Risk Assessment Training | JCH Safety

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RISK ASSESSMENT TRAINING

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Welcome to the online Risk Assessment Course. This training course has been developed to help you understand the process of risk assessment; which is fundamental to managing safety risks in the workplace. Please pay careful attention to the information contained in this training presentation and take the short multiple choice quiz at the end. In order to obtain your certificate you will need to pass the quiz. Don’t worry, you can re-sit if required. Please use the right arrow key on your keyboard to move through the slides and if you need to go back to look at something just click the left arrow.


Okay, let’s get started.

Please work your way through the training material and once you have completed all of the sections you can access the online quiz. It’s located on this webpage to the right hand side of the training. If you want to enlarge these slides please click the button below that looks like this

Course Outline

Workplace accidents have the potential to kill, hurt and cause damage to property. Many of the causes of accidents can be prevented; the objective of this training is to help you to take responsibility for what is going on around you at work and to ensure that you go home safely at the end of each and everyday. The best way to manage risk is to carry out a risk assessment and this training will help you to know how to do it.

Aims and Objectives of Training

To understand what a hazard is.

To understand what a risk is.

To look at the 5 Steps to Risk Assessment.

To understand how to carry out risk assessments relevant to your work.

To learn how to apply control measures to reduce the risks associated with work


“Why do I need to do a risk assessment….”

You have carefully thought through all the issues.

You have done the task a hundred times.

It comes naturally to you.

You know what you are doing, it is what you have been trained to do all your life.

So nothing could possibly go wrong……..

COULD IT????Risk Assessments have the power to keep

you safe from harm if you incorporate them into your working style.


By identifying the hazards, you can then assess the level of risk associated with that hazard and put in place controls to manage it. In a moment we will have a look at the terminology to make sure that you clearly understand the terms. But first a little bit about the history of risk assessments.

Risk Assessment – A Brief History

We have always assessed risk when making decisions as it is part of human nature to preserve our health and life and that of those around us.

The concept of written risk assessments were introduced with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, as a way to manage safety.

The concept and practice of carrying out risk assessments was expanded upon in the Management of Health and Safety Regulations 1992 (1999).

Risk Assessments are integral to all other appropriate legislation i.e. COSHH, PPE, Noise, Asbestos, Work at Heights etc.

Risk Assessments

So what is a risk assessment?

“A systematic evaluation of the work place and/or other activities which identifies the hazards present and gives an estimate of the extent of the risks involved”


Risk Assessments are legal documents and are required to be carried out by law. Here’s why:

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (amended 2006)

“Risk assessment3.—(1) Every employer shall make a suitable and sufficient assessment of:-

(a) the risks to the health and safety of his employees to which they are exposed whilst they are at work; and(b) the risks to the health and safety of persons not in his employment arising out of or in connection with the conduct by him of his undertaking.for the purpose of identifying the measures he needs to take to comply with the requirements and prohibitions imposed upon him by or under the relevant statutory provisions and by Part II of the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997”

The extract above is copied directly; the references to “him” and “his” should not be considered discriminatory.

Legal Summary

You may or may not have direct responsibility for carrying out risk assessments but you do need to understand them and know how to read them!


Hazard’s

Anything that may cause harm.

Examples: a wet floor, an unprotected edge, sunlight, poorly constructed scaffold and overloaded shelving.

Risk’s

The probability of harm occurring.

In other words the extent of the likelihood of an accident happening.

Understanding the Terms

Chance of exposure to the hazard X

Consequences of the accident (severity)=

LEVEL OF RISK

Risk Assessment

Risk assessments can be expressed as an equation which helps you to quantify risk.


Task or Area Based?

Risk assessments can be done in many different ways. The important thing is to do one and then to record it. The style of the risk assessment can vary, there is no one template for doing a risk assessment. Your employer will have templates you can use for the style that they prefer to use so please ask them for their specific design.

When carrying out risk assessments you will need to consider your approach to it. Do you need to assess a task in isolation or do you need to consider it in terms of the process, the environment and the specific individuals carrying out the task? For example a generic window cleaning risk assessment would not fit all circumstances. As a result an area based assessment of the task would be a much better way to assess this risk. Also, a risk assessment for a disabled person would have different results than for an able bodied person. The next few slides explore task and area based approaches to risk assessment.

Think it over and where possible always have a specific risk assessment for each task.


Normally used for identifying common hazards in the workplace in specific types of areas such as offices, workshops, classrooms or bar areas.

Will also be used to identify TASKS to be individually risk assessed.

Area Based

A risk assessment of administrative areas will normally lead to the identification of the following hazards:

Slip, trips and falls. Electrical Safety. Computer workstation hazards. Manual Handling.

Area Based Example

Having conducted an area risk assessment the hazards identified will then need to be dealt with. This will sometimes be done through a company policy or through a safe system of work. The common hazard of slips trips and falls could possibly be dealt with through a generic risk assessment for all offices rather than doing a risk assessment for slips, trips and falls for every office in a building for example. The company could then issue a working policy for managing this risk in the workplace. It is important that an area based risk assessment highlights all of the significant hazards and that these are then controlled.


Task Based Task Based Example

Installing carpet tiles:

When assessing the risk associated with this task it would be important to consider the risks associated with manual handling the boxes, the risks from the adhesives used, the risks from craft the possible risks associated with electricity such as from cables and any other specific risks in the environment such as from violence, plumbing pipes or from any other hazard that could be present. Each task needs to be thought through sensibly and findings recorded.

A specific task or job will be risk assessed and All the hazards associated with the task will be assessed:

Electrical

Biological

Chemical

Radiation

Manual handling

Falls from height, etc


5 Steps To Risk Assessment Identify the hazards.

Identify who might be harmed and how.

Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions.

Record your significant findings.

Review your assessment and update if necessary.


Step One:

Identify the hazards

This is quite simply about looking at the area or the task(s) and thinking about what could potentially cause harm.

Common hazards include:

Electricity. Slips, trips and falls. Working at height. Fire. Equipment.

Look at the area and task(s), think it through and record the hazards that you can identify.

Methods Of Identifying Hazards

Health & safety audits.

Academic journals.

Research papers.

Consultation with other co-workers.

Accident reports.

Trade organisations.

Observation.

HSE statistics.


Methods Of Identifying Hazards

Don’t be nervous of using Google, consulting with similar Institutions or businesses, or asking other departments for the benefit of their experience.

Seek outside advice such as from manufacturers of equipment and materials, from safety consultants or from trade organisations.

Seek internal advice such as from colleagues, the safety committee and any specialists/line managers who may have relevant experience.

Remember to not be embarrassed to ask for help.


Step Two:

Employees. Contractors. Visitors. General public. Children. People who share the workplace.

When considering who may be at risk it must be people specific

Don’t forget vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities, pregnant staff and those with little experience or training.

Who Might Be At Risk?

Cleaning the floor could pose more of a risk than you first might think!

Identify who might be harmed…

Again, observe the area or the task and think to yourself who could be hurt in this area or by this task? If you are assessing an area there may well be a lot of potential people at risk such as employees, the general public, possibly children or even patients depending on what the area is. If it is a task you are assessing it might just be one person at risk although think it through because there may be more people at risk than you first would think.


Step Three:

1. Hazards and hazardous situations are systematically identified i.e. observe and record potential hazards.

2. The level of risk associated with each hazard (situation) is estimated.

Risk Analysis

Evaluate the risk:

It is really important that the risk be evaluated. When doing this consider who might be harmed, how they might be harmed and the extent of the potential harm.

If an incident happened what is likely outcome and also how likely is it that the incident would ever happen? You need to think about the significant risks. In other word potential hazards that could cause harm but be realistic.

The risk of lion attack in Derby is probably nearly non-existent and so it is not a significant risk. However, to a game keeper in Kenya it is very much a clear and present danger!

Hazard severity x likelihood of occurrence = risk

Let’s work through an example and consider ways of recording the information……


Step 1

“Assign a numerical value to the hazard and the likelihood of occurrence and have a key like this one so its easy to understand.”

Step 2

“Then multiply the two numbers and use a matrix to see what the risk level is”


Risk Evaluation

A judgement is made as to whether the level of risk is acceptable or tolerable.

If not then corrective or preventative measures need to be used to control the hazard.

Hazardous unprotected edge Control measures to prevent likelihood of harm occurring

Signage and edge protection prevents people from falling off the edge of the building


Completing the Risk assessment

Organising actions and responsibilities to reduce the hazards and risks to acceptable levels:

So what can I do to reduce a hazard’s potential to cause harm?

Elimination of hazard: does this task have to be done or does this equipment have to be used? Substitution: can different materials, methods or equipment be used to remove / isolate the hazard? Physical safeguards: Can machinery guarding, extraction or barriers be used to isolate a risk? Personal Protective Equipment: If the above options do not control the risk then apply PPE to reduce the potential severity of

harm. Safe working procedures: Come up with acceptable safe working methods and procedures and make sure people are trained. Or any combination of above.


Completing the Risk assessment

Industry standards. Legal requirements. Precautions already taken. Cost (so far as is reasonably practical). Different working conditions i.e. weather. Numbers of people at risk. Severity of injury. Probability. Length of exposure/frequency.

Evaluating The Risks- Some considerations to think about:Writing safe working procedures or instructions

When writing safe working procedures consult with colleagues, the people who do the tasks and consult with manufacturers to gather as much information together to ensure that the safe working procedure is achievable and that it will reduce the risk of harm:

General procedures may be in local rules.

Specific procedures must be included in the risk assessment and training/instruction must be given.


Record your findings

Step Four

The Elements to Record:

A description of the area or task.

The hazards that personnel may be exposed to.

Details of the people who may be exposed to the hazards.

Details of which hazards are significant and those which are acceptable (and why).

The precautions in place, or to be put in place, to reduce the significant hazards to acceptable levels.

How the precautions are to be maintained (management of systems, inspection of physical precautions etc.).

Recording the Risk Assessment


Remember that risk assessments don’t have a standardised style or appearance. Here is an example of how they may look…..

Some risk assessments use the numerical style and others simply assess the level of risk as high, medium of low.

Note the columns are titled to keep everything really clear.

Risk Assessment Format


Recording the Risk Assessment Evaluating The Risks

Remember to record key facts:

Details of additional risk assessments that are applicable to the assessment i.e. hazardous substances (COSHH).

Emergency Procedures- provide information of how to react to a problem. Location of hospital, first aider etc.

Details of person completing the risk assessment.

Details of person countersigning the risk assessment.

Date, school, business or group, location details etc.

Use the risk matrix on the form either numerical or using the high, medium of low style. Both are perfectly fine.

Estimate the risk before control measures are added

Identify control measures to lower the risk

Estimate the risk after control measures which gives the residual risk

Can you lower the risk further? Ideally all should be LOW

Not all risks are injury – what about financial loss? Consider this in your assessment where necessary



Consequence

Minor injury or no apparent injury Injury requiring first aid

Injury requiring medical treatment, or with possible long term negative health

effects

Likelihood

Will probably not occur in most circumstances Low Low Medium

May occur in some circumstances Low Medium High

Likely to occur in most circumstances Medium High High

An example risk assessment key:


Signatures


Depending on your role in an organisation it might not fall to you to be responsible for the risk assessment. Speak to your line manager to help you know the areas where you are expected to carry out risk assessments. For medium or high risk tasks the chances are that your line manager or director should be signing off on the risk assessment. Remember the goal is to lower the risk to the lowest possible level.

All Low Risk - Principal Investigator (YOU). If not competent to do so, then also a Competent Person.

Medium Risk - Principal Investigator (PI) and Competent Person (CP) - might be a consultant or safety manager.

High Risk – PI and CP, then referred to high level management such as Head of School, Safety Manager, Project Manager or Director for formal authorisation.


COSHH / Risk Assessment

Title:

Ref:

Name of Principal Investigator Description of Task / Activity (including frequency / duration)

Location

Names/Type of Persons Involved / At Risk Should the personal circumstances (such as pregnancy or any other medical condition) of any person involved change, this risk assessment MUST be reviewed. Hazards

Activities, substances, machines, tools, etc. Hazards identified Estimated risk

(low/medium/high) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Precautions required to mitigate risk (relate to numbers above): Estimated risk

after precautions (low/medium/high)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Emergency Procedures and Contacts

Lone / Out-of-Hours Working

Training Requirements

Access Restrictions / Signage

Storage

Waste Disposal

Principal Investigator (in all cases) Signature Date

Competent Person (medium / high risk) Signature Date

Date for Next Assessment (must be reviewed within 12 months)

An example of a COSHH Risk Assessment

COSHH risk assessments are used for controlling risk associated with hazardous substances. This is an entire training unit in its own right and we will not deal with them here. However, be mindful of the need to risk assess activities, environments and harmful substances. If you have not received COSHH risk assessment training consult with your management for help.


Step Five

Review the assessment

As with almost everything hazards and risks associated with tasks and work environments change. Staff change, premises are modernised, new equipment and processes are used, different technology may be used and so on. As a result it is important to review your risk assessments. They should be dynamic documents that are regularly consulted and updated every time there are any considerable changes. Make sure to review your risk assessment at a minimum of 12 month intervals or whenever circumstances change.

Don’t forget to record that a review has been carried out. Write down the name of the person who undertook the review and the date.


Recording the significant findings of the risk assessment.

What the task is. Who is responsible/supervisor. Where the risk assessment applies, who is affected. List of hazards. List of precautions. Details of safe working procedures. Emergency procedures. Reference to other associated risk assessments i.e. COSHH,

manual handling, PPE etc. Record the date and the person carrying out the assessment.

Remember: Act on the risk assessment. Don’t just assess the risks and then ignore it!

Risk Assessment Summary


How it can go wrong – a Case Study

The Health and Safety Executive have inspected part of a University following a case of occupational asthma and issued the University with an “Improvement Notice” to improve RISK ASSESSMENTS!!!

Circumstances of the Improvement Notice

Project studying poultry in various locations (approx. for 12 years).

Member of staff involved in project never used respiratory protection or considered exposure to animal allergens as a hazard.

Member of staff working on the project developed asthma which was later diagnosed as “occupational asthma” i.e. directly connected to the work environment.


Circumstances of the Improvement Notice

Details reported to the HSE (legal requirement)

HSE investigated and concluded that the risk assessment for the work undertaken was not “suitable and sufficient” as the animal allergens had not been taken into account in the risk assessment. As a result they were issues with an Improvement Notice under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and under the COSHH Regs 1999

The risk assessment for the activity did not consider the possibility of occupational asthma due to exposure to animal allergens, a condition that was foreseeable.

No respiratory protection was considered or provided and no lung function tests were ever carried out (although available).

The HSE concluded that although the person involved was working on an individual project, the management of the University should have ensured that appropriate precautions were taken.

They also concluded that there was no effective risk management system and that similar hazards may not have been addressed.


The HSE considered a prosecution, which would have probably been successful. In the circumstances they felt that the willingness of the University to improve its systems meant that an “Improvement Notice” would serve the interest of health and safety better.

Other Possible Outcomes


Risk Assessments Keep You, Your Colleagues and Your Company Safe

The need to carry out risk assessments is a legal requirement for all employers with 5 or more employees.

You have a duty to keep yourselves and your colleagues safe so undertake risk assessments and implement them.

Regularly review the risk assessment to make sure they stay suitable and sufficient.

Thank you for undertaking this training module. Please feel free to review the information or to take the quiz now.

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