The Hierarchy of Control (HOC) Strategies
Traditionally, a prioritized 'Hierarchy of Controls' (HOC) has been used to implement practical and effective exposure controls to protect workers.
We encourage the use of the HOC as described within the ANSI/ASSP Z10, Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems, to control hazards. The six strategies are discussed below.
Higher Priority Strategies
- Elimination: Completely remove the hazard. (no hazard = no accident) This control strategy is our top priority because it has the potential to entirely eliminate the hazard by changing something in the workplace.
- Substitution: Replace the hazard with a less hazardous condition, process, or method. Basic examples include substituting a toxic chemical with a non-toxic one or upgrading from an old poorly-designed machine to a new model.
- Engineering controls: Check if any of the following strategies are used in your workplace:
- Design: For example, design a tool to reduce the risk of strain or sprain.
- Redesign: For example, modify the design of a machine to make dangerous moving parts or electrical circuits out of reach.
- Enclosure: For example, install a hood over a noisy printer or a machine guard around a dangerous moving part.
OSHA expects employers to prioritize hazard control by first attempting elimination, substitution, or engineering solutions to prevent serious injuries. For example, if a machine generates excessive noise, employers should aim to reduce the noise to acceptable levels using these strategies. In this case, an engineering control like enclosure may be effective.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
7-3. Replacing a toxic chemical with a non-toxic chemical is an example of which hazard control strategy?
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