Hazard identification is the process of determining what hazards are associated with a given operation or design, as it is operating. In existing operations, hazard identification is performed periodically to determine the implications of changes to process knowledge, and new guidelines and standards, and to recognize changes to processes, procedures, equipment and materials.
The role of hazard identification in process risk management at existing operations is to establish the foundation upon which many of the other process safety management components build.
The responsibility for initiating and assuring completion of a hazard identification activity should be explicitly assigned; frequently it will rest with the facility manager. Before beginning hazard identification, a key planning step is to determine what types of consequences are of concern:
Fatalities or injuries to employees and/or to the public
Release of hazardous material
Business interruption
Environmental damage and
Property damage
Reference: CCPS(1989) Guidelines for Technical Management of Chemical Process Safety
The process of recognizing that a hazard exists and defining its characteristics.