23 March 2009
Risk assessment, how compliant are you?
You may or may not be aware that the requirement for carrying out and recording the findings of your workplace risk assessments (five employees or more) have been about since 1992, under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, which was later amended presenting the 1999 regulations. So looking back over the last 16 years within the Printing and Packaging Industry, have employers learnt what is required of them to demonstrate a ‘suitable and sufficient' risk assessment?
Unfortunately, not all, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has identified this as a new focus area to accompany the other areas of concern for the industry such as musculoskeletal injury, contact with moving vehicles, guarding of machinery, dermatitis and slips, trips and falls.
The field inspectors of the HSE are now looking for compliance in the area of risk assessment, but not only that the employer has undertaken them but also to assess if the documents constitute a ‘suitable and sufficient' assessment as described within the regulations. This issue is becoming more evident as organisations are being subjected to regulatory inspections whether through proactive visits by the HSE field inspectors or reactively due to workplace incidents/accidents. The latter, in a number of occasions has led to concerns over the quality of the risk assessment, that's if one has been undertaken for the activity in question.
Having no risk assessments or having documented risk assessments but of a poor quality and lack of information is a concern for any employer, especially when trying to defend themselves in a criminal prosecution and/or civil claim for personal injury sustained by an employee or visitor to their site.
So looking back during 2004/05, 220 people were killed and over 150,000 were injured at work in the UK because of a failure to manage risk!
So what supports the process for undertaking a ‘suitable and sufficient' risk assessment as dictated within the management regulations?
‘Risk Management' is the most commonly used terminology for health and safety these days. Fundamentally, the employer needs to look at the activities within his/her business to identify hazards that arise in the workplace (on or off site) and then put in sensible Risk Reduction Programmes (RRP) to control them. By doing this you can protect your most valuable asset, your employees, as well as visitors and members of the public from harm.
As an employer, the law requires you to assess and manage health and safety risks - for most businesses this is not difficult to do and HSE has published the Five Steps to Risk Assessment to help you. This is not the only way to do a risk assessment, there are other methods that work well, particularly for more complex risks and circumstances. The BPIF has produced a simple generic template for members to use. The BPIF believes this method is the most straightforward for most organisations.
A risk assessment is an important step in protecting your workers and your business, as well as complying with the law. It helps you focus on the hazards that really matter in your workplace - the ones with the potential to cause real harm. In many instances, straightforward measures can readily control hazards and risks, for example ensuring spillages are cleaned up promptly so people do not slip, or electrical extension leads do not stretch across designated walkways to ensure people do not trip. For most, that means simple, cheap and effective measures to ensure your most valuable asset, your workforce, is protected.
The law does not expect you to eliminate all workplace hazards, but you are required to protect people as far as is ‘reasonably practicable'.
What is risk assessment?
The HSE define a risk assessment process as a simply 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. Workers and others have a right to be protected from harm caused by a failure to take reasonable control measures.
Accidents and ill health can ruin lives and significantly affect your business too if output is lost, machinery is damaged, insurance costs increase or you face criminal sanctions through the Magistrates' or Crown Court.
Don't overcomplicate the process. In many organisations, the hazards are well known and the necessary RRPs are easy to apply. As an employer you probably already know whether, for example, you have employees who move and handle heavy loads within your printing or packaging process, and so could cause harm to their backs, or where people are most likely to slip or trip. If so, check that you have implemented reasonably practicable precautions to avoid such injury and make sure that these are documented.
If you run a small organisation and you are confident and ‘competent' and that you understand what's involved in the process, then you can do the assessment yourself. You don't have to be a health and safety expert, but advice and guidance is to hand to BPIF members from one of the health and safety advisers.
If you work in a larger organisation, you could ask a health and safety adviser or safety representative to assist. If you are not confident, get help from someone who is competent. In all cases, you should make sure that you involve your staff or their representatives in the process. This is vital as operatives and others will have useful information about how the task is done, that will make your assessment of the hazards and risks more thorough and effective. However, remember that you are responsible for seeing that the assessment is carried out properly, but the employer has full accountability for ensuring the process in undertaken and recorded.
When thinking about your risk assessment, remember for following key points:
• a hazard is anything that has the potential to cause harm, such as exposure to chemicals, electricity, working from ladders, operating machinery or even an open drawer, etc;
• the risk is the likelihood whether high or low, that somebody could be harmed by these and other hazards, together with an indication of how serious the harm could be.
The Assessment
• Identify the hazard(s)
• Decide who could be harmed and how
• Evaluate the risks and decide on the control measures
• Record your findings and implement them
• Review your assessment and update when necessary
Note - to assist in the identification of hazards, the following categories should be considered, which will help you to compose a ‘suitable and sufficient' assessment:
• Physical - heat, cold, sharps, entrapment, impact, etc
• Biological - bacterial, viruses, etc
• Chemicals - dust, fumes, vapors, odours, etc
• Ergonomic - moving and handling, postures, etc
• Psychosocial - stress, anxiety, working conditions, etc
If you require any further advice or guidance on this subject, please contact one of the BPIF health and safety advisers.
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