---
title: clsHazardGroup
summary: API reference for clsHazardGroup.
status: draft
owner: SAIF Doc Gen
last_reviewed: 2026-08-21
library: SAIF.Business.Policy
reference_type: package
---

# clsHazardGroup

`clsHazardGroup` is the read-only SAIF BOF business object representing a single hazard-group reference row, hydrated from `HAZARD_GROUP` inside `clsHazardGroupCollection`'s retrieve lifecycle ([OP-02](../../operations-processes.md)). It exposes hazard-group identity, description, and effective/expiration dates to callers of `clsHazardGroupCollection.GetHazardGroups`, and enforces read-only semantics by throwing on any create/update/delete SQL access ([BR-POL-002](../../business-rules.md#br-pol-002-hazard-group-data-is-read-only)).

## Purpose
- Represent a single hazard group's identity, descriptive text, and effective/expiration window as an immutable BOF business object.
- Provide identity-based equality keyed on `HazardGroupID` so collections and callers can compare/deduplicate hazard groups consistently ([BR-POL-003](../../business-rules.md#br-pol-003-hazard-group-identity)).
- Reject any attempted create/update/delete via its nested `Criteria` class, enforcing the library's query-only surface for this entity ([BR-POL-002](../../business-rules.md#br-pol-002-hazard-group-data-is-read-only)).

## Context
- Namespace: `SAIF.Business.Policy`
- Assembly/package: `SAIF.Business.Policy` (`PolicyCommon`)

## Public members
| Member | Signature | Purpose |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `HazardGroupID` | `ReadOnly Property HazardGroupID As String` | Unique identifier for the hazard group; also the identity used by `Equals`/`GetHashCode`/`ToString`. |
| `NCCIHazardGroupCode` | `ReadOnly Property NCCIHazardGroupCode As String` | NCCI-assigned hazard group code for the row. |
| `ShortDescription` | `ReadOnly Property ShortDescription As String` | Short display description of the hazard group. |
| `LongDescription` | `ReadOnly Property LongDescription As String` | Full display description of the hazard group. |
| `CreateUser` | `ReadOnly Property CreateUser As String` | User identifier that created the row. |
| `UpdateUser` | `ReadOnly Property UpdateUser As String` | User identifier that last updated the row; unwrapped from `clsSmartString`. |
| `EffectiveDate` | `ReadOnly Property EffectiveDate As Date` | Date the hazard group becomes effective; forms the lower bound of BR-POL-001's effective-dating window. |
| `CreateDate` | `ReadOnly Property CreateDate As Date` | Date the row was created. |
| `ExpirationDate` | `ReadOnly Property ExpirationDate As Date` | Date the hazard group expires; unwrapped from `clsSmartDate.Value`; a missing value is treated as open-ended by BR-POL-001. |
| `UpdateDate` | `ReadOnly Property UpdateDate As Date` | Date the row was last updated; unwrapped from `clsSmartDate.Value`. |
| `MyCriteria` | `ReadOnly Property MyCriteria As Criteria` | Strongly typed access to the object's `Criteria`; `<Browsable(False)>`, casts `MyBase.CriteriaObject`. |
| `IsValid` | `Overrides ReadOnly Property IsValid As Boolean` | Delegates to `MyBase`; no additional validation is layered on. |
| `IsSavable` | `Overrides ReadOnly Property IsSavable As Boolean` | Delegates to `MyBase`; combined with the throwing SQL properties this keeps the object read-only. |
| `Equals(objA, objB)` | `Overloads Shared Function Equals(objA As clsHazardGroup, objB As clsHazardGroup) As Boolean` | Type-checked pairwise comparison by `HazardGroupID` (BR-POL-003). |
| `Equals(Object)` | `Overloads Function Equals(obj As Object) As Boolean` | Compares this instance to another object by `HazardGroupID` when the object is a `clsHazardGroup`. |
| `Equals(clsHazardGroup)` | `Overloads Function Equals(other As clsHazardGroup) As Boolean` | Compares this instance to another `clsHazardGroup` by `HazardGroupID`. |
| `GetHashCode()` | `Overrides Function GetHashCode() As Integer` | Hash keyed on `HazardGroupID`, keeping hash and equality consistent. |
| `ToString()` | `Overrides Function ToString() As String` | Returns the `HazardGroupID` as the string representation. |

## Behavioral notes
- Identity, hashing, and string conversion are all keyed solely on `HazardGroupID` (BR-POL-003); two rows with the same id but different descriptive text are considered equal.
- `Load`/`Fill` (protected/private, not public surface) map `HAZARD_GROUP` columns to properties and call `MarkOld()` so the framework treats retrieved instances as persisted, not new.*
- Every non-retrieve SQL property on the nested `Criteria` class (`CreateSQL`/`InsertSQL`/`UpdateSQL`/`DeleteSQL`) is `Friend` and throws `ApplicationException(clsConstants.Messages.InvalidSQLProperty)`, enforcing BR-POL-002 at the object level in addition to the owning collection.

## Constraints and usage notes
- Instances are created only by the framework during `clsHazardGroupCollection` retrieval (`Load`) or via the object's `Protected Friend New()`; there is no public constructor for ad hoc instantiation.
- No in-repo consumer of `clsHazardGroup` was found; it exists for other applications that consume this library.*

> **Note:** Statements marked with * were inferred from code structure, naming conventions, or
> contextual evidence where direct confirmation was not available in source artifacts.

## Sources
- SAIF.Business.Policy/clsHazardGroup.vb