Workplace Health and Safety Risk Management Report for Streakers

This report presents a comprehensive risk assessment of Streakers Hair and Beauty Salon, examining various workplace hazards. It identifies potential risks, including chemical hazards from salon products (ammonia, formaldehyde, nail polish removers), and physical hazards such as prolonged standing, repetitive movements leading to carpal tunnel syndrome, and electrical risks. The report evaluates the likelihood and severity of these hazards, assigning risk scores. Control measures are proposed, such as the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), engineering controls, administrative controls, and the substitution of less hazardous chemicals. The effectiveness of these controls is then reassessed, demonstrating the reduction in risk scores. The report aims to provide the new owner with a framework for ensuring a safe and healthy work environment for the employees of Streakers Hair and Beauty Salon.

Running head: WORK PLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY
Work Place Health and Safety
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Executive Summary
This report discusses about the problem of safety in the Streakers Hair and Beauty Salon and
after the taking over process of the salon, the new owner had decided to assess the risks of the
work places. The chemical hazard is one of the most common occupational hazards present in
the work places. The workers working in the salon may have different types of physiological
stress due to the nature of the work. The chances of getting lower back pain among the
workers due to the issue of prolonged standing are quite obvious. Another important hazard
that can be identified in the plant is associated with the electrical risks present in the salon.
Moreover, repetitive movements of the hands can cause carpal tunnel syndrome as well. For
the chemical hazards, the risks of skin, eye irritation due to hazardous chemical exposure may
happen. In order to reduce this problem, use of personal protective equipment and proper
training sessions can be recommended.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Plant Hazard...............................................................................................................................3
Identification of Hazards........................................................................................................3
Assessment and Control of Identified Hazards......................................................................5
Reassessment..........................................................................................................................6
Chemical Hazards......................................................................................................................6
Identification of Hazards........................................................................................................6
Assessment and Control of Identified Hazards......................................................................7
Reassessment..........................................................................................................................8
Recommendation........................................................................................................................8
Pre-Post Policy...........................................................................................................................8
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................9
Appendices...............................................................................................................................12

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Introduction
The assessment of risk is an activity that must be followed by all the industry players
and thus in order to provide a safe work place to the workers of a particular industry, it is
very crucial to assess all types of risks present in the industry. Therefore, identification of the
hazards in work place will help the management to reduce impact of the different types of
hazards by using various types of control measures of different hierarchical levels.
Furthermore, it is also reported that in order to reduce the impact of the hazards present in the
work places, proper understandings of the current hazards are very crucial. According to the
study of de Gennaro et al. (2014), it is stated that the chemical hazard is one of the most
common occupational hazards present in the work places. In this case study, it is observed
that a hair salon company named Streakers Hair and Beauty Salon is owned by owner and he
or she wants to perform a risk assessment in the salon. The main goal of this risk assessment
process is to provide a safe work place to the workers working in the hair salon. In a salon,
there are different types of hazards along with serious chemical hazards and so it is very
crucial to make the work place safe for the workers.
In this report, the risk assessment of the Streakers Hair and Beauty Salon is discussed
along with a few recommendations for reducing the risks present in the Streakers Hair and
Beauty Salon.
Plant Hazard
Identification of Hazards
In this case, it is stated that the plant is mainly referred to the work station of
Streakers Hair and Beauty Salon and it is quite common to use various type of chemicals as a

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part of their jobs. In a Streakers Hair and Beauty Salon, there are different types of hazards
and in this sections, the hazards present in the hair salon other than the chemical hazards are
discussed and identified. In this context, it can be stated that the workers working in the salon
may have different types of physiological stress due to the nature of the work. According to
the study of Douphrate et al. (2012), it is stated that the in most of the beauty salons, there is
no such systems to avoid prolonged standings and thus is quite natural to stand in a static
posture for a long period of time. Hence the chances of getting lower back pain among the
workers due to the issue of prolonged standing are quite obvious. Along with this, it is also
reported that the working nature of the salon is associated with the twisting, bending of the
trunk and so the prolonged holdings of the awkward postures can cause onset of
musculoskeletal disorders among the hair salon workers. Moreover, it is also reported in
multiple studies that during cutting hair, the workers have to bend their neck and head
position for a long period of time and thereby enhances the chances of developing pain in the
body of the workers working the beauty salon for a long period. Another important hazard
that can be identified in the plant is associated with the electrical risks present in the salon.
According to the study of Imoro (2014), it is stated that in a salon the workers are using
different types of electrical equipment and most of the equipment are used in a wet
conditions. Hence, it can be stated that the chances of electrical shocks by the workers
working in such condition are very high as well. Another serious hazard that can affect the
health of the workers of the salon is associated with the type of equipment used by the
workers present in the work place. In this regard, it can be stated that the workers of a salon
generally use sharp edge equipment such as manual scissors or the razors, trimmer and thus
there is a high chances of getting cut during the use of those equipment and along with this,
in many studies, it is also reported that the repetitive movements of hands can cause carpal
tunnel syndrome among the workers (Milich, Shendell and Graber 2017). According to the

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study of Demiryurek and Gündoğdu (2017), it is stated the cases of carpal tunnel syndrome is
very common among the hair dressers and the authors stated that the factors associated with
the onset of carpal tunnel syndrome are mainly use of vibratory equipment, forceful wrist
movements and frequent flexion and extensions of the various joints of the hands of the
workers.
Assessment and Control of Identified Hazards
After assessing the hazards of the work place, it can be stated that the incidents of the
prolonged standing and onset of MSD is highly risky as it has the score of 4 in the likelihood
scale and on the other hand the task has the score of 3 in the severity scale and the overall risk
score of this task in the salon is 12 that is moderate is risk scale. On the other hand, the
repetitive movements of the hands by the workers have the risk score of 15 along with a
likelihood score of 5 and severity score of 3. The third hazardous task has the risk score of 16
along with a likelihood score of 4 and severity score of 4. As a part of control measures of the
hazards, it can be stated that the for controlling the risk of MSD among the people working in
the salon, engineering controls can be recommended and as a part of this, the management
can offer a proper work place rest cycle and break time after a certain period so that the
workers can avoid prolonged static postures. In order to control the second hazard, the salon
authority can recruit more people to reduce the work load of the workers and also use the
administrative control for reducing the hazard. For the third hazard that is electrical shocks
and cuts due to the use of different types of electrical equipment and in order to reduce this
problem the workers can use administrative control and as a part of this the management can
use equipment covered by shock proof materials and in order to avoid the cut from the
equipment the worker can use personal protective equipment during the performance of their
work.

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Reassessment
After implementing the controls in the salon for reducing the hazards, in a few cases
the risks of the hazard are reduced and it can be observed by the reduced risk scores of the
hazards present in the salon. In this regard, it can be stated that the likelihood score of MSD
formation due to prolonged standing is reduced to 2 however the overall risk rating remains
same that is moderate in nature. On the other hand the risk score of repetitive movement
related disorders is reduced to 9 due to the reduction of the likelihood score of the task
(likelihood score 3 after implementing control system). Therefore, the overall risk for this
task has become moderate for the repetitive movements of the hands. In case of the third
hazard that is the electrical shocks and cuts from the instruments, the use of control measures
also have reduced the cases of cuts and electrical shocks among the workers of the salon. In
this regard, it can be stated that the risk scores of this hazards is reduced to 8 due to the
reduction of the likelihood scores to 2.
Chemical Hazards
Identification of Hazards
While discussing about the chemical hazards present in the salon it can be stated that
in the salon the workers are using different types of chemicals such as ammonia, sodium
hydroxide, phenyleneediamine (PPD), and hydrogen peroxide and it is reported that the use
of these ingredients can cause skin irritation and other problems if they are exposed to the
human skins and eyes (de Souza et al. 2019). Another problem that is associated with the
chemical hazard is presence of acetone in the nail polish remover used by the workers and the
exposure to this chemical can cause dizziness and headaches and irritation in skin, eyes and
throat (Holman and Rossman 2015). Therefore, the presence of workers in such environment
for a long period of time can cause the above said problems among the salon workers.

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Another chemical hazard that is present in the salon environment is formaldehyde that is
present in the products used for nail hardener and nail polishing. The exposure to such
chemicals can cause serious health related stresses such as trouble in breathing, comprising of
asthma-like attacks, coughing, and wheezing, allergic reactions; irritated eyes, throat and
skin. Moreover, in various studies, it is also stated that the prolonged exposure to
formaldehyde can cause cancer (Peteffi et al., 2016).
Assessment and Control of Identified Hazards
After assessing the chemical hazards of the work place, it can be stated that the
incidents of prolonged exposure to the chemicals such as ammonia, sodium hydroxide is very
risky it has the score of 4 in the likelihood scale and on the other hand the task has the score
of 2 in the severity scale and the overall risk score of this task in the salon is 8 that is
moderate is risk scale. On the other hand, the use of the nail polish remover by the workers
has the risk score of 12 along with a likelihood score of 3 and severity score of 4. The third
hazardous task that is use of formaldehyde contained products has the risk score of 15 along
with a likelihood score of 5 and severity score of 3. As a part of control measures of the
hazards, it can be stated that for controlling the first hazards, the management can opt for
substitution measures and as a part of this they can replace those hazardous chemicals with
less hazardous one. For the second and third hazards present in the work place, the
management can promote the use of personal protective equipment in the work place during
the use hazardous chemicals present in the salon as it is not possible to use engineering
controls and administrative controls in the work place.

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Reassessment
After implementing the control for reducing the chemical hazards in the work place, it
can be stated that the risk of first hazard is reduced to 6 along with a likelihood score of 3 and
severity score of 2. For the next hazard, the risk score is reduced to 6, however the overall
risk remains moderate. Moreover, the risk score of formaldehyde exposure is reduced to 9
along with a likelihood score of 3 and severity score of 3.
From the above assessment, it can be stated that almost all of the risk reduction
process follows the ALARP principle as the organization plans to perform minimum changes
as per the severity of the problems that are quite practicable in nature (Baybutt 2014).
Recommendation
In order to improve the condition of the plant, it can be stated that the management
should arrange proper training program so that the employees can understand the importance
of work related safety processes in the salon. The use of safety equipment should be made
mandatory for the workers during the work performances.
Pre-Post Policy
After assessing the risks present in the work places, a new purchase policy for the company
can be made and the new policy contains the following rules-
Proper risk assessment of the equipment
Plant related hazard identification
Documentation of adverse incidents for future references
Proper labelling of hazardous materials present in the plant.
In the post buying condition, the following clause should be maintained by the organization.

9WORK PLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY
Checking of the electrical equipment
Securing dry use of the equipment
Use of safety hand gloves during electrical equipment use.
Conclusion
Hence, it can be concluded that there are various types of hazards in the Streakers
Hair and Beauty Salon and in order to minimize those problems the organization has planned
to implement control systems after assessing the risks present in the plant. Therefore, those
recommendations should be implemented by the organization to reduce the risks in the work
place.

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References
Baybutt, P., 2014. The ALARP principle in process safety. Process Safety Progress, 33(1),
pp.36-40.
de Gennaro, G., de Gennaro, L., Mazzone, A., Porcelli, F. and Tutino, M., 2014. Indoor air
quality in hair salons: Screening of volatile organic compounds and indicators based on
health risk assessment. Atmospheric environment, 83, pp.119-126.
de Souza, J.C., da Silva, B.F., Morales, D.A., de Aragão Umbuzeiro, G. and Zanoni, M.V.B.,
2019. Assessment of the autoxidation mechanism of p-toluenediamine by air and hydrogen
peroxide and determination of mutagenic environmental contaminant in beauty salon
effluent. Science of The Total Environment, 685, pp.911-922.
Demiryurek, B.E. and Gündoğdu, A.A., 2018. Prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome and its
correlation with pain amongst female hairdressers. International journal of occupational
medicine and environmental health, 31(3), pp.333-339.
Douphrate, D.I., Fethke, N.B., Nonnenmann, M.W., Rosecrance, J.C. and Reynolds, S.J.,
2012. Full shift arm inclinometry among dairy parlor workers: A feasibility study in a
challenging work environment. Applied ergonomics, 43(3), pp.604-613.
Holman, D. and Rossman, P.K., Working Bugs, LLC, 2015. Nail polish remover comprising
n-butyl acetate. U.S. Patent 9,138,391.
Imoro, M., 2014. Equipment management and use in salons in Ghana: A test case of safety in
quality services delivery of the beauty service industry in the Upper West
region. International Journal of Scientific & Technology Research, 3(10), pp.166-177.

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Milich, L.J., Shendell, D.G. and Graber, J.M., 2017. Safety and health risk perceptions: A
cross-sectional study of New Jersey hair and nail salon clients. Journal of Chemical Health &
Safety, 24(6), pp.7-14.
Peteffi, G.P., Antunes, M.V., Carrer, C., Valandro, E.T., Santos, S., Glaeser, J., Mattos, L.,
Da Silva, L.B. and Linden, R., 2016. Environmental and biological monitoring of
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straightening. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 23(1), pp.908-917.