Risk Assessment
There is no such thing as a risk
free workplace but you can minimise threats to health and safety
through risk assessment. The following steps are the key to making
health and safety pay:
Step 1:
Look for the hazards
Step 2: Decide who might be harmed
Step 3: Evaluate the risks and whether existing
precautions are adequate, or whether more can be done
Step 4: Record your findings
Step 5: Review and revise your assessment
Step 1: Looking for hazards in
the workplace
Identify the hazards, which
potentially cause harm to your work force or visiting public. The
following are key areas to consider:
- Slipping / tripping hazards,
like poorly maintained floors or stairs
- Fire, like flammable
materials
- Chemicals, like battery acid
- Moving parts of machinery,
like blades
- Working at height, such as
from mezzanine floors or scaffold
- Ejection of material, like
from plastic moulding
- Pressure systems, like steam
boilers
- Vehicles, like fork-lift
trucks
- Electricity, look for poor
wiring
- Dust from grinding or wood
- Fumes, from welding or
chemical
- Manual handling
- Noise, damaging workers'
hearing
- Poor lighting
- Low temperature
Step 2: Who might be harmed?
Consider groups of people doing
similar work, or who may be affected.
- Office staff
- Maintenance personnel
- Contractors
- People sharing your workplace
- Operators
- Cleaners
- Members of the public
Don't forget:
- Staff with disabilities
- Visitors
- Inexperienced staff
- Lone workers
They're potentially more
vulnerable.
Step 3: Is there more you can
do to control the risk?
For the hazards listed, do your
precautions:
- Meet the standards set by a
legal requirement?
- Comply with a recognised
industry standard?
- Represent good practice?
- Reduce risk as far as
reasonably practicable?
Have you provided:
- Adequate information?
- Sufficient training?
- Adequate systems or
procedures?
If you have taken care of all
the above then you need to indicate the precautions in place and
consistently keep them up to date. If your risk control falls short,
create an 'action list' of points to improve upon.
Step 4: Record your findings
Keep a book handy to all
relevant staff and add to it as and when you need to.
Step 5: Review and revise
Reduce complacency and ensure
your risk control remains at its optimum level by constantly reviewing
and updating your hazard precautions. Identify problems and take the
relevant procedures to reduce the risks. This is especially important
when making changes to your workplace, like introducing new machinery,
substances and practices. All may require significant changes to your
health and safety procedures
see also Business Link
Factsheet
For more information about cost
savings please visit the 'Ready Reckoner' website at
http://www.hse.gov.uk/costs/
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