Risk Assessment
Javoris Cox
Identify the hazards
- Check manufacturers' instructions or data sheets for chemicals and equipment as they can be very helpful in spelling out the hazards and putting them in their true perspective
- Look back at your accident and ill-health records - these often help to identify the less obvious hazards
- Take account of non-routine operations (eg maintenance, cleaning operations or changes in production cycles)
- Remember to think about long-term hazards to health (eg high levels of noise or exposure to harmful substances)
- Visit the HSE website. HSE publishes practical guidance on hazards and how to control them
Decide who might be harmed and how
Remember: young workers , migrant workers , new or expectant mothers, people with disabilities,
Evaluate the risks
Your risk assessment should only include what you could reasonably be expected to know - you are not expected to anticipate unforeseeable risks.
Record your significant findings
If you have fewer than five employees you don’t have to write anything down. But it is useful to do this so you can review it at a later date, for example if something changes. If you have five or more employees you are required by law to write it down.
Review your risk assessment and update if necessary
Few workplaces stay the same. Sooner or later, you will bring in new equipment, substances and procedures that could lead to new hazards. So it makes sense to review what you are doing on an ongoing basis, look at your risk assessment again and ask yourself:
- Have there been any significant changes?
- Are there improvements you still need to make?
- Have your workers spotted a problem?
- Have you learnt anything from accidents or near misses?