QHSE Glossary from A to Z — QHSE

QHSE Glossary — 144 definitions

All the terms defined in the 29 sections of the guide, listed in alphabetical order.
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5 whys: Asking "why?" repeatedly (often 5 times) to work back from a symptom to its ROOT cause.
5S: A workstation organisation/cleanliness method in 5 steps: Seiri (sort), Seiton (set in order), Seiso (shine/clean), Seiketsu (standardize), Shitsuke (sustain/discipline). Improves efficiency, safety, quality and morale.
Accessibility: The DUERP must be accessible to workers, to employee bodies (CSE in France), to the occupational physician and to the labor inspectorate.
Commuting accident: A special case: an accident occurring on the home-to-work journey. Specific rules apply depending on the country.
Occupational accident (AT): A SUDDEN event occurring by reason of or in the course of work, causing bodily harm (injury). Distinct from an occupational disease (which develops progressively). AT is the French acronym.
Corrective action: Acting on the CAUSES of the nonconformity so that it does NOT HAPPEN AGAIN. The key distinction: correction deals with the case, corrective action removes the cause.
Preventive action: Acting on a POTENTIAL nonconformity (before it occurs), based on an identified risk — preventing rather than correcting.
Mandatory posting: Information that regulations require to be displayed in workplaces: safety/fire instructions, evacuation plan, emergency numbers, contacts (occupational physician, inspectorate), rights… VARIES by country.
Continuous improvement (PDCA): The driving logic of QHSE: PLAN, DO, CHECK (verify/measure), ACT (adjust) — an endless loop of progress (the Deming wheel).
Accident analysis: Analyzing the CAUSES of an accident/incident — not to find someone to blame, but to understand WHY and PREVENT recurrence. Trace back to ROOT causes (often multiple).
Engaging & raising awareness: ONGOING work: training/awareness, lively communication (safety talks, experience feedback), team involvement, recognition, leading by example — over time.
Process approach: Seeing the organisation as a set of PROCESSES that interact to create value for the customer (rather than siloed departments). A central principle of ISO 9001.
Process & risk-based approach: Managing the organisation as interacting PROCESSES (inputs/activities/outputs); identifying and addressing the RISKS and opportunities (risk-based thinking) affecting conformity and satisfaction.
Environmental aspect: An element of the activity likely to have an impact on the environment (discharge, consumption, waste…). The SIGNIFICANT aspects are identified so they can be controlled.
Aspects and impacts (EMS): Identifying ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS (elements of the activity) and their significant IMPACTS, as well as COMPLIANCE OBLIGATIONS — the basis for setting reduction objectives.
Audit = progress, not punishment: The purpose of an internal audit is NOT to punish or find culprits, but to VERIFY and IMPROVE — a tool for progress (the Check phase of PDCA).
Internal audit: A METHODICAL and INDEPENDENT examination verifying that a system/process CONFORMS to reference standards and is EFFECTIVE, in order to identify gaps and improvement opportunities. Carried out BY the organization (trained internal auditors).
Benefits of integration: CONSISTENCY (unified vision), EFFICIENCY (avoiding duplication, streamlining), SYNERGIES (one topic often spans several areas: chemicals = safety + environment).
Environmental regulatory framework: Governs impacts (pollution, waste, water, air, chemicals, classified facilities). VARIES by country — refer to the applicable law.
QHSE regulatory framework: All the legal obligations structuring the approach (mainly health-safety and environment). VARIES greatly by country — refer to the applicable law.
Process mapping: Identifying and REPRESENTING the organization's processes and their INTERACTIONS (who feeds whom, sequencing).
Sign categories: PROHIBITION (red circle with bar), MANDATORY (blue circle), WARNING (yellow triangle), RESCUE (green rectangle), FIRE (red rectangle).
Organisational causes: PSR mainly stem from causes in the ORGANISATION of work (workload, pace, autonomy, role clarity, support, recognition, meaning, relationships, management) — not just individual "fragility".
Certification (cycle): Attestation by an INDEPENDENT, ACCREDITED body of conformity to standards, via an external audit. Cycle: INITIAL audit, periodic SURVEILLANCE audits, RENEWAL audit. A mark of trust, but a MEANS not an end.
ISO 9001 certification: Attestation by an INDEPENDENT body (audit) that the QMS conforms to the standard — a mark of international trust, often required by customers or to access markets. Voluntary.
Tackling at source & substitution: Acting as close as possible to the origin of the risk; replacing what is dangerous with something less dangerous (substitution) — before resorting to protection.
QHSE officer skills: As much RELATIONAL (communication, teaching, diplomacy, influence without hierarchical authority) as TECHNICAL (regulations, risk analysis, methods).
Conformity / nonconformity: Conformity: meeting requirements (specifications, terms of reference, regulations). Nonconformity: a departure from these requirements.
Finding / nonconformity: An audit finding based on FACTS (evidence). A nonconformity is a DEPARTURE from the reference standard — it leads to a corrective action.
Correction: The IMMEDIATE treatment of an observed nonconformity: limiting/correcting its effects right away (isolating, repairing, troubleshooting, making safe). Treats the immediate problem, not the cause.
Severity × likelihood rating: Assessing a risk = combining its potential SEVERITY (minor → fatal) and its LIKELIHOOD (rare → frequent), sometimes × exposure frequency, to obtain a risk LEVEL (matrix).
Cost of non-quality: The cost of failures (defects, scrap, rework, delays, returns, complaints, lost customers, image) — often HUGE and underestimated. Reducing non-quality is a major economic stake.
No-blame culture (reporting): Encouraging the REPORTING of risks, incidents and errors WITHOUT fear of punishment, in order to learn and prevent (a punitive culture makes people hide problems).
Safety culture (QHSE): All the values, attitudes, behaviours and habits SHARED on QHSE — the way "things are done here", beyond written rules. LIVED rules, not imposed ones.
Hazard: An INTRINSIC property or capacity to cause harm (a chemical, a cutting machine, a slippery floor are hazards). What CAN cause harm.
Waste: Any residue from an activity that its holder discards (packaging, offcuts, used products, rejects). To be managed according to a hierarchy and regulations.
Hazardous waste: Chemicals, oils, solvents, batteries, WEEE (waste electrical/electronic equipment), healthcare waste…: risks to health/the environment, to be managed SEPARATELY via specialized, traceable channels.
Quality approach: Aiming to LASTINGLY SATISFY customers and to CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVE products, services and processes. Quality = fitness for NEEDS and EXPECTATIONS, not abstract perfection.
Sustainable development: Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own.
Ishikawa diagram (5M): Fishbone: analyzes the CAUSES of a problem by family — the 5Ms: Manpower, Machine, Method, Material, Milieu (sometimes + Management). Explores all causes in an organised way.
Pareto chart (80/20): Ranking causes/problems by importance to identify the "vital few" — the ~20% of causes producing ~80% of effects. A PRIORITIZATION tool (focus action on major causes).
Single risk assessment document (DUERP): A MANDATORY document (France) listing and assessing ALL the organisation's occupational risks (by work unit) and grounding the prevention action plan. Equivalents exist in many countries. DUERP is the French acronym.
Quality documentation: The documents that formalize and share ways of working in order to CONTROL and IMPROVE them: quality policy, procedures, instructions, records, forms. A support, not paperwork.
Double energy win: Reducing energy and emissions is good for the ENVIRONMENT (climate) AND for COSTS (energy is expensive) — a double benefit.
DUERP: Single occupational risk assessment document (France): a mandatory document listing and assessing risks and planning actions (detailed in level 1). DUERP is the French acronym.
Energy efficiency: Consuming BETTER: getting the same service with less energy (efficient equipment, heat recovery, control systems). Complements sufficiency.
Elements of a process: For each process: purpose, INPUTS/OUTPUTS, OWNER (person in charge), key activities, resources, PERFORMANCE INDICATORS, risks.
Carbon footprint / GHG inventory: Greenhouse gas (GHG, mainly CO2) emissions linked to the activity, contributing to warming. Measured by a carbon/GHG inventory (often by "scopes": direct, energy, indirect) to identify emitting items and act.
Management commitment & exemplarity: The No. 1 lever of culture: if management and supervisors do not genuinely prioritize safety and lead by example, nobody follows.
Record: The PROOF of what was done (check sheet, report, reading): it traces and demonstrates. Distinct from procedures (which say how to do things).
Environment: Controlling and reducing the activity's impacts on nature (waste, pollution, resources, energy, climate).
Avoid / eliminate (priority 1): The best option: eliminating the risk wherever possible. Always takes priority over any protective measure.
Evacuation drills: Regular rehearsals of evacuation so everyone knows what to do: in a real stressful situation, people do what they have REHEARSED. A duty whose frequency varies by country.
Human factor: The decisive role of people: without their involvement and without good ingrained behaviours, no system/procedure/equipment is enough. The most decisive factor in real QHSE performance.
Safety data sheet (SDS): The manufacturer's document for each hazardous product: hazards, handling precautions, first aid, storage, spillage, required PPE. THE reference source — to be consulted and kept available. FDS is the French acronym.
Purpose of the DUERP: Identifying risks → assessing them (ranking severity × likelihood) → defining prevention ACTIONS (who, what, when) → recording it all. The CENTRAL tool of prevention.
Manual handling training: Learning to lift/handle correctly (bend the knees, load close to the body, avoid twisting). A useful COMPLEMENT that does NOT replace reducing handling and fitting out workstations.
Document control: Controlling documents: versions, approval, distribution, accessibility, WITHDRAWAL of obsolete versions (an obsolete document in circulation is dangerous).
Harassment / violence: Internal violence (moral or sexual harassment, conflicts) or external violence (customer assaults). To be prevented and treated seriously (a legal duty, varying by country).
Climate action hierarchy: The order of action: REDUCE first (sufficiency + efficiency), then DECARBONIZE (lower-carbon/renewable energy), then OFFSET the residual as a last resort (with caution).
Waste hierarchy: The priority order: 1) REDUCE/prevent at source; 2) REUSE; 3) RECYCLE; 4) RECOVER (energy, compost); 5) DISPOSE (landfill/incineration) as a last resort. Preventing beats treating.
Prioritization (risk ranking): The risk level makes it possible to PRIORITIZE: addressing the most severe and likely (most critical) risks first. Everything cannot be treated at once.
Health & Safety: Protecting workers' health and physical integrity: preventing occupational accidents and diseases.
ICPE (France): Classified facilities for environmental protection: facilities posing risks/drawbacks for the environment, CLASSIFIED by impact and subject to regimes (declaration, registration, authorisation) with obligations. ICPE is the French acronym.
Environmental impacts: The effects of an activity on nature: pollution (air, water, soil), waste, resource consumption, greenhouse gases, noise, biodiversity. To be identified, assessed and controlled.
Incident / near-miss: An event that COULD have caused harm but did not this time. Valuable to analyze: it prevents accidents before they happen (reporting culture).
Actionable indicator / perverse effect: An indicator must SERVE decision-making and action (not merely record). Beware of PERVERSE effects: a poorly chosen indicator can drive bad behaviours (e.g. under-reporting accidents).
QHSE indicator: A QUANTIFIED piece of data measuring an aspect of QHSE performance (safety, quality, environment). Makes it possible to objectify, track progress and steer.
Leading indicators: Measure prevention ACTIONS (before results): training, audits, safety visits, closed corrective actions, reported near-misses. FORWARD-LOOKING (acting on them improves future results).
Lagging indicators: Measure PAST RESULTS (consequences): number of accidents, frequency/severity rates (safety), nonconformity/complaint rates (quality), waste/consumption (environment). "After the fact".
Information ≠ protection: Signage and posting INFORM; they complement but do NOT REPLACE real protection (a "danger" sign does not remove the danger — act on the risk first).
Bodies & players (France): Depending on size: the CSE (Social and Economic Committee, with the health-safety duties of the former CHSCT), the occupational physician / occupational health service, the labor inspectorate (enforcement).
ISO 14001: The international ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (EMS) standard: controlling impacts, meeting compliance, improving environmental performance. Generic, certifiable, PDCA-based. The equivalent of ISO 9001 for the environment.
ISO 26000: A standard giving GUIDELINES on social responsibility — a GUIDE, NOT a certifiable standard (unlike ISO 9001/14001/45001).
ISO 45001: The OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY management system standard: managing occupational risks, PDCA-based, certifiable. Complements 9001 (quality) and 14001 (environment).
ISO 9001: The international QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (QMS) standard — the most widespread. Sets the requirements for organizing and managing quality (not how to manufacture a product). Generic, applicable to any sector.
Just what's needed (document what's useful): Documenting what is NEEDED for control (critical, complex, risky activities, or those requiring consistency), NOT everything. Bloated documentation is counterproductive.
Common QHSE logic: Identifying issues and risks, putting measures in place, measuring, improving continuously — an approach shared by all three areas.
Lower back pain: Back ache, often linked to carrying loads and poor postures — a frequent cause of work stoppages.
Operational control & emergencies: Procedures for controlling activities with impacts; preparation for EMERGENCY SITUATIONS (spills, accidental pollution) — often the most impactful.
Occupational disease: Results from PROGRESSIVE EXPOSURE to a risk at work (chemicals, noise, repetitive movements → MSDs…). Develops over time, unlike a sudden accident.
Manual handling: Moving, carrying, lifting, pushing or pulling loads by human force — a major cause of health disorders (MSDs, back pain).
Updating the DUERP: To be updated regularly (at least annually depending on size) AND whenever something significant changes (new workstation/equipment, accident, development). A frozen/outdated DUERP is useless and non-compliant.
QHSE officer missions: Monitoring/compliance, risk assessment (DUERP), implementing measures/procedures, training/awareness, follow-up/improvement (indicators, audits, corrective actions), facilitation/communication.
Fire means and plan: Firefighting means (suitable extinguishers, alarm, smoke extraction), EVACUATION plan and instructions (clear/marked exits, assembly point, guides/sweepers).
Nonconformity (NC): A DEPARTURE from a requirement (rule, specification, standard, regulation, procedure). Detected by inspection, audit, complaint, accident, malfunction or field feedback.
Nonconformity / corrective action: Nonconformity: a departure from a requirement (rule, specification, standard). CORRECTIVE action: fixing a nonconformity that has occurred; PREVENTIVE action: preventing a potential nonconformity.
Standard = means, not end: ISO 9001 STRUCTURES the quality approach toward customer satisfaction and continuous improvement; it is a MEANS (beware of experiencing it as paper bureaucracy).
Voluntary standards (ISO): ISO 9001 (quality), 14001 (environment), 45001 (health-safety): voluntary certifications complementing the mandatory legal baseline.
Objectivity and independence: The auditor must be OBJECTIVE and INDEPENDENT (not auditing their own work), rely on FACTS/evidence, and be constructive (not accusatory).
Employer's safety obligation: In France (and comparably elsewhere), employers must take the measures needed to ensure safety and protect workers' physical and mental health.
PPE obligations: The employer PROVIDES suitable PPE FREE OF CHARGE and ensures it is worn; it must be suitable, compliant (standards), maintained; workers trained in its use and actually wearing it.
Emergency response organisation: Clear instructions (who alerts, how), emergency numbers displayed, procedures known to all — for a fast, coordinated response.
Stakeholders: Everyone concerned by the activity: employees, customers, suppliers, communities, society, the environment. CSR acts responsibly toward all of them.
PDCA (Deming wheel): The continuous improvement framework: Plan-Do-Check-Act, in a loop. Structures every improvement approach (quality, safety, environment).
Environmental performance: The goal of the EMS: REALLY REDUCING impacts (measured by indicators: consumption, waste, emissions) — not merely obtaining the certificate.
Hazard pictograms (GHS/CLP): Standardised international symbols (red diamonds) on labels: flame (flammable), skull (toxic), corrosion, exclamation mark (harmful/irritant), health hazard (CMR), environment… A reading reflex.
Action plan: The prevention measures decided from the DUERP: prioritised, scheduled, with owners and deadlines, then followed up. The DUERP must lead to concrete actions.
Pollution (air, water, soil): Harm to AIR (emissions, dust, odors), WATER (discharges, effluents) or SOIL (spills, contamination).
Why collective protection first: Collective protection protects ALL exposed people continuously, without depending on each person's behaviour; PPE only protects the wearer wearing it correctly — less reliable as the sole protection.
First aid: The immediate steps to assist a casualty while waiting for professional rescuers: protect, alert, rescue (making safe, stopping bleeding, recovery position, resuscitation…). The first minutes are decisive.
Prevention: All measures to AVOID or REDUCE risks — acting BEFORE harm occurs.
MSD prevention (order): 1) ELIMINATE/reduce handling (mechanical aids: trolleys, pallet trucks, hoists); 2) FIT OUT the workstation (ergonomics); 3) ORGANISE (rotation, breaks); 4) TRAIN in gestures and postures (as a complement).
Primary PSR prevention: Acting on ORGANISATIONAL CAUSES (reducing risk factors) — a priority, beyond merely helping suffering individuals (secondary/tertiary prevention, useful but insufficient alone).
Quality management principles: CUSTOMER focus, LEADERSHIP (management commitment), PEOPLE involvement, PROCESS approach, continuous improvement, EVIDENCE-based decisions (data), relationship management. The basis of ISO 9001.
General prevention principles: ≈ 9 principles setting the ORDER of action: AVOID risks > assess > tackle at source > adapt work to people > keep up with technology > substitute > plan > collective protection first > inform/train.
Collective first: A fundamental principle: COLLECTIVE protection takes PRIORITY; PPE is only a LAST RESORT, when the risk cannot otherwise be sufficiently reduced (eliminate > collective > individual).
Procedure: Describes HOW to carry out an activity/process (who does what, how, in what order) — standardizes and passes on the right way of doing things. A work instruction is more detailed (one specific task).
Process: A set of linked activities turning INPUT ELEMENTS into OUTPUT ELEMENTS, using resources (e.g. "handling an order": order → delivered, invoiced product).
Collective protection (CPE): Equipment that protects ALL exposed workers, with no individual action, by acting on the environment/source: guardrails, machine guards, extraction, ventilation, anti-slip flooring. EPC is the French acronym.
Personal protective equipment (PPE): Equipment worn by EACH worker, protecting the individual wearing it: helmet, safety shoes, gloves, goggles, hearing protection, mask, harness. EPI is the French acronym.
QHSE: Quality, Health, Safety, Environment (also QSE, HSE): a cross-functional role combining customer satisfaction/continuous improvement, protection of workers' health and safety, and control of environmental impacts.
QHSE is everyone's business: Each actor (management, managers, employees) is responsible for safety and quality at their own level; the QHSE officer facilitates and coordinates, but the approach is carried by all.
Quality: Lastingly satisfying customers and continuously improving products, services and processes. One of the three pillars of QHSE.
QHSE officer / manager: The person who STEERS and FACILITATES the QHSE approach (also QSE coordinator, prevention officer, HSE officer). A facilitator and expert adviser, not the sole person responsible.
Audit criteria: What reality is compared against: the standard (ISO), internal procedures, regulations, requirements. An audit records the GAPS between reality and the reference standard.
Employer responsibility: Primary responsibility for health-safety (and often quality/environment) lies with the EMPLOYER (management), and cascades to each manager and employee. The QHSE officer does not replace them.
Producer responsibility: Organisations are often RESPONSIBLE for their waste until its final disposal; duties (sorting, traceability, approved channels, register) apply (varying by country).
Risk: The LIKELIHOOD of a hazard causing harm, combined with the SEVERITY of that harm (likelihood × severity). Distinct from the hazard: risk links exposure to the hazard with its possible consequences.
Chemical risk: Linked to the use of HAZARDOUS PRODUCTS (solvents, acids, toxics, flammables, corrosives, carcinogens…). Major and sometimes INSIDIOUS (delayed health effects).
Fall risks: Same-level falls (slips, trips) or falls FROM HEIGHT (ladders, roofs, scaffolding) — among the most frequent and serious.
Manual handling / MSD risks: Linked to carrying loads and repetitive movements → musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), back pain. A major, growing stake.
Mechanical / electrical / chemical risks: Machines and tools (cuts, crushing); electricity (electrocution, burns); hazardous products (toxic, corrosive, flammable).
Occupational risks: The risks workers are exposed to in their activity. Numerous and varied; each workstation/activity has its own.
Psychosocial risks (PSR, RPS in French): Stress, harassment, burnout — a major stake, long underestimated (detailed in level 2-5).
CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility): The contribution of organisations to sustainable development: reconciling, voluntarily and in an integrated way, economic performance, social responsibility and environmental protection, toward all stakeholders. RSE is the French acronym.
Customer satisfaction: The ultimate goal: meeting customer expectations, even exceeding them — a satisfied customer comes back and recommends.
Workplace first-aider (SST): An employee TRAINED in first aid, present in workplaces to intervene in case of accident/malaise. The required number varies by country and size. SST is the French acronym.
Safety signage: STANDARDISED signs and colours (international codes) instantly communicating safety information, understood by all without text.
Relevant, legible signage: It must flag the REAL risks/instructions of the place, be VISIBLE and maintained, and NOT overloaded (too many signs kill the message).
Energy sufficiency: Consuming LESS energy by avoiding waste and optimizing uses (switching off, adjusting, insulating, avoiding excess). The priority (ahead of efficiency).
Safe storage: Safe conditions: ventilation, RETENTION (against spills), SEPARATION of INCOMPATIBLE products (acids/bases, oxidisers/flammables), labelling, limited quantities.
Work-related stress: An imbalance between perceived demands and the resources/means to cope (excessive workload, pressure, lack of autonomy or support).
Common high-level structure: ISO management standards (9001, 14001, 45001) share the same structure (context, leadership, planning, support, operation, evaluation, improvement) and the same logic (PDCA) — enabling integration.
Substitution (CMR): Replacing a hazardous product with a less hazardous one — a priority, especially for CMRs (carcinogenic, mutagenic, reprotoxic substances). After elimination, the best measure.
Quality management system (QMS): The organised whole (policy, objectives, processes, procedures, resources) for regularly delivering conforming products/services and pursuing customer satisfaction, in continuous improvement. SMQ is the French acronym.
Environmental management system (EMS): The organised whole (policy, aspects/impacts, objectives, operational control, measurement, improvement) for managing environmental impacts continuously rather than ad hoc. SME is the French acronym.
Integrated system (QSE / IMS): Bringing QUALITY (ISO 9001), HEALTH-SAFETY (ISO 45001) and ENVIRONMENT (ISO 14001) together into ONE management system: common policy, shared processes/documentation, combined audits, single review.
Dashboard: A concise, VISUAL medium (charts) gathering key indicators, tracking their TRENDS and comparing them against OBJECTIVES, for the right audiences.
MSDs (musculoskeletal disorders): Damage to muscles, tendons, joints (back, shoulders, wrists…) from exertion, constraining postures, REPETITIVE movements, lack of recovery. Develops PROGRESSIVELY; the leading cause of occupational diseases. TMS is the French acronym.
Sorting at source: Separating waste by category (paper/cardboard, plastics, metals, glass, organics, hazardous…) to enable recovery. MIXED waste recycles/recovers poorly.
Three pillars (3 Ps): ECONOMIC (Profit/prosperity: viable, ethical activity); SOCIAL/societal (People: working conditions, health-safety, rights, diversity, society); ENVIRONMENTAL (Planet: environment, climate, resources).
Types of processes: CORE (operational, creating value: design, produce, deliver); SUPPORT (providing resources: HR, purchasing, IT, maintenance); MANAGEMENT (steering: strategy, management, improvement).
Checking effectiveness: A crucial (often forgotten) step: verifying that the corrective action has indeed REMOVED the cause (the nonconformity no longer recurs).