You may have heard the term risk assessment from visiting Environmental Health staff carrying out inspections, from trade magazines and publications, and from a variety of other sources. It follows the principle of self management, where the employer is responsible for their own workplace and how other groups of people, employees or public, are affected by it. The principle underpinning this concept is to be aware of hazards and control the risks.

 

Risk assessment is a legal requirement under Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. An employer or self-employed person must carry out a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks arising out of or in connection with work to employees, the public and themselves. Accidents often result in lost money, for example, through staff illness, and compensation claims. 

 

 

A risk assessment is a thorough examination of what could cause harm to people in your work.

The definitions for hazard and risk are:

 

Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 seeks to ensure that the hazards are identified and assessed and action taken to minimise the likelihood of the hazard(s) being realised.

 

 

Keep it simple,

 

 

Take a look at the workplace, for example awkward corners, a jutting drawer of the filing cabinet, how is machinery used, practices in the workplace: are people zigzagging past boxes that should have been stacked ages ago, while walking over flexes consider the accident book, are there any accidents that could have been prevented?

 

Be realistic and look for the obvious. In an office, do you store the filing on a high shelf? How do people place and retrieve the files? How heavy are they? How secure is the shelf?

 

In a warehouse, do you know the maximum weights you can safely stack? Do employees observe them? How do they stack?

 

Look at potentially dangerous substances. Do you have the safety data sheets, or manufacturers instructions in the event of an accident?

Look for hazards that could cause injury or affect several people. It is important to ask and involve your employees, they know what happens on a day-to-day basis.

 

 

Consider how many people might be harmed and how severe the worst case scenario would be. The more people in danger and the more serious the accident, the more important the controls become. Include specific groups of people such as young workers, trainees, or pregnant people; they may need extra consideration.

 

 

Each hazard has the potential to cause harm. You have looked for the hazards, now you need to decide the likelihood of them being realised. 

 

Many activities in the workplace are covered by regulations, such as dangerous machinery, hazardous substances, manual handling, etc. Are you doing what the law asks you to? Have industry guides, good trade practice and standards been put in place?

 

You should aim to eliminate (if possible) and certainly reduce the risk of the hazard occurring. The law says you must do what is reasonably practicable to make your work safe.

 

Draw up a priority action list, with hazards that have the potential to cause the greatest harm and for the highest number of people at the top of the list. Look at ways to eliminate the hazard altogether. If that is not possible look to control the hazards so that the chance of them being realised is minimised.

 

When controlling risks follow the principles below:

 

It need not be expensive; installing a mirror around a blind corner or putting non-slip mats on a slippery floor are inexpensive precautions, or arranging for fire drills, to test your fire precautions. Failure to take simple precautions can cost a lot of money if an accident does happen.

 

 

The law on this is clear. Every employer and every self-employed person must make a suitable and sufficient risk assessment. 

Ask yourself if you can demonstrate the following:

If you employ five or more people, you must record your significant findings and keep the written record in an easily retrievable format as proof for visiting inspectors or any civil liability action. It helps to demonstrate you have done what the law asks you to. Staff may also find it useful to refer to the document.

 

Anything that introduces a hazard must trigger a review of the risk assessment. For example, if you purchase new machinery, change a process or procedure, you should review your risk assessment.  New hazards must be considered in their own right and, again, do all you can to minimise or eliminate the risk.

 

It is good practice to review your assessment on a regular basis to check for new hazards and see if the control measures are still effective. Remember to involve your staff as they often work with the hazards on a regular basis.

 

 

Keep it simple and reduce the risk to the lowest level reasonably practicable.

If you would like further advice, please contact Environmental Health at the Civic Offices or telephone (023) 9244 6654. Alternatively you can email us or contact the HSE Infoline on 08701 545500