The Development of a structure for the design of hazard audits

Abstract

Hazard auditing, which is a formal, systematic, critical examination of a situation or set of circumstances to identify hazards, is fundamental to hazard management. Auditing is facilitated by "an audit" that details activities, procedures, systems and artefacts, where hazards might be identified. This thesis describes the development of a structure, in the form of a hierarchy, that can be used in the design of hazard audits. An examination of systems such as manufacturing and process plants, for hazards, is usually undertaken by examining the subsystems, (i.e. activities, systems, and procedures). Existing audits therefore, tend to be specific, as for example, audits of unsafe acts, unsafe conditions, technical functioning of materials and machinery, management. This type of audit restricts the examination to a closed system within observable and well described physical and organisational boundaries. It is argued in this thesis that examinations for hazards should go beyond this closed system and also look for hazards within the larger systems of society and industry. An examination of hazards can be seen as a search for evidence of proneness to failure. The hierarchy developed in this research focuses on hazard auditing for a construction project. Construction, which is associated with the construction industry, is only one phase in a larger system, the project, which encompasses development, use, and withdrawal from use. It is argued that evidence of proneness to failure of a construction project may be found in these systems, (project and industry), in the larger system of a social environment, and in the subsystems that are part of a construction project. These hazards are described in terms cf concepts, and presented in the form of a hierarchy that indicates inter-dependencies between concepts. This hierarchy is a basic structure to be used in the design of hazard audits. The concepts incorporated into the hierarchy are discussed and described in terms of their potential to provide evidence of proneness to failure. Sections of hierarchy are built up and presented at appropriate positions in the thesis. It is proposed that this approach to hazard auditing will allow for flexibility in dealing with specific situations, yet provide for the identification of hazards that can exist and develop outside of those situations. It is suggested that such an approach should be regarded as a specialist activity of hazard management. Further, it is argued that the activity of hazard engineering should be recognized as a separate discipline within its own right.