatives to:
- engineer out the problem,
- use personal protective equipment,
- conduct proper training, and
- implement administrative controls as necessary.
Another approach was advanced by risk management and insurance specialists which dates back to the 70's. This involves five possible actions to manage risks and includes:
- risk avoidance,
- loss prevention,
- loss reduction,
- segregation or separation of risk, and
- transfer of risk.
What has become important over time is that we understand risk and its impact on our respective departments. There are two aspects of risk to be concerned with:
- controlling risk, and
- financing risk.
There are always attempts to change these fundamental approaches. However, in the end, most changes are just a "tweak" of the existing approach. Recently, however, Roger Jensen, CSP, CPE, a professor of occupational safety, process safety, and ergonomics released a document on Risk Reduction Strategies (Hazard Control) that warrant review.
Jensen first reviews work completed by William Haddon, which was completed through the 1970's. Haddon's 10 generic safety strategies was intended to encompass all of the various strategies for preventing injury, mitigating the damage from injurious events, and rehabilitating or restoring the damaged person or thing. It encompasses a broad concept of injury, including personal injury caused by traumatic events, and damage to health through long term exposures and harm to the environment. Haddon's 10 Hazard Control Strategies include:
- Prevent the creation of the hazard in the first place
- Reduce the amount of the hazard brought into being
- Prevent the release of a hazard that already exists
- Modify the rate or spatial distribution of the hazard from its source
- Separate in time or in space the hazard and that which is to be protected.
- Separate the hazard and that which is to be protected by interposition of a material barrier.
- Modify relevant basic qualities of the hazard
- Make that to be protected more resistant to damage from the hazard.
- Begin to counter the damage done by the environment.
- Stabilize, repair, and rehabilitate the object of the damage.
Jensen then modifies the Haddon approach to nine risk reduction strategies into a three level hierarchy of control which includes:
Priority 1 - Control by eliminating the hazard
Strategy 1 - Eliminate the hazard
Priority 2 - Control by designing for effectiveness with minimal human effort
Strategy 2 - Moderate the hazard
Strategy 3 - Avoid release of the hazard
Strategy 4 - Modify release of the hazard
Strategy 5 - Separate the hazard from that which needs to be protected
Priority 3 - Control through human effort and behavior
Strategy 6 - Help people perform safely
Strategy 7 - Use personal protective equipment
Strategy 8 - Improve the resistance of that which needs to be protected
Strategy 9 - Expedite recovery
These two approaches reflect continuous improvement by critically examining and refining basic approaches to industrial safety.
The challenge to the fire service is to adapt such a philosophy to firefighter safety and make it an expected standard for safe operation. The IAFC Health and Safety Committee attempted such a global initiative which is indicated below.
Firefighter Injury/Life Safety Risk
Low Risk
High Probability of Success
Initiate offensive operations. Continue to monitor risk factors
Marginal Probability of Success
Initiate offensive operations. Continue to monitor risk factors
Low Probability of Success
Initiate offensive operations. Continue to monitor risk factors
Firefighter Injury/Life Safety Risk
Medium Risk
High Probability of Success
Initiate offensive operations. Continue to monitor risk factors. Employ all available risk options
Marginal Probability of Success
Initiate offensive operations. Continue to monitor risk factors. Be prepared to go defensive if risk increases.
Low Probability of Success
Do not initiate offensive operations. Reduce risk to firefighters and actively pursue risk control options.
Firefighter Injury/Life Safety Risk
High Risk
High Probability of Success
Initiate offensive operations only with confirmation of realistic potential to save endangered lives
Marginal Probability of Success
Do not initiate offensive operations that will put fire fighters at risk for injury or fatality.
Low Probability of Success
Initiate defensive operations only.
Your challenge is to modify these approaches into one that works for you.
Lesson 29
In the interest of firefighter safety, based on your individual department exposures and controls, a set of risk reduction strategies are important to your routine operations.
Safety 101 - A new series from the technical and administrative perspective, designed to help you reduce emergency responder injuries, illnesses, property loss and death!
Related Safety 101 Articles:
- Safety 101: An Introduction
- Safety 101: Lesson 1
- Safety 101: Lesson 2
- Safety 101: Lesson 3
- Safety 101: Lesson 4
- Safety 101: Lesson 5
- Safety 101: Lesson 6
- Safety 101: Lesson 7
- Safety 101: Lesson 8
- Safety 101: Lesson 9
- Safety 101: Lesson 10
- Safety 101: Lesson 11
- Safety 101: Lesson 12
- Safety 101: Lesson 12
- Safety 101: Lesson 13
- Safety 101: Lesson 14
- Safety 101: Lesson 15
- Safety 101: Lesson 16
- Safety 101: Lesson 17
- Safety 101: Lesson 18
- Safety 101: Lesson 19
- Safety 101: Lesson 20
- Safety 101: Lesson 21
- Safety 101: Lesson 22
- Safety 101: Lesson 23
- Safety 101: Lesson 24
- Safety 101: Lesson 25
- Safety 101: Lesson 26
- Safety 101: Lesson 27
- Safety 101: Lesson 28
DR. WILLIAM F. JENEWAY, CSP, CFO, CFPS, a Firehouse.com Contributing Editor, is Executive Vice President of VFIS and has over 30 years experience in safety and risk management in the insurance industry. He was named "Volunteer Fire Chief of the Year" as Chief of the King of Prussia, PA, Volunteer Fire Company, and is the author the text Emergency Service Risk Management. He has partipated the NVFC Corner podcasts on [email protected]. To read William's complete biography and view his archived articles, click here.
