Hazard identification and risk ranking are part of the risk assessment and risk reduction.

The risk
reduction requires an understanding of the tolerable risk concepts and the measurement of risk. Safety regulations
recognize the risk assessment methods as a part of the system needed to manage and ensure safety. Companies
therefore need to develop competencies in these subjects and be able to develop the skills in hazard identification.
Hazard studies, hazard and operability (HAZOP) in particular, have emerged as essential tools for the tasks. These
studies lead to the requirements for safeguards, and the results indicated that alarm and trip systems are one of the
key means of providing those safeguards.
Risk Definition
• Risk provides opportunities while exposing us to outcomes that we may not desire.
• A situation involving exposure to danger, harm or loss.
• Risk can be physical safety matter, a risk of property loss, a financial business risk and more.

Examples:
• Food handling is one issue that must be adequately addressed whenever someone prepares food for the
customers.
• Security and safety reason is also one risk that the tourism and hospitality business occurs.

Hazards vs Risk
A. Hazards – any source of potential damage, harm or adverse health effects on something or
someone.
• Something that can cause harm. Ex: electricity, chemicals, working up a ladder, noise, a bully at work,
stress etc.
 • A risk is the chance, high or low that any hazards will actually cause somebody harm.

The meaning of the word hazard can be confusing. Often dictionaries do not give specific definitions or combine
it with the term "risk". For example, one dictionary defines hazard as "a danger or risk" which helps explain why
many people use the terms interchangeably.

There are many definitions for hazard but the most common definition when talking about workplace health and safety
is:

A hazard is any source of potential damage, harm or adverse health effects on something or someone.

Basically, a hazard is the potential for harm or an adverse effect (for example, to people as health effects, to
organizations as property or equipment losses, or to the environment).

Sometimes the resulting harm is referred to as the hazard instead of the actual source of the hazard. For example,
the disease tuberculosis (TB) might be called a "hazard" by some but, in general, the TB-causing bacteria
(Mycobacterium tuberculosis) would be considered the "hazard" or "hazardous biological agent".

Example: working alone away from your office can be a hazard.

B. Risk – is the chance or probability that a person will be harmed or experience an adverse health effect if
exposed to hazards. It may also apply to situations with property or equipment loss, or harmful effects on the
environment.
• The possibility or chance of loss, danger or injury.

Risk is the chance or probability that a person will be harmed or experience an adverse health effect if exposed to
a hazard. It may also apply to situations with property or equipment loss, or harmful effects on the environment.

For example: the risk of developing cancer from smoking cigarettes could be expressed as:

 "cigarette smokers are 12 times (for example) more likely to die of lung cancer than non-smokers", or
 "the number per 100,000 smokers who will develop lung cancer" (actual number depends on factors
such as their age and how many years they have been smoking).

These risks are expressed as a probability or likelihood of developing a disease or getting injured, whereas hazard refers
to the agent responsible (i.e. smoking).

Factors that influence the degree or likelihood of risk are:

 the nature of the exposure: how much a person is exposed to a hazardous thing or condition (e.g., several
times a day or once a year),
 how the person is exposed (e.g., breathing in a vapor, skin contact), and
  the severity of the effect. For example, one substance may cause skin cancer, while another may cause skin
irritation. Cancer is a much more serious effect than irritation.

Source of Risks

1. Uncertainty in financial markets.

 Referring to doubt or no assurance.
 if the economy is going bad and causing everyone to worry about what will happen next.
 Every business has this worry about the financial stability of their business.
2. Threats from project failures (at any phase in design, development, production or sustainment life- cycles)
 Risk in the success of the tourism and hospitality business is the threat usually embedded in the
project.
 As a manager you cannot avoid the threat, you have to deal with it.
 SWOT Analysis in the business
3. Legal liabilities

 As discussed, the risk may be defined as a potential loss or harm to persons and property.
 When applied to tourism and hospitality industry, it could be any of the following: financial loss,
damage to property, or injury to workers or guests.
 In the hospitality and tourism industry would like to get rid of any legal responsibility
attaching to the risk.
• The reason why they have been using risk management as a precautionary measure.
• Risk management in tourism and hospitality industry is a two-way process.

 The safety of the guests and employees, which includes avoidance to emotional and physical harm, is a
moral and ethical responsibility of the operators.
 Protection to business operations which includes protection against damage to property and future litigation
(the process of taking action)
“Risk management is like hitting two birds with one stone” safety of the guests and employees plus
the avoidance of suits and other causes of actions.”

4. Credit risk

It is another source of risk that could impact the tourism and hospitality industries.
If the potential that the business borrowed that will fail to meet its obligations following agreed terms.

5. Accidents

• Injury in the tourism or hospitality industry.

• Accident management is necessary to reduce the cost pertinent to the accident.

Common injuries in the hospitality industry

a. Slip-and-fall injuries

 Hotel workers are at risk of falling and slipping because of the nature of their work which
requires them to move quickly.

b. Musculoskeletal Injuries

 Working in a hotel requires a lot of strengths and ability because of the requirement of their work to
bend and lift that cause muscular pains and injuries.

c. Skin Reaction

 Caused by the exposure of the hotel workers to a variety of chemicals on a daily basis.

d. Respiratory Illnesses

 Exposure to infectious diseases carried. There is a possibility that hotel employee usually assigned
to the housekeeping department could acquire respiratory illness due to exposure to vomits,
bloods etc.

e. Security related Accidents

 No matter careful the management of a hotel and similar establishment is, there were still some
reports of accidents that could be attributed to accident and negligence cases like robbery and
theft.

f. Food Poisoning

 Usually caused by undercooked foods, cross-contamination in the kitchen or other negligent

preparation measures.
 g. Elevator and Escalator Accidents

 The establishment owners are responsible for making sure that any elevators or escalators in their
building are well-maintained and that any safety concerns that arise during maintenance
check are quickly addressed.

Accidents in the Tourism Industry

a. Accidents due to fortuitous events or acts of God.

 Referring the nature circumstances like; Earthquakes, volcanic eruption, flood, landslides, storm,
typhoon, etc.

b. Transportation accidents

 Air, water and land is the mode of transportation. And the said transportation are not free to danger
of meeting an accident no matter how diligent the operators.

c. Accidents due to Activities

 There are various activities in connection with the tourism industry that can be given harm and danger
to employees but as well as the tourist.

a. Pool accident,
b. animal bites or attacks,
c. drowning (lunod),
d. electrocution (electric shock/ kuryente).

6. Natural cause and disasters

The natural disasters may be categorized into three:

a. Cause by movements of earth. Earthquakes, volcanic eruption and tsunami.

b. Disasters related to weather: hurricanes, tornadoes, el Niño, la Niña, extreme heat and freezing
water.
c. Extreme weather events. Floods, mudslides, landslides and

7. Deliberate attack from an adversary

 Referring the terrorist threats.
 Industry implement security departments, implementing a range of security measured to protect
guests at their properties, ranging from armed guards to concrete barriers and metal detector.