Foundations in Health and Safety - Definitions

Foundations in Health and Safety - Definitions

1. Accident - an unplanned event that results in damage, loss or harm, such as when someone injures their hand when using a drill

2. Hazard - the potential of something to cause harm, such as a drill

3. Risk - the likelihood of something to cause harm, such as an unguarded drill

4. Civil Law - Duties of individuals to each other

5. Criminal Law - Duties of individuals to the State

6. Welfare - provision of facilities to maintain health and well-being of people in the workplace, such as toilets or first aid

7. Residual Risk - the remaining risks after controls applied

8. Near miss - any incident that could have resulted in an accident, such as a small oil spill that was cleaned up quickly

9. Dangerous occurence - a near miss that could have resulted in an accident, such as scaffolding collapse in which nobody was injured

10. Common Law - is law based on court judgements

11. Statue Law - law based on Acts of Parliament