Health Risk Assessment and Management Framework

Health risk assessment (HRA) and management, as part of an organization’s health, safety, and environment (HSE) management system, provides a framework for the identification, assessment, and control of potential health hazards and risks, and the reduction of occupational illness in employees and contractors through the HRA process.

Health hazards include all chemical, biological and physical agents, as well as ergonomic and psychological factors which can affect worker health.

The purpose of an HRA is to provide the necessary information and understanding of health risks and their controls to prevent workers from experiencing acute and chronic health effects. These assessments need to be conducted throughout the life cycle (all phases) of business operations, including reassessment as required by changes in the work environment or business operations.

Energy industry guidance on HRA and management is provided in the IOGP Report 384 Health risk assessment and management.

This report offers clear, practical guidance, tools, resources and good practice examples associated with the industry’s work. The HRA and management processes described here are designed to be sufficiently flexible for applicability across all industry activities, including company and contractor activities, from exploration and production to complex manufacturing operations or even a simple retail site.

The first section deals with HRA and management and alignment with the business model and specifically

• Licence to operate
• Business continuity
• Emergency response and preparedness
• Workforce effectiveness, and
• Regulatory compliance and responsible standards

The second section provides a framework for, and details of, the HRA and management process, along with references to practical examples and working tools. An HRA process begins with hazard identification. The identified hazards are evaluated qualitatively or quantitatively, and the methodologies, technologies, and tools used in these evaluations are presented and discussed. Common hazards within oil and gas operations are identified in simple tables and in editable risk assessment tools for chemical, physical, biological, and ergonomic and psychological risk management. These hazards and the evaluation results can be plotted on a customizable risk matrix for characterization and clearer understanding of the risk. The Report provides guidance related to control and recovery tools with real-life examples that illustrate the effective application of risk management approaches.