S11/GI Risk Assessment and Hazard Management 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the definition of a 'hazard' in a Queensland mining context?
- An injury that has already occurred on site
- A situation, thing, or substance with the potential to cause harm (Correct answer)
- A near-miss incident that was reported
- A dangerous chemical compound only
Correct answer: A situation, thing, or substance with the potential to cause harm
A hazard is any situation, thing, or substance that has the potential to cause harm, injury, or illness — it does not need to have caused harm yet.
Question 2: In Queensland mining, 'risk' is best defined as:
- The physical presence of a hazard on site
- The likelihood and consequence of harm arising from a hazard (Correct answer)
- Any unsafe act performed by a worker
- The number of hazards present in a work area
Correct answer: The likelihood and consequence of harm arising from a hazard
Risk combines both the likelihood that a hazard will cause harm and the severity of the consequence if it does.
Question 3: Under the Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999 (Qld), who has a responsibility to identify and manage hazards at a mine site?
- Only the site safety officer
- Only the mine manager and supervisors
- Everyone at the mine site (Correct answer)
- Only workers with formal safety training
Correct answer: Everyone at the mine site
The Act places a duty of care on everyone at the mine site — workers, supervisors, managers, and contractors — to identify and manage hazards.
Question 4: Which control measure is considered most effective in the hierarchy of controls?
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
- Administrative controls such as procedures
- Elimination of the hazard (Correct answer)
- Engineering controls such as guards
Correct answer: Elimination of the hazard
Elimination permanently removes the hazard from the workplace and is the most effective control because it removes the risk entirely.
Question 5: What does a risk matrix help mining workers determine?
- The cost of purchasing safety equipment
- The number of workers required for a task
- The likelihood and severity of a risk to prioritise control actions (Correct answer)
- The type of PPE suited to each task
Correct answer: The likelihood and severity of a risk to prioritise control actions
A risk matrix plots likelihood against consequence to give a risk rating, allowing workers to prioritise which hazards require the most urgent controls.
Question 6: What is a 'near miss' in mining terminology?
- An incident where a worker suffered a serious injury
- An unplanned event that did not cause injury or damage but had the potential to do so (Correct answer)
- A planned emergency drill or safety exercise
- A minor injury requiring only first aid
Correct answer: An unplanned event that did not cause injury or damage but had the potential to do so
A near miss is an unplanned event with no injury or damage that occurred, but under slightly different circumstances could have caused serious harm.
Question 7: Which term describes a control that physically reduces a hazard rather than relying on worker behaviour?
- Administrative control
- Personal Protective Equipment
- Engineering control (Correct answer)
- Substitution control
Correct answer: Engineering control
Engineering controls are physical modifications to equipment, plant, or the work environment that reduce or eliminate exposure to a hazard without relying on worker action.
S11/GI Risk Assessment and Hazard Management 1
What is the definition of a 'hazard' in a Queensland mining context?