Managing Risks and Risk Assessment at Work Training
Overview
GD Heating and Gas is legally required to protect its employees and others from harm.
Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, the minimum we must do is:
- identify what could cause injury or illness in your business (hazards)
- decide how likely it is that someone could be harmed and how seriously (the risk)
- take action to eliminate the hazard, or if this isn’t possible, control the risk
Assessing risk is just one part of the overall process used to control risks in your workplace.
Steps needed to manage risk
Risk management is a step-by-step process for controlling health and safety risks caused by hazards in the workplace.
We can do it ourselves or appoint a competent person to help us.
Identify hazards
We will look around our workplace and think about what may cause harm (these are called hazards). We will think about:
- How our people work and how plant and equipment are used
- what chemicals and substances are used
- what safe or unsafe work practices exist
- the general state of your premises
Look back at our accident and ill health records as these can help us identify less obvious hazards. Take account of non-routine operations, such as maintenance, cleaning or changes in production cycles.
We will think about hazards to health, such as manual handling, use of chemicals and causes of work-related stress.
For each hazard, we will think about how our employees, contractors, visitors or members of the public might be harmed.
Vulnerable workers
Some workers have particular requirements, for example young workers, migrant workers, new or expectant mothers and people with disabilities.
We will talk to our workers
Involve our employees as they will usually have good ideas.
Assess the risks
Once we have identified the hazards, decide how likely it is that someone could be harmed and how serious it could be. This is assessing the level of risk.
Decide:
- who might be harmed and how
- what you’re already doing to control the risks
- what further action you need to take to control the risks
- who needs to carry out the action
- when the action is needed by
Control the risks
Look at what we are already doing, and the controls we already have in place. Ask ourself:
- can I get rid of the hazard altogether?
- if not, how can I control the risks so that harm is unlikely?
If you need further controls, consider:
- redesigning the job
- replacing the materials, machinery or process
- organising your work to reduce exposure to the materials, machinery or process
- identifying and implementing practical measures needed to work safely
- providing personal protective equipment and making sure workers wear it
What reasonably practicable means
Put the controls you have identified in place. We are not expected to eliminate all risks but you need to do everything ‘reasonably practicable’ to protect people from harm. This means balancing the level of risk against the measures needed to control the real risk in terms of money, time or trouble.
Record our findings
If you employ 5 or more people, we must record our significant findings, including.
- the hazards (things that may cause harm)
- who might be harmed and how
- what we are doing to control the risks
Review the controls
We will review the controls we have put in place to make sure they are working. We will also review them if:
- they may no longer be effective
- there are changes in the workplace that could lead to new risks such as changes to:
- staff
- a process
- the substances or equipment used
Also consider a review if your workers have spotted any problems or there have been any accidents or near misses.
Update our risk assessment record with any changes we make.
- who might be harmed and how
- what you’re already doing to control the risks
- what further action you need to take to control the risks
- who needs to carry out the action
- when the action is needed by
