Work Practice Controls
If risk exposure cannot be adequately minimized through other methods, it is advisable to implement work practice controls as a means to reduce the risk.
Work practice controls attempt to reduce the likelihood of accidents by mandating safe practices associated with processes, procedures, and tasks. The goal of safe work practices is to eliminate the human behaviors that often lead to workplace accidents.
However, work practice controls are only as effective as the safety management system that supports them. Ideally, hazards should be eliminated, reducing the reliance on worker compliance for protection. The following principle encapsulates this concept:
For work practice controls to remain effective over the long term, they need to be designed based on solid hazard analysis and sustained by a supportive safety culture. This involves ensuring adequate resources, comprehensive training, diligent supervision, and the implementation of appropriate consequences. It's important to remember that work practice controls should be used in conjunction with other controls. Now let's look at some examples of work practice controls.
Work practice controls focus on the way workers do their jobs to reduce exposure to hazards. Examples include:
- Lockout/tagout procedures
- Confined space testing and monitoring
- Safe ladder practices
- Performing preventive maintenance on machinery, vehicles and equipment.
Work practice controls help to limit exposure by by targeting key factors, including
- Decreasing the frequency with which employees are exposed to the hazard.
- Limiting the duration of tasks that involve exposure to the hazard.
- Reducing the number of employees who are exposed to the hazard.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
3-7. Under the Hierarchy of Controls, lockout/tagout procedures, safe ladder practices, and confined space testing are examples of _____.
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