Risk Assessment

The control of risks is necessary to secure compliance with the requirements of the Health and Safety at Work Act and other relevant health and safety regulations. There are three basic stages in establishing control of risks in the workplace:

• Hazard identification - identifying hazards which could cause harm.
• Risk assessment - assessing the risk that may arise from hazards.
• Risk control - deciding on suitable measures to eliminate or control risk.

Hazard Identification

The essential first step in risk control is to seek out and identify hazards. This involves carrying out a critical appraisal of all routine and non-routine business activities. People exposed may include not just employees, but also others such as members of the public, contractors and users of the products and services.

In the simplest cases, hazards can be identified by observation. In more complex cases, measurements such as air sampling or examining the methods of machine operation may be necessary to identify the presence of hazards from chemicals or machinery. In the most complex or high-risk cases (for example, in the chemical or nuclear industry) special techniques and systems may be needed such as hazard and operability studies (HAZOPS) and hazard analysis techniques such as event or fault-tree analysis.

Risk Assessment

There is a general requirement to carry out risk assessment under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Assessing risks to help determine workplace precautions can be qualitative or quantitative. In the simplest cases, reference can be made to specific legal limits, which are contained within HSE guidance documents. In more complex situations, it may be necessary to make qualitative judgements within a framework set by legal standards.

Risk control

When risks have been analysed and assessed, decisions can be made about appropriate workplace precautions.

All final decisions about risk control methods must take into account the relevant legal requirements, which establish minimum levels of risk prevention or control. Some of the duties imposed by the HSW Act and the relevant statutory provisions are absolute and must be complied with. Many requirements are, however, qualified by the words, 'so far as is reasonably practicable', or 'so far as is practicable'. These require an assessment of cost, along with information about the effectiveness and reliability of different control measures.

Our team of experienced risk assessors can carry out both qualitative risk assessments and assessments based on quantitative methods. In addition, HAZOPS, HAZIDS and assessments using probabilistic modelling can be undertaken.

Often, it is more appropriate to train in-house personnel to undertake risk assessment. In this case, we can help develop a system for use within your organisation, and then train people to use the system.

If you would like more information on risk assessment, please contact us.