Hazardswhile

Hazardswhile is a term used in risk management to describe a condition in which multiple hazards are present during a task, either at the same time or in quick succession, creating a more complex safety profile than a single hazard would.

The concept draws attention to the interactions between hazards and the dynamic nature of many work environments. Hazardswhile is relevant across industries, including construction, manufacturing, energy, mining, healthcare, and aviation. It emphasizes that risk is not static and that overlapping hazards can amplify exposure, uncertainty, and potential consequences.

Managing hazardswhile requires enhanced situational awareness, real-time hazard identification, and dynamic risk assessment. Measures include stopping work if necessary, applying the hierarchy of controls, isolating or sequencing tasks to decouple hazards, and enforcing clear communication and authority to halt tasks. Documentation such as job hazard analyses can be adapted to account for multiple hazards.

Examples illustrate the concept: at a construction site, high winds and crane activity create a combined fall and struck-by hazard; in a chemical plant, maintaining equipment during a high-temperature phase while under pressure adds thermal and process hazards; in aircraft maintenance, electrical, mechanical, and environmental hazards may all be present during a single job.

See also: risk assessment, job hazard analysis, permit-to-work, lockout-tagout, safety management.