in which a work‐related injury or illness (regardless of severity) or fatality occurred or could have occurred (commonly referred to as a “close call” or “near miss”). (ANSI/ASSP Z10.0‐2019)
Occurrence arising out of, or in the course of, work that could or does result in injury and ill health. (ANSI/ASSP/ISO 45001‐2018)
Initial Risk:
The first assessment of the potential risk of an identified hazard. Initial risk establishes a fixed baseline for the hazard. (MIL‐STD‐882E‐2012)
Injury and Ill Health:
Adverse effect on the physical, mental, or cognitive condition of a person. (ANSI/ASSP/ISO 45001‐2018)
Level of Risk:
Magnitude of a risk or combination of risks, expressed in terms of the combination of consequences and their likelihood. (ISO Guide 73/ANSI/ASSP Z690.1‐2011)
Life Cycle:
The phases of design, construction, operation, maintenance, and disposal for a facility, equipment, process, and material. (ANSI/ASSP Z590.3‐2011(R2016))
The phases of a machine including but not necessarily limited to: planning and specification; acquisition and contracting; design and construction; transport and commissioning, reassembly, installation, initial adjustment, relocation; operation and maintenance (e.g. setting, teaching/programming, process changeover, cleaning, planned or unplanned maintenance, trouble‐shooting); modification; decommissioning, dismantling, and, as far as safety is concerned, disposal. (ANSI B11.0‐2020)
All phases of the system’s life, including design, research, development, test and evaluation, production, deployment (inventory), operations and support, and disposal. (MIL‐STD‐882E‐2012)
Likelihood:
Chance of something happening. (ANSI/ASSP/ISO 31000‐2018; ANSI/ASSP/ISO 31010‐2019)
“Likelihood” is a general term that can be expressed specifically as a “Frequency” or “Probability” of the future occurrence of the chosen consequence scenario. The Likelihood of the complete scenario needs to include estimates of the likelihoods of each scenario event and circumstance so as to obtain an overall likelihood. This compounding of contributing likelihoods can be qualitative or quantitative. (Whiting 2013)
Author’s Cautionary Note: It is very useful for novice risk assessors to clearly distinguish between the terms “likelihood” and “probability” and “frequency.” The effective way of avoiding confusion of terms is to use “likelihood” as the generic term with “probability” and ‘frequency as being alternative ways or subsets of expressing likelihood. This can be illustrated by improving the way in which the likelihood scale can better provide guidance of how to estimate likelihood more reliably and consistently.
Management System:
Set of interrelated or interacting elements of an organization to establish policies and objectives and processes to achieve those objectives. (ANSI/ASSP/ISO 45001‐2018)
Measurement:
Process to determine a value. (ANSI/ASSP/ISO 45001‐2018)
Mishap:
An event or series of events resulting in unintentional death, injury, occupational illness, damage to or loss of equipment or property, or damage to the environment. For the purposes of this Standard, the term “mishap” includes negative environmental impacts from planned events. (MIL‐STD‐882E‐2012)
Mitigation Measure:
Action required to eliminate the hazard or when a hazard cannot be eliminated, reduce the associated risk by lessening the severity of the resulting mishap or lowering the likelihood that a mishap will occur. (MIL‐STD‐882E‐2012)
Monitoring:
Determining the status of a system, a process, or an activity. (ANSI/ASSP/ISO 45001‐2018)
Objective:
Result to be achieved. (ANSI/ASSP/ISO 45001‐2018)
Occupational Health and Safety Risk:
Combination of the likelihood of occurrence of a work‐related hazardous event(s) or exposure(s) and the severity of injury and ill health that can be caused by the event(s) or exposure(s). (ANSI/ASSP/ISO 45001‐2018)
Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS):
A set of interrelated elements that establish and/or support occupational health and safety policy and objectives, and mechanisms to achieve those objectives in order to continually improve occupational health and safety. (ANSI/ASSP Z10.0‐2019)
Management system of part of a management system used to achieve the OH&S policy. (ANSI/ASSP/ISO 45001‐2018)
OHSMS Issues:
Hazards, risks, management system deficiencies, and opportunities for improvement. (ANSI/ASSP Z10.0‐2019)
Operational Risk:
Risks that are generated from work‐related operations and hazards. (Authors)
Risk of loss resulting from inadequate or failed processes, people and systems, or from external events. This definition includes legal risk, but excludes strategic and reputational risk. (Bank for International Settlements)
Arise from people or a failure in processes, systems, or controls, including those involving information technologies. (The Institutes)
Operational Risk Management System:
A management system that encompasses all operational risks such as occupational safety, health, environmental, liability, and other risks that must be managed to achieve and sustain the organization’s business objectives through a continually improve process. (Authors)
Organization:
A public or private company, corporation, firm, enterprise, authority, or institution, or part or combination thereof, whether incorporated or not, that has its own management functions. This can consist of one or many sites or facilities. (ANSI/ASSP Z10.0‐2019)
Person or group of people that has its own functions with responsibilities, authorities, and relationships to achieve its objectives. (ANSI/ASSP/ISO 45001‐2018)
Performance:
Measurable result. (ANSI/ASSP/ISO 45001‐2018)
Preventive Action:
Action taken to reduce the likelihood an underlying system deficiency or hazard will occur or recur in another similar process. (ANSI/ASSP Z10.0‐2019)
Prevention Through Design:
Addressing occupational safety and health needs in the design and redesign process to prevent or minimize the work‐related