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704 Hazard Analysis and Control
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What You See and Don't See

When you conduct a walkaround inspection you are usually looking for hazardous materials, equipment, and environmental factors.

Trench Cave-In

These first three hazard areas represent hazardous physical conditions (think of these as hazardous "states of being") in the workplace.

According to various studies, hazardous conditions cause only a very small percentage of all accidents in the workplace. The inspections do not usually detect unsafe behaviors which directly account for most accidents.

It's interesting to note, that hazardous conditions are what OSHA inspectors primarily cite as violations. What does that mean? Well, OSHA is very good at uncovering the conditions that don't cause many accidents. It's a flawed system, but it's all we have. That also explains why there is little correlation between the most frequently cited violations and the most frequent causes of injury.

Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.

2-2. Which of the following is least likely to be uncovered during a walkaround safety inspection?