A hazard is the potential cause for harm to people, property and the environment:

• Hazardous objects in the workplace can include plant, spills and live services
• Situational hazards relate to the way work is done, and can include manual handling, excessive noise and fatigue
• Hazard identification is the process of recognising that a hazard exists and defining its characteristics.

A risk is the likelihood and the consequences of the hazard actually causing harm:

• If the hazard is an oil spill, the associated risks would be that someone could slip, it could catch fire and it could create pollution
• If the hazard is excessive noise, the associated risk might be irreversible hearing damage
• Risk assessment is the process of evaluating the risk’s magnitude or severity.

Controls are measures that are implemented to eliminate or reduce the chance of any risks occurring:

• Elimination is always the best level of control
• Otherwise, the risk should be reduced to as low as is reasonably practicable
• Controls are implemented using the Hierarchy of Controls.