Question

In your own words, explain what is meant by OH&S risk and risk assessment.

Answer 1

Occupational health and safety is the field of public health that studies trends in illnesses and injuries in the worker population and proposes and implements strategies and regulations to prevent them. Its scope is broad, encompassing a wide variety of disciplines—from toxicology and epidemiology to ergonomics and violence prevention. OHS includes the laws, standards, and programs that are aimed at making the workplace better for workers, along with co-workers, family members, customers, and other stakeholders.Improving a company's occupational health and safety standards ensures good business, a better brand image, and higher employee morale.

Occupational health and safety is concerned with addressing many types of workplace hazards, such as:

• Chemicals
• Physical hazards
• Biological agents
• Psychological fallout
• Ergonomic issues
• Accidents

Risk assessment a careful examination of what, in your work, could cause harm to people, so that you can weigh up whether you have taken enough precautions or should do more to prevent harm. A risk assessment will protect your workers and your business, as well as complying with law. As for when to do a risk assessment it should simply be conducted before you or any other employees conduct some work which presents a risk of injury or ill-health.

How to do a risk assessment

There are no fixed rules on how a risk assessment should be carried out, but there are a few general principles that should be followed. Five steps to risk assessment can be followed to ensure that your risk assessment is carried out correctly, these five steps are:

1. Identify the hazards
2. Decide who might be harmed and how
3. Evaluate the risks and decide on control measures
4. Record your findings and implement them
5. Review your assessment and update if necessary