Risk
Assessment is required to be carried out in all workplaces by the Management
of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1992 (SI 1992 No 2051) and is to
be conducted by competent persons on a regular basis, particularly where changes
are made to existing work processes or where new work or technology is introduced
into that workplace.
Equally
as important as identifying areas of potential loss in production, quality,
distribution, etc. is the need to identify areas of potential loss in health
& safety. Managing a business is about identifying areas of risk and controlling
them.
In terms
of health & Safety, identifying the hazards is the first step towards this
goal, followed by carrying out a risk assessment of those hazards and making
improvements where the risks are unacceptable.
The
process is a proactive measure to protect the business from the ravages of costly
accidents and incidents, those involving injury and non injury to personnel
as well as damage to property and the environment.
The
Risk Assessment programme is designed to allow Supervisors, Managers and workers
as a team, to carry out assessments in their own area of responsibility without
any previous knowledge of the process of risk assessment.
Each
task or process carried out in the workplace must be identified and a clear
picture of exactly how the task or process is carried out is drawn up. Using
this detailed knowledge, the user is guided through the process of risk assessment
by answering a series of questions within the programme, these questions being
designed to identify discreet areas of risk brought about by the circumstances
under which the task or process is performed. It goes without saying that the
results of the assessment will only be as good as the way in which the questions
are answered, i.e. truthfully and objectively.
When
all relevant questions are answered, the programme produces a report which is
printable by the user, giving recommended actions for Managers to carry out
in order to reduce the risk. The recommendations are prioritised into LOW, MEDIUM,
HIGH and VERY HIGH. The priority for action should always be to attend to the
Very High risk areas first, followed by successive actions in descending order
(High followed by Medium and so on).
Sample - Risk Assessment
Ideally,
when a set of actions have been carried out, the task or process should be re-assessed
to ensure that the desired results have been achieved. You will invariably find
that where you have reduced risk, you will have improved efficiency and moral
of the workforce by improving working conditions.
Health and Safety Risk - Assessments - Insurance Linked - Analyses
Accidents - COSHH - Health and Safety Audit - Permit to Work
