Elimination and Substitution
As mentioned earlier, the two most fundamental strategies in achieving the goal of a safe and healthful workplace is to either eliminate or reduce the severity of hazards.
Safety's Hierarchy of Controls
- Elimination. The first and most important strategy is to use hazard control methods to totally eliminate a hazard. The highest priority is to remove the hazard, but if that's not possible, try to eliminate exposure to the hazard using other control methods.
- Substitution. If elimination of a hazard or exposure is not possible, try to reduce the severity of the hazard. If you can't reduce the severity of a hazard to an acceptable level, try to reduce exposure to the hazards with exposure controls.
As you can see, elimination is the first priority, and if that's not possible, mitigation should be attempted. Some examples of these two strategies and methods include:
- Elimination - Eliminate the need to use toxic chemicals in a production process.
- Elimination - Use an extension pole to change ceiling lights to remove the need for a ladder.
- Substitution - Substitute a toxic chemical with a less toxic chemical.
- Substitution - Replace heavy boxes with smaller, lighter boxes to store products.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
5-3. Which hazard control strategy would be considered first to completely remove the source of excessive temperatures, noise, or pressure?
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