1145-IGC1 Element 5 Risk Assessment-V1

7/27/2019 1145-IGC1 Element 5 Risk Assessment-V1

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NEBOSH International Certificate

Connaught Compliance Ltd 2008 Page 1 of 22Sales ref: sc/1145/v1

Element 5

Health and SafetyRiskAssessment


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Contents

Page No

Introduction 5Hazard and Risk 6

The Risk Assessment Process 7

Carrying out a Risk Assessment 8

Special Cases for a Risk Assessment 17

Young Persons 17

New and Expectant Mothers 19

Disabled Workers 20

References 21


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IntroductionRisk assessment is an essential part of any health and safety management system,e.g.:

the Planning and Implementationsection of the ILO-OSH Guidelines onOccupational Safety and Health Management Systems (ILO, 2001);

the Planningstage of OHSAS 18001 (BSI, 1999); and

the Planning and Implementingstep of HSG 65, the Successful Health andSafety Management (HSE, 2003).

Figure 1: ILO-OSH Management System

The aim of risk assessment is to identify significant risks and set priorities forminimising risks, thus preventing accidents, ill-health, etc.

Reductions in work related accidents and ill-health improve morale, reduce thelikelihood of civil and criminal legal actions and prevent economic losses to theorganisation. Other economic benefits may include increased production rates and areduction in insurance premiums.

Policy

Organising

Planning &implementation

Evaluation

Action forimprovement

Audit

Continualimprovement

Continualimprovement


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Hazard and Risk

A hazard is defined as:

something with the potential to cause harm.

Hazards may be categorised as physical (e.g. trailing cables or electricity), chemical(e.g. cleaning chemicals or fuels), biological (e.g. bacteria or viruses), ergonomic(e.g. repetitive movements or strenuous activities), or psychological (e.g. workpressure or hours of working).

A risk is defined as the:

likelihood that harm will occur and the severity of the harm.

Wherever possible, hazards are eliminated through careful selection and design offacilities, equipment and processes. If hazards cannot be eliminated risks will needto be minimised by physical controls, e.g. use of an anti-slip floor surface. Systemsof work or personal protective equipment are used as a last resort because thesedepend upon peopleto use them, and use them correctly.

The resultant harm may lead to:

near misses;

property damage only;

an accident involving injury;

ill-health; or

death.


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The Risk Assessment

ProcessRisk assessment is a logical process of collecting information and makingjudgements against standards, often set out in law, to establish whether or not risksare adequately managed. In this context adequatemeans suitably and sufficiently.

The risk assessment and management process involves the:

identification of unwanted and uncertain future events;

devising alternative strategies and evaluating their cost / risk; and

taking action according to the organisations decision framework.

How a risk assessment is carried out will depend on local legal and best practicerequirements, the nature of the work or business, and the types of hazards and risks.The risk assessment process should be systematic, practical, and take account ofthe views of employees and their health and safety representatives who will be ableto contribute practical knowledge.

Suitable and Sufficient

A risk assessment should fulfil the criteria that it is 'suitable and sufficient'. Toachieve this, the level of detail in the risk assessment should be proportionate to thelevel of risk, also it should:

ensure that all aspects of work activity are reviewed;

take account of the way the work is organised;

identify the significant hazards and risks;

evaluate the risks;

identify control measures;

enable priorities to be set;

ensure non-routine operations are taken into account;

take account of risks to the public;

ensure staff undertaking the assessment have sufficient knowledge andexperience; and

ensure that the risk assessment is valid for a reasonable time.


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Competence

Risk assessors will need to be competent in the following areas to carry out asuitable and sufficient risk assessment:

experience and training in hazard identification and carrying out riskassessments;

knowledge of the process or activity;

technical knowledge of the plant or equipment;

good communication and report writing skills;

ability to interpret legislation and guidance; and

possess the right attitude to carry out risk assessment.

Carrying out a Risk Assessment

It is recommended that risk assessment should be viewed as a team effort with thefollowing (as a minimum):

someone with knowledge of risk assessment techniques;

someone with knowledge of the process to be assessed;

the ability to interpret standards;

attention to detail;

good recording and communication techniques; and

someone with managerial influence to authorise and implement change.

There are many variations on the risk assessment process, the following system is

simple, easy to follow, and relevant for most general risk assessments:

1. Look for the hazards.

2. Decide who might be harmed and how.

3. Evaluate the risks and decide whether existing precautions are adequate ormore should be done.

4. Record the findings.

5. Review the assessment and revise it if necessary.


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1. Look for the Hazards

The first step is to identify hazards from the following:

task observation;

accident, ill-health or near miss data;

workplace inspections;

job safety analysis;

legal standards;

guidance (ILO, OSHA, ISO, BSI, HSE, Manufacturers, etc.); and

consultation.

Where possible risk assessment should be task based, however, it may benecessary to look at specific hazard assessments such as machinery, transport,electrical, etc., or to divide the work site into geographical areas.

Task Observation

An observation of the task or working environment can allow the assessor (evaluator)to identify principally physical hazards which are not well controlled, and operator

working practices. The observation criteria can be carried out according to achecklist to ensure consistency, but the overall identification of hazards for theassessment should not rely solely on observation. It should include the othermethods described.

Accident and Ill-health Data

Reactive monitoring systems record data from accidents, ill-health absences andother incidents. The data can be analysed and judgments made about the causes ofsuch incidents. This information can then be used to identify hazards.

Workplace Inspections

The purpose of a workplace inspection is to identify hazards that are not controlled toan acceptable standard. Workplace inspections can assist in identifying hazards forthe purposes of risk assessment. However, inspections provide a snap shot in time,and some hazards may not be present allthe time, e.g. chemicals, or they may bedifficult to see, e.g. electrical hazards, asbestos or biological agents.

Job Safety Analysis

Job Safety or Task Analysis is a work-study technique, which carefully observes andrecords every detail of a task. The method of working is then evaluated to identifyhazards and develop an ideal safe method of working. Job Safety Analysis is thebasis of task based risk assessments (see Element 6).


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Legal Standards

Legal standards provide information on hazards and controls that should beconsidered within general risk assessment, e.g. fire risk assessments.

Other legal standards may have schedules for risk assessment that require a specificrisk assessment methodology, e.g. risk assessments for exposure to hazardoussubstances, manual handling operations, noise, vibration, Display Screen Equipment(DSE). The hazards may be noted in a general task based risk assessment and thencross referenced, e.g. a manual handling hazard in an office may be identified, andthe action would be to check that a manual handling assessment has been carriedout and is still relevant.

Guidance

General guidance provided by the various sources is a useful source of informationwhen considering the presence of hazards.

Designers, manufacturers and suppliers also have a duty to provide safetyinformation on articles and substances being produced for use at work. Thisinformation must identify hazards associated with substances, e.g. material safetydata sheets, product labels, etc.; and hazards associated with equipment, whichhave not been controlled at source, e.g. hot surfaces on a machine.

Consultation

Operators of equipment and those that carry out the tasks become experts and will

be able to give valuable detail about what can go wrong, accidents, near misses, etc.They may also be able to give practical suggestions about control measures. It istherefore good practice to use the knowledge and experience of managers andoperators when identifying hazards in the workplace.

2. Decide Who Might be Harmed and How

It is important to identify who might be at risk and also how this might occur,including:

employees, including staff other than operators, e.g. maintenance workers,

cleaners, persons working in close proximity (nearby) or passing through thework area; and

nonemployees, such as agency workers, contractors, visitors and membersof the public.

Some workers may be particularly at risk, e.g. young or inexperienced workers, newand expectant mothers, night workers, home workers, lone workers and disabledstaff.


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3. Evaluate the Risks and Decide Whether ExistingPrecautions are Adequate or More Should be Done

In order to evaluate the risk, i.e. the likelihood of harm and probable severity of harmoccurring, the following should be considered:

a. the adequacy and effectiveness of the existing controls;

b. an estimation of the risk (likelihood and severity); and

c. what further action needs to be taken to eliminate or reduce the risk?

a. Existing Control Measures

Listing the existing control measures is essential in order to produce abaseline risk assessment, which records all the controls that have been usedand / or recommended, to provide a complete record of risk control. Controlmeasures will include:

workplace precautions

- hardware controls at the point of the hazard, e.g. guarding,segregation, extract hoods;

- procedural controls, e.g. job rotation, safe systems of work,personal protective equipment; and

risk control systems, e.g. information, instruction, training, andsupervision, along with monitoring techniques such as inspections.

It will be important to comment where controls are provided, but are notadequately used, or are used incorrectly.

b. Risk Estimation

Qualitative risk assessments are those that record the detail and judgementsabout hazards and controls against standards. The detail is required toestablish what further workplace precautions are required to satisfy legalstandards. Qualitative risk assessments can also include an element ofrelative risk ranking to make them semi-quantitative. Semi quantitative orquantitative risk assessments include numerical data, which allows the risksto be ranked. The risk ranking can help to prioritise the order in which actionshould be taken.

The following is a simple method for estimating relative risk:

The severity of harm

3. Major death or major injury or illness causing long-term disability;

2. Serious injuries or illness causing short-term disability; and

1. Slight all other injuries or illness.


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The likelihood of harm

3. High where it is certain or near certain that harm will occur;

2. Medium where harm will often occur; and

1. Low where harm will seldom occur.

The severity rating is then multiplied by the likelihood rating to arrive at the relativerisk ranking for each hazard. This gives a number on a scale of 1 to 9.

Severity of harm

Slight (1) Serious (2) Major (3)

Low (1) 1 2 3

Medium(2)

2 4 6

Likelihoodofharm

High (3) 3 6 9

Table 1: Simple Risk Ranking Matrix

These numbers provide an indication of the risk and therefore the priority.

Simple risk ranking methods only provide anindicationof relative risk, based onsubjectivejudgement. They should be used to prioritise action, not to decidewhatfurther control measures to introduce. Employers must satisfy themselves that therisk assessment and the actions taken to deal with the hazards are adequate.

6 or 9 High risk and may require considerable resources, e.g. specialequipment, training, high levels of supervision, and consideration of themost effective methods of eliminating or controlling hazards.

2, 3 or 4 Significant risk and will require an appropriate level of resources tocontrol the risk

1 Low risk but reasonable actions should still be taken to try to furtherreduce these risks, if possible

Table 2: Simple Risk Ranking Conclusions

Some organisations use more complex techniques involving a number of factors, e.g.

the number of people exposed to a hazard, the number of occurrences of the hazard,the operation, or of any incidents may be factored in to determine the likelihood of


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risk. A larger matrix may be used, e.g. a 5 x 5 risk ranking scale. It is also possibleto weight the scale to emphasise a worst-case scenario, e.g.:

10. death;

6. major injury or illness causing long-term disability;

5. injuries or illness causing short-term disability;

3. all other injuries or illness; and

2. first-aid given, person returns to work.

Acceptable

The risk assessment should control the risks to an acceptable level.

Acceptable risk is where the risk of harm is insignificant without anyworkplace controls, or is reduced as much as is reasonably practicablefollowing the introduction of control measures. In the second case monitoringwill be required to ensure that the control measures are maintained.Acceptable risks are often the minimum specified in law.

c. Further Control Measures

At this stage a judgement has to be made about whether the existing controlmeasures are adequate and effective to minimise the level of risk, or whetheradditional measures are required. In order to aid judgement of acceptable

risk consideration should be given to the following:

1. Hierarchy of control.

2. Guidance.

3. Minimum legal standards.


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1. Hierarchy of Control

The term hierarchy of controls is a preferred series of measures to control risks. Themeasures should be considered in the flowing order of priority (ERIC PreventsDeath):

Eliminate the hazard, e.g. using water instead ofsolvent based paints.

Reduce the risk, e.g. using 110V electrical equipmentinstead of 240V.

Isolate the people from the hazard, e.g. using fencingor guards.

Control the extent of exposure or contact with thehazard by engineering means, e.g. using a RCD, andby changing work patterns or methods, e.g. limiting thetime, frequency and number of persons exposed.

Personal protective equipment, e.g. wearing a hard hat.

Discipline, e.g. obtain compliance with rules andfollowing procedure.

Eliminating the hazard is the most effective means. Personal protective equipmentshould not be relied upon as a primary control since it fails to danger (i.e. puts thewearer at risk in the event of failure of the equipment) and requires careful fitting anduse by the operator (see Element 6).

2. Guidance

Guidance illustrates good practice and outlines the hazards, situations where risk isincreased, and precautions that will control the risk.

3. Minimum Legal Standards

Health and safety legislation provides minimum legal standards, which should beachieved, e.g.:

guarding of machinery hazards;

pedestrian and vehicle trafficmanagement;

limits for exposure to noise and vibration;

limits for exposure to airborne chemicals and substances; and

limits for exposure to ionising radiations.

Safe Place

Safe Person


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Residual Risk

Once further measures have been decided the level of residual risk, i.e. remainingrisk, should be considered. The aim is to minimise residual risk to acceptable levels.

Prioritisation Based on Risk

The introduction of control measures will be decided according to the level of riskassessed. High risk equals high priority action; low risk equals low priority action.

Where risk is high, immediate action will be necessary, which may include short-termactions, e.g. the use of personal protective equipment, until long-term solutions aresought and implemented. If the risk is low, long-term action may be acceptable. Inreality, both high and low priority actions may be introduced simultaneously.

High priority risks may require the allocation of more resources to control the risk.

4. Record the Findings

Employers should record the significant findings of the risk assessment, including:

significant hazards;

people affected;

adequacy of existing controls;

the extent of the risk;

further actions required; and

references to other documents used in the assessment.

The term significantindicates that trivial hazards and risks can be ignored.

Risk assessments should be available or retrievable for use by management,employee health and safety representatives and Enforcing Authorities.

The assessments may cross-reference other documents and records, e.g. noise,manual handling, radiation, display screen equipment, hazardous substanceassessments; safe systems of work; monitoring arrangements such as liftingequipment inspections, pre-start guard checks, etc.

Where further action is required following the assessment then reference to, or theinclusion of, an action plan based on priorities and set to timescales should also beincluded.


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5. Review the Assessment and Revise it if Necessary

Risk assessments will need to be reviewed if there is a significant change, or if there

is any reason to suspect that it is no longer valid, including:

an accident, ill-health, near miss or dangerous occurrences, etc.;

new equipment has been introduced;

changes to equipment, plant and processes;

changes in personnel;

changes in legislation;

as a result of monitoring or audit;

as a result of advice or action by the Enforcing Authority or insurancecompany;

new information becomes available;

improved control measures become available;

the involvement of young persons, new or expectant mothers or disabledpersons; or

a specific period of time has elapsed, thus indicating the need for a periodicreview.


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Special Cases for a Risk

AssessmentYoung Persons

A young person at work is someone who has not reached the age of 18. Youngpeople are at greater risk whilst at work for the following reasons:

lack of knowledge, experience and / or training;

a young persons body has not fully developed; and

a young person may be more likely to:

- take risks;- respond to peer group pressure; and- be over enthusiastic (excited).

Risks

Before employing a young person, a risk assessment should be completed to identifycontrol measures needed to minimise health and safety risks specific to the youngperson. It should consider:

the workplace where the young person will work;

physical, biological and chemical agents;

the work equipment;

the organisation of work and the processes involved;

health and safety training; and

risks from particular:

- agents, e.g. carcinogens;- processes, e.g. explosives manufacture; and- dangerous work, e.g. involving fierce animals.

If a significant risk remains after control measures have been introduced, the riskassessment will determine whether the work of young persons should be restricted,or whether the young person must not be employed to do the work.


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Young people should not be employed to do work which:

is beyond their physical or psychological capacity;

exposes them to substances chronically harmful to human health, e.g. thosewhich are known to be either toxic or carcinogenic, or to have effects likely tobe passed on genetically, or likely to harm the unborn child;

exposes them to radiation;

involves a risk of accidents which they are unlikely to recognise because of,e.g. their lack of experience or training; and

involves a risk to their health from extreme heat, noise or vibration.

Exceptions to the above may be made where young workers are doing worknecessary for their training, under proper supervision by a competent person,providing the risks are reduced to the lowest level.

Control Measures

The following control measures may be required:

induction training;

close supervision or mentoring by an experienced responsible fellow worker;

specific health surveillance (observation);

clear lines of communication;

restricting the type of work carried out; and

restricting the hours worked.

Other factors that should be considered when employing young persons wouldinclude:

any statutory restrictions on young persons carrying out certain activities, e.g.driving;

ensuring that any PPE which is required is suitable for their size, shape, etc;and

insurance requirements.


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New and Expectant Mothers

Once an employee has notified her employer that she is pregnant a specific risk

assessment should be carried out, taking into account any medical advice receivedon the health of the employee. The risk assessment should include risks to theunborn child or the child of a woman who is still breastfeeding.

New and expectant mothers are at risk for the following reasons:

the unborn child or the nursing child may be affected by physical, chemical,and biological hazards; and

the mother may be more affected by physical, chemical, biological andworkplace hazards due to changes in the body.

Potential health and safety risks include:

Physical risks,e.g. ergonomic postures such as prolonged standing, orawkward body movements required when working with display screenequipment, etc., extremes of temperature, personal protective equipment,manual handling, radiation (ionising and non-ionising).

Chemical agents,e.g. pesticides, lead, those that cause changes to humanbody cells (mutagens), and those that affect the unborn baby (toxic forreproduction).

Biological agents,e.g. infectious diseases, such as hepatitis and rubella.

Working conditions, e.g. violence, stress, working hours causing mental andphysical fatigue and lone working.

Apart from the potential risks, there are other aspects of pregnancy that may affectwork such as:

morning sickness and headaches; increasing size;

backache; frequent visits to toilet;

varicose veins; balance; and

haemorrhoids; comfort.

tiredness;


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Disabled Workers

Risk assessments should take into account the needs of all persons affected by the

work, including disabled workers. Care should be taken to ensure the health andsafety of disabled workers is not put at risk, especially in an emergency.

In addition to the hazards from the particular work being done, disabled workers maybe at greater risk from the following:

reduced mobility for safe access and egress and emergency evacuation;

ability to access welfare facilities;

reduced sensory input to recognise hazards and emergencies, e.g. hearing,

eyesight;

reduced communication ability, e.g. speech, hearing or eyesight;

reduced ability to lift, carry or move objects; and

ergonomic hazards, e.g. reach distances.

Disabled workers should be consulted when making decisions about how to reducethe risks and competent advice must be sought wherever necessary.


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ReferencesILO 2001 ILO-OSH: Guidelines on Occupational Safety

and Health Management Systems.

BSI 1999 OHSAS 18000: Occupational Health and SafetyAssessment Series.

BSI 1999 OHSAS 18001: Occupational Health and SafetyManagement Systems Specification.

BSI 2002 OHSAS 18002: Occupational Health and SafetyManagement Systems Guidelines for the

Implementation of OHSAS 18001.

HSE 2003 HSG 65: Successful Health and SafetyManagement.

HSE 1994 INDG 163: Five Steps to Risk Assessment.


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