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Industrial hygienists and OH&S professionals address risk‐related issues both the local level (single plant, shop floor, etc.), and at the enterprise level (numerous business units and plants, etc.). OHSMS approaches provide a framework that supports industrial hygienists and OH&S professionals in performing workplace risk assessments. As described in ANSI Z690.3‐2011, “Risk Assessment Techniques” (42) the purpose of a risk assessment is to “provide evidence‐based information and analysis to make informed decisions on how to treat particular risks and how to select between options.” This description points to an industrial hygienists responsibility.

At the local level industrial hygienists typically collect exposure data to compare with established exposure limits. They compare a substance's hazard to the exposure potential. This approach is directly comparable to the OHSMS risk analysis process with a focus on exposure assessment rather than a broad focus on the risk to the management system as a whole.

At the enterprise level industrial hygienists focus on risk management. They evaluate risk events in terms of severity and likelihood, but define these elements in terms of harm to the enterprise over the enterprise's life. These comparisons are often not to established standards, but to more subjective, internally established standards based on the organizations risk tolerance.

FIGURE 4 Relationship between health and enterprise risk assessments.

Figure 4 depicts the relationship between the traditional IH worker health risk assessment and its potential to impact the organization as a whole. An industrial hygienist evaluates exposure risks; when that risk has the potential for severe harm or to affect a large group of individuals it has the potential to adversely impact the organization.