How to conduct an effective risk assessment

Does the topic of risk assessment make you feel overwhelmed and underprepared? Then you are not alone. Risk assessments can be time-consuming and often seem laborious. ‘What could go wrong if I didn’t do one?’ you might think. ‘Will some quick notes suffice?’ This is where employers can end up in a lot of trouble with little or no risk assessments carried out within the workplace. If anything was to happen, the employee has every right to take it further, as you an employer, are legally required by law, to protect your employees from harm. A lack of regard for risk assessments can end up costing employers a lot of money and huge damage to their reputation, as well as allowing injuries that were potentially unavoidable.

As stated under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, an employer’s basic requirement involves:

·???????Identifying what in the workplace could cause illness or injury. These are called hazards.

·???????Deciding how likely it is that this risk could cause harm and how serious this harm could be. These are risks.

·???????Taking action to eliminate the hazard or if this isn’t possible, ways to control the risk from causing greater harm.

No idea where to start with a risk assessment?

It can be overwhelming imagining all the hazards in every single area of your workplace! You can conduct this process yourself or you can appoint someone to do it for you We would recommend starting with a walk around of your workplace throughout differing points of the day.

Make a note of things you see using this list below:

·???????What equipment are your employees using that pose a potential risk, no matter how small. Are these in wide use or are they specialist equipment?

·???????How are your employees are conducting themselves? Would any of their actions or behaviour cause harm? Is anyone’s work practice dangerous or unsafe?

·???????Are there any chemicals in use?

·???????What is the state of your building / workplace like? Are there any areas that are requiring attention? Maybe repair or improvements to make safer.

·???????Another tip from the HSE is to look at old accident records from your workplace to find any hazards that you may not notice otherwise.

·???????Consider all aspects of the job roles. There may be jobs that are only done annually or on the odd occasion that you may have forgotten to note on your walk around.

Once you have this list ready, begin to note ways in which these actions, behaviours and environments may cause harm to employees or the public such as visitors or contractors. Even if the risk is highly unlikely, make a note of it.

You may also want to consider speaking to your workforce to gain an insight into any ideas or opinions they have, as well as identifying vulnerable workers, such as pregnant or disabled employees.

When the hazards and possible risks are noted, it is now time to assess the likelihood of these risks. You could use a 1-10 scale or a high unlikely to highly likely scale. You also need to determine how serious an injury this risk might cause. Now, you need to consider what actions you are taking to control the risks. Could these risks be lowered even further with additional precautions in place? Can you change the way the job is carried out to lower the risks? Maybe using better and improved equipment with higher safety precautions or providing specialist clothing and equipment to protect workers. These can then be put into an action plan to be put into place. It is known that all risks cannot be removed all together but if you have done everything reasonably possible within your realm of resources, such as money, this is enough.

If you are an employer of 5 or more, you must record your findings stating what hazards you have found, the risks and the precautions you are putting in place.

Once you have written your plan, the precautions you put into place must then be reviewed to ensure they are effective. Reviews must also be conducted if there are any new or leaving staff, there is a change in a process or new chemicals, or equipment are being implemented. You can also make improvements and learn from any accidents that may have occurred and make changes to your risk controls. All this must be documented and kept up-to-date in the risk assessment records.

This risk assessment can be done for employees in all workplaces but for those working in the education sector, additional risk assessments are required to consider the students within the premises.

FusionHR works with Stallard Kane as a Health and Safety partner to support our schools, colleges and Trusts If you require any support with Health and Safety, leave a message on the website or call us on 01924 827869.

Source: Health and Safety Executive – Managing risks and risk assessment at work.