Question

What are the five steps when carrying out to workplace Risk Assessment? How do you assess the risk assessment related to the health and safety point of view

Answer 1

A Workplace Risk Assessment is an evaluative process that involves identifying and analysing necessary measures to control the different risks and hazards that might occur in a workplace environment. It involves 5 steps:

(i) Identify the risks/hazards

In order to timely and accurately identify the potential hazards in a workplace environment, the employer should check and abide by the manufacturers' instructions or data sheets for chemicals and equipment risks; conduct a routine analysis of historical (past), accident and ill-health records at the company; take into account the non-routine operations like maintenance, cleaning operations or changes in production cycles and analyse long-term risks to the health of the employees.

(ii) Decide who might be harmed and how

This will help in identifying and controlling the risk. Take into consideration that some workers have particular requirements, for example migrant workers, people with disabilities etc; duringpoicy making include people who might not be in the workplace all the time, such as contractors etc; take the different stakeholders (consumers, suppliers, government etc) into account if they could be affected by the business activities; In a share work place analyse and evaluate how both the work environments affect one another and effectively communicate with one another to ensure appropriate controls are in place; consult employees to ensure no one was missed in the evaluation.

(iii) Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions

Once the potential risks are identified, evaluate the likelihood of the potential risks happening, the level, extent and precautions that can be undertaken to prevent, eliminate or mitigate the risks. For eg, the employer should issue protective equipment, provide welfare facilities such as first aid and washing facilities and make the employees feel involved and consult them wherever necessary. The company should control a number of similar workplaces containing similar activities, inorder to create a 'model' risk assessment reflecting the common hazards and risks associated with these activities.

(iv) Record significant findings

Make a record of the findings from the risk assessment to ensure that, the assessment was conducted with proper due-dilligence; all the parameters of the assessment were throughly analysed and evaluated; all the regular and significant risks that could arise were duly accounted for, the precautions arrived at are reasonable and effective and that employees were actively involved in the process.

(v) Review and Update the assessments

Ensure that the assessments are valid and up to date, and if necessary make changes and update policies wherever needed to make sure that,- significant changes in potential risks are duly accounted for; any new improvements needed are timely embedded in the system and any lessons learnt from accidents and near misses are reasonably taken into consideration during routine reviews.

As per the Health and Safety point of view, there needs to exist a basic series of practical tasks that protect people at workplace from harm, and at the same time protects the future success and growth of the business.

(i) Appoint an expert

Hire someone who is competant with the requisite skills, knowledge and experience to manage health and safety, in a workplace environment.

(ii) Conduct a workplace risk assessment

(as explained in the first part of this answer)

(iii) Create a health and safety policy

Prepare a policy that describes how health and safety will be managed in the business and communicate it with the employees and other stakeholders to send across the message of the employers commitment to health and safety of its employees. It should explicitly mention who does what, when and how and guidelines regarding the same.

(iv) Consult and provide training and information to employees

Employees are often the best source in understanding risks at a workplace and therefore involving them in making decisions shows them and others that you take their health and safety very seriously. Therefore, allow the workers to raise their concerns and influence the decisions of the management on health and safety, while also providing them with the necessary training and information they need to tackle the different risks that arise at a workplace environment at the same time.

(v) Provide appropriate workplace facilities

Provide basic health facilities like, a clean workplace with appropriate waste containers and hygenic washooms, good ventilation, reasonable working temperature; appropriate lighting for the work to be carried out effectively; suitable and spacious workstations and seatings.

Maintain Workplace safety by properly maintaining the workplace premises and work equipment; keeping floors and stairs free from over crowding; having windows that can be opened and cleaned safely; and making sure that any glass doors or walls are protected or made of safety material with appropriate safety signage.

Ensure that the well being of the employees is taken care of by providing, - drinking water; doctors on call; washrooms with soap and towels or a hand-dryer; a place to store spare clothes and rooms to rest and eat meals.