How many steps are in a risk assessment?
Typically, a risk assessment involves five key steps:
Identify Hazards:
The initial step in a risk assessment is to systematically identify potential hazards within the workplace. This involves a thorough examination of the work environment, considering factors such as:
Physical Hazards: Noise, vibration, temperature extremes, radiation, and ergonomic factors.
Chemical Hazards: Exposure to hazardous substances, including chemicals, dusts, and fumes.
Biological Hazards: Exposure to biological agents, such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi.
Psychological Hazards: Stress, workload, and work-life balance.
Techniques like workplace inspections, job hazard analysis, and brainstorming sessions can be used to identify potential hazards. It’s essential to involve employees in the process, as they often have first-hand knowledge of risks and can provide valuable insights.
Assess Risks:
Once hazards are identified, the next step is to assess the level of risk associated with each hazard. This involves considering two key factors:
Likelihood: The probability of the harm occurring.
Severity: The potential severity of the harm if it does occur.
A risk matrix can be used to visually represent the risk levels. Typically, risks are categorised into low, medium, and high-risk levels. High-risk hazards require immediate attention and control measures, while low-risk hazards may require less urgent action.
Example: You want to build a heat recovery plant in an area of high volcanic activity. Clearly there is a risk of harm due to volcanic eruptions, and there is nothing you can do to alter the frequency or intensity of these eruptions. You can however mitigate the harm caused – e.g. building structures designed to withstand lahars (mudflows) and pyroclastic flows can mitigate damage and loss, hence reducing the severity of harm while accepting that likelihood is unchanged.
Control Risks:
The most critical step in a risk assessment is to implement effective control measures to eliminate or minimise the identified risks. Control measures can be categorised into three levels:
Elimination: The most effective control measure is to eliminate the hazard entirely. For example, if a particular task is hazardous, it may be possible to automate the process or redesign the work to remove the hazard. For example, you may find that installing lighting on a pulley system so that the lights can be accessed at ground level is cost effective compared to the cost of erecting scaffolding every time a bulb needs to be changed !
Reduction: If elimination is not feasible, the next best option is to reduce the risk by implementing engineering controls, administrative controls, or personal protective equipment (PPE).
Engineering Controls: Physical changes to the workplace to reduce exposure to hazards. Examples include ventilation systems, soundproofing, and machine guarding.
Administrative Controls: Changes to work practices, procedures, and organisational structures to reduce risk. Examples include job rotation, reduced exposure time, and training.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Equipment worn by individuals to protect themselves from hazards. Examples include safety helmets, safety glasses, and hearing protection.
Acceptance: If the risk cannot be eliminated or reduced to an acceptable level, it may be necessary to accept the residual risk. However, this should only be considered as a last resort and should be accompanied by appropriate control measures to minimise the potential harm.
Record Findings:
All findings from the risk assessment, including identified hazards, risk assessments, and control measures, should be documented as a reference for future reviews and helps to ensure consistency in risk management practices. Key information to include in the documentation should include :
Date of the assessment
Names of individuals involved in the assessment
Identified hazards
Risk assessments (likelihood and severity)
Control measures implemented
Review schedule
It’s important that the information you record is available to everyone who needs it – so a paper based system may not be the best solution. A centrally managed database will allow easy access and a single ‘source of truth’ – and if you deploy a cloud based solution the data will be available via a browser with no local software to be installed or maintained.
Review and Update:
A risk assessment isn’t a one-time event. It is essential to review the assessment regularly to ensure its accuracy and effectiveness. Lots of things can change – work processes, equipment, or personnel can introduce new hazards or alter existing risks. Regular reviews allow for the identification of emerging risks and the implementation of control measures.