Copyright of SpringBoard Safety Services 2011 - Terms & Conditions Risk Assessments Risk assessments are the cornerstone of UK health and safety legislation, and as such- not surprisingly – they are a legal requirement that many companies still get prosecuted  by simply not having them or a plan to implement the findings. Risk assessments are not there to stop us doing something but rather to make sure that if we do it – it is safe to do. That might mean changing how we do something, or putting extra controls in place – whatever we need to make it “safe”.  Risk assessments, as the HSE say, are about risk management NOT risk elimination. Controls Controls put in place to minimise the risk depend upon what the hazard(s) are but could well include things like training, safe systems of work (a documented way of completing the specific task), inspecting equipment and PPE (personal protective equipment) to name just a few examples. How far you go with controls depends upon on the risk – in most cases the law requires you only to do what is ‘reasonably practicable’. What is a Risk Assessment? Many people get worried even at the very thought of having to complete a risk assessment. A risk assessment, at its most basic, is simply determining what the hazard is (fire, entrapment, electrocution etc.),  then coming to a conclusion on how likely the event is to happen and the severity of injury should the event happen. Having completed you must decide what the risk is and what (if anything) needs to done to reduce the risk to an acceptable level. The HSE (Health and Safety Executive) have published their “5 steps to risk assessment”. Their 5 steps are: 1. Identify the hazards 2. Decide who might be harmed – and how 3. Evaluate the risks and decide on the required precautions 4. Record the findings and implement them 5. Review the assessment and update as required Remember a risk assessment is relevant to reduce potential accidents as well as ill health. Competency These simple steps form the basis of all risk assessments but it is important to realise that risk assessments MUST be completed wherever a significant risk exists, and they must be “suitable and sufficient”. The term “suitable and sufficient” means that the risk assessments need to be completed by a competent person, so that the hazards are properly identified and the risks are properly assessed. Guidance There are numerous guides as to what is acceptable, these include ACOPs (approved codes of practice), British Standards, various HSE guidance documents series such as HSG, INDG, WIS and a lot more – many can be found on the SpringBoard Safety Services website (www.springboardsafetyservices.com).  Generally, if you have adopted the relevant guidance then it will be difficult for the courts to prove negligence, should there be an incident. By following the relevant guidance then this reduces the likelihood of an incident. Types of Risk Assessment There are many risks within the average workplace, and as such different risk assessments will be needed to look at the different hazards. Here are some of the most common, but there are many more: Activity (or workplace) assessments: As the name suggests the assessment looks at the activities that are performed. In some cases the operators or their line managers are in the best position to conduct a risk assessment on the task, as they know what really goes on! PUWER (Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998) Assessment: These PUWER assessments are all to do with the safety of machinery.  The complexity and hazards of the machine really decide if a specialist should be employed to perform the PUWER assessment. Depending upon the risks extensive use of British or EN standards may be needed. More of these assessments next month! Fire Risk Assessment: The release of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, meant that the requirement for businesses to conduct their own fire risk assessments was now a legal requirement. For almost all businesses a fire has the greatest potential to kill more people than any other risk. Workplace Transport Assessment: The HSE has put a great deal of emphasis on workplace transport in recent times, due mainly to the significant number of incidents involving pedestrians and vehicles. Occupational Health Risk Assessments: There are a number of occupational health biased risk assessments many of which can affect a greater number of people than most machine or task assessments do. Many issues can also develop unseen over a period of years. Manual Handling Assessments: Injuries from manual handling can be both instant as well as developing over a long period of time. In some cases manual handling injuries can curtail a persons working life. Noise: It’s estimated that some companies pay out more in NIHL claims (Noise Induced Hearing Loss) than any other type of claim. It is further said that the number of people affected by noise is still growing despite the general level of hearing damage awareness that now exists. To Sum Up Risk assessments are a legal requirement as such they must be suitable and sufficient, recorded and actions implemented from the findings. A competently conducted risk assessment will not normally ban a task but it may require practical improvements to reduce the risk to an acceptable level. Copyright of SpringBoard Safety Services – July 2009 www.springboardsafetyservices.com mail@springboardsafetyservices.com p Providing you credit us with the creation of this article you may publish it without our specific permission. Copyright of SpringBoard Safety Services 2011 - Terms & Conditions