White Card Hazard Identification and Risk — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the correct order of the hierarchy of control, from most to least effective?
- Elimination, substitution, isolation, engineering, administrative, PPE (Correct answer)
- PPE, administrative, engineering, substitution, elimination
- Administrative, PPE, elimination, isolation
- Engineering, PPE, elimination, substitution
Correct answer: Elimination, substitution, isolation, engineering, administrative, PPE
The hierarchy of control runs from most to least effective: elimination, substitution, isolation, engineering controls, administrative controls, then PPE as the last line of defence.
Question 2: What is a 'hazard' on a construction site?
- A type of scaffold
- A safety sign
- A completed risk assessment
- Anything with the potential to cause harm (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Anything with the potential to cause harm
A hazard is any source or situation with the potential to cause injury, illness or harm to a person.
Question 3: What does 'risk' mean in WHS terms?
- The cost of a job
- The number of workers on site
- The brand of equipment used
- The likelihood and consequence of harm occurring from a hazard (Correct answer)
Correct answer: The likelihood and consequence of harm occurring from a hazard
Risk is the combination of how likely it is that harm will occur and how serious that harm could be.
Question 4: Why is PPE considered the least effective control measure?
- It only protects the wearer and relies on correct use, doing nothing to remove the hazard (Correct answer)
- It is the most expensive
- It is hard to buy
- Regulators ban it
Correct answer: It only protects the wearer and relies on correct use, doing nothing to remove the hazard
PPE only protects the individual wearer and depends on it being worn and used correctly; it does not remove or reduce the hazard itself, so it is the lowest level of control.
Question 5: What is the best example of eliminating a hazard?
- Wearing gloves
- Putting up a warning sign
- Telling workers to be careful
- Removing rubbish and trip hazards from a walkway completely (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Removing rubbish and trip hazards from a walkway completely
Physically removing the hazard, such as clearing debris and trip hazards from a walkway, eliminates the risk entirely and is the most effective control.
Question 6: How often should a risk assessment for a task be reviewed?
- Never once it is written
- Only at the end of the project
- When conditions change, an incident occurs, or new hazards are introduced (Correct answer)
- Every five years
Correct answer: When conditions change, an incident occurs, or new hazards are introduced
Risk assessments must be reviewed and revised whenever the work, conditions, equipment or hazards change, or after an incident or near miss.
Question 7: What is a 'near miss'?
- A successful inspection
- A type of crane
- A scheduled break
- An incident that did not cause injury but had the potential to (Correct answer)
Correct answer: An incident that did not cause injury but had the potential to
A near miss is an unplanned event that did not result in injury or damage but could have. Reporting near misses helps prevent future incidents.
Question 8: An example of an 'isolation' control on site is:
- Issuing safety glasses
- Using a barricade or exclusion zone to keep people away from a hazard (Correct answer)
- Asking workers to take care
- Reading the SWMS
Correct answer: Using a barricade or exclusion zone to keep people away from a hazard
Isolation separates people from the hazard, for example using barricades, exclusion zones or fencing to keep workers away from a dangerous area.
White Card Hazard Identification and Risk
What is the correct order of the hierarchy of control, from most to least effective?