The Management of Health and Safety at Work is outlined and reinforced by setout laws and regulations. Moreover, introduce basic roles employers regarding health and safety at work. we already published before in former articles, go back check it from here, (6 Enemies Vs 6 Friends Critical for HSE Career success). “Risk assessment” is process of identifying hazards and assessing their risks and define the control measure to decide if it is enough or more controls are needed. Beyond workplace perspective, Risk assessment is a simple daily unintended activity, for example but not limited
example. 1
example. 2
Before crossing the road, you look left and right for safe passing
Before crossing the road, you look left and right for safe passing
These processes of simple risk assessments normally done very quickly may be without even conscious, so by nature you are a “Risk assessor”. Regarding workplace risk assessment; consider it as an extension of this automatic self-preservation mechanism.
Major Objectives
Comprehensive aim of risk assessment is ensuring risks and hazards are eliminated, or at least minimized as much as possible by the correct controls of relevant standards. Risk assessment enables employer to:
- Prevent death and injury (more detail coming)
- Prevent accidents leading to property damages, which in turn
- Prevent direct and indirect costs (article Health and Safety Management, Is It a Financial Burden)
- Avoid legal breaches, which might result in fines, prosecution
Basic Factors Influencing Risk Assessment
a) Legal Requirement
Article (Core Elements to Manage Health and Safety) covered major elements including risk assessment and legal duties of employers, complying with national and international regulations such as The ILO convention C155, article 15 which imposes a protection duty on employer to ensure his safe workplace , so far as is reasonably practicable, without risk to employees, then comes role of risk assessment to determine whether operations, tasks, activities are “reasonably safely controlled ” or not.
The Risk Assessor
Legal requirements not only impose the provision of risk assessment on the employer but also stipulate that it be assessed by competent persons who have sufficient training, knowledge, experience, and specific skills with risk assessment. The more people assigned to carry out the risk assessment, the better the quality and accuracy will be since they are not relying on one person’s opinion and judgement (two pairs of eyes are better than one); more views and experiences result in a more successful assessment by:
- Avoid missing hazards and risks identifications.
- Recommend solutions that might be out of the box.
- Gain experience in the practice of risk assessment.
- “Participation” influences safety culture positively.
Your hands do not come with a lifetime warranty.
– Safety Advisor
How to Carry Out Risk Assessment
a) Identifying Hazards
It is important to identify both the safety hazards that might give rise to immediate physical injury, and the health hazards that might cause disease or ill-health.
1. Safety Inspection
2. Task analysis
3. Legislation
4. Manufacturers’ information
5. Incident Data
b) Identifying who might be at Risk
In addition to identifying hazards and risks at work, identify persons at risk, think not only of those carrying out particular activities but also of those who may be affected by those activities:
1. Maintenance staff
2. Housekeepers (cleaners)
3. Contractors
4. Visitors
5. Members of public
c) Evaluating The Risk
Hazards are classified to physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic and psychological, while Risk can be described as “very high”, “high”, “medium”, “low” or “insignificant”. By calculation equation:
Risk = Likelihood x Severity
Likelihood |
| 1 = extremely unlikely |
| 2 = unlikely |
| 3 = possible |
| 4 = likely |
| 5 = very probable |
Severity |
| 1 = very minor injury |
| 2 = first-aid injury |
| 3 = lost-time injury |
| 4 = hospital treatment |
| 5 = disabling injury |
d) Recording Significant Findings
The significant previous findings of a risk assessment should be recorded to provide a final conclusion of the hazards in the workplace, the extent of the risks that they present, and the actual control measures if they are adequate or more required
e) Review of Risk Assessment
Risk assessment should be reviewed companies at any time if found inadequate. Whenever there to any significant changes to workplace processes or design or after a accident