HOW TO ASSESS THE RISKS IN YOUR WORKPLACE
HOW TO ASSESS
THE RISKS IN YOUR WORKPLACE
Follow the five
steps in assessing risk and you have a safer workplace:
The risks are
well known and the necessary control measures are easy to apply. You probably
already know whether, for example, employees who move heavy loads and so could
harm their backs, or people who are most likely to slip or trip. If so, check
that reasonable precautions to avoid injury are in place.
If you are not
confident, get help from someone who is competent. In all cases, make sure that
you involve other staff in the process.
When thinking
about your risk assessment, remember:
a hazard is anything that may cause
harm, such as chemicals, electricity, working from ladders, an open drawer,
wet/slippery floor, inattention to job at hand etc;
the risk is the chance, high or low,
that somebody could be harmed by these and other hazards, together with an
indication of how serious the harm could be.
Step 1: Identify the hazards
First you need to
work out how people could be harmed. When you work in a place everyday it is
easy to overlook some hazards, so here are some tips to help you identify the
ones that matter:
Walk around your workplace and look at what could
reasonably be expected to cause harm.
Ask other employees what they think. They may have noticed
things that are not immediately obvious to you.
Check manufacturers’ instructions or data sheets (MSDS) for
chemicals and equipment as they can be very helpful in spelling out the hazards
and putting them in their true perspective.
Have
a look back at accident and ill-health records – these often help to identify
the less obvious hazards.
Remember to think about long-term hazards to health (e.g. high levels of noise or
exposure to harmful substances) as well as safety hazards.
Step 2: Decide who might be harmed and how
For each hazard
you need to be clear about who might be harmed; it will help you identify the
best way of managing the risk. That doesn’t mean listing everyone by name, but
rather identifying groups of people (e.g. ‘people working in the storeroom’ or
‘passers-by’).
In each case,
identify how they might be harmed, i.e. what type of injury or ill health might
occur. For example, ‘shelf stackers may suffer back injury from repeated
lifting’.
Step 3: Evaluate the risks and decide on
precautions
Having spotted
the hazards, you then have to decide what to do about them. The law requires
you to do everything ‘reasonably practicable’ to protect people from harm. You
can work this out for yourself, but the easiest way is to compare what you are
doing with good practice.
When controlling
risks, apply the principles below, if possible in the following order:
(a)try
a less risky option (e.g. switch to using a less hazardous chemical); (b)
prevent access to the hazard (c) organize work to reduce exposure to the hazard
(d) issue and put to use personal
protective equipment (e) provide welfare facilities
Step 4: Record your findings and implement them
Putting the
results of your risk assessment into practice will make a difference when
looking after people and the business.
Writing down the
results of your risk assessment, and share them with other staff. It is useful so that you can review it at a
later date if, for example, something changes.
When writing down
your results, keep it simple, for example ‘tripping over rubbish: bins
provided, staff instructed, and weekly housekeeping checks’.
Step 5: Review your risk
assessment and update if necessary
Look at your risk
assessment again. Have there been any changes? Are there improvements you still
need to make? Have your workers spotted a problem? Have you learnt anything
from accidents or near misses? Make sure your risk assessment stays up to date.
Set a review date
for this risk assessment. Write it down and note it in your diary as an annual
event.
HOW TO ASSESS THE RISKS IN YOUR WORKPLACE
Reviewed by salmirc
on
04:59
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Reviewed by salmirc
on
04:59
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