Walk around your workplace and look for what could reasonably be expected to cause harm. Concentrate only on significant hazards, which could result in serious harm or affect several people.
Health and Safety Risk Assessments
A Risk Assessment is systematic review of the work activities you undertake as part of your business, looking at what could cause harm, and deciding on suitable control measures to prevent accidents or serious incidents occurring. The Risk Assessment process should include the controls required to eliminate risk or suitable reduce the consequences.
So Why Conduct a Risk Assessment?
Organisations with 5 or more employees are required by UK law to have documented risk assessments for all significant hazards posed by the organisation’s work activities. Organisations with less than 5 employees still have a duty to undertake risk assessments, however, there is no legal requirement to record the findings, although it is strongly recommended that you do.
Risk Assessment is a fundamental requirement for any business. If you are unaware or don’t appreciate what risks are posed by your business activities, you are effectively putting yourself, your employees, your customers, members of the public and your organisation reputation in great danger. Employers and the self-employed should make suitable arrangements to reduce risk as much as is ‘reasonably practicable’. ‘Reasonably practicable’ is a legal term that means employers must balance the cost of implementing risk control measures that they could take to reduce a risk against the degree of risk presented. When reckoning costs, the time, trouble and effort required should be included and not just the financial cost.
The 5 Steps to Risk Assessment
The risk assessment process consists of a simply examination of what, in your work undertaking, could cause harm to people (includes employees, visitors, the public etc), so that you can weigh up whether or not you have taken enough precautions or should do more to prevent harm.
Don’t overcomplicate the process. In many organisations, the risks are well known and the necessary control measures are easy to apply.
At Health and Safety Mentor we have a variety of packages and services to assist your organisations in compiling suitable and sufficient health and safety risk assessments that are both cost effective and practical for your particular work environment. If you would like to enquire about our risk assessment services please ring and one of our health and safety consultants will be pleased to deal with your enquiry on 08444 933 062.
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