How to Write a Risk Assessment

When writing a risk assessment, it must cover 5 elements.

A way to remember this is to use the acronym “IDERR”

1. Identify the risks
2. Decide who is at risk and how
3. Evaluate the risk
4. Record significant findings
5. Review & Monitor

(I)

So first we need to identify all significant risks, we state significant because there will always be some risks that would present no injury or are so remote that they are likely to happen once every few years etc, and only cause minor injury. So for this purpose insignificant risks can be left out.

The best way to identify the risks is to talk to the person who does the task, observe them work and see if any risks present themselves; these could be risk to the operator or to people passing by.

 The best thing about involving the person who does the task is they are much more likely to follow the findings of the risk assessment if they had some input into writing it.

(D)

Next we need to decide who is at risk from the task and how they will be harmed, this may have been picked up in the observation of the task, but again, talk to the operator, ask them who they think could come into contact with any risks the task poses.

(E)

Thirdly we need to evaluate the risk.

This is done by the probability of something going wrong x the severity of any injury.

The way I do this is, first I look at the severity, what sort of injury I would expect if something went wrong. This could be anywhere between a small cut and a fatality.

Next I look at the probability. How likely is this to go wrong taking into account all the precautions that are in place to try to prevent this?

Some people choose to record the risk before precautions and also after precautions.

Next I use a simple 5 x 5 chart as below to work out the risk.

Again some people prefer to use larger matrix’s i.e. 25 x 25 or larger. It is down to personal preference.

This gives a clear picture of the risk as High, Medium or Low

If the risk falls into the green area (low) then you don’t really need to do anything.

If the risk falls into the yellow area (medium) you may want to discuss any ideas with the operator / managers etc to see if there is a way to move the risk into the low bracket.

Any risk that falls into the red area (high) must be considered a potential danger and precautions must be put into place immediately to bring it at least into the medium bracket.

(R)

With the first “R” we need to record all significant findings. This is called your risk assessment.

(R)

The last “R” actually stands for monitor and review.

We need to set up a review date, but also we must monitor the assessment and ensure it is being followed and is "fit for purpose"

The monitoring can be done using task audits done frequently.

All risk assessments should be reviewed at least annually but if the risk is medium or high you may wish to do this more frequently.

Regardless of your review date, the risk assessment must be reviewed after any accident.


SaFA Training & Consultancy Ltd can deliver on-site courses to train your staff in how write risk assessments

Writing Your Safety Policy

How long is your Safety Policy?

I asked a company who was going to carry out some work for me to send over their Safety Policy and they sent me a one page document that looked like it had been downloaded from the internet and their name added to it.

This was in fact a Safety Policy Statement of Intent and not the full policy.

First off, I am not against using the internet for templates, but I must stress that you should be aware of what is expected when writing such a document, which is why I written this blog.

What is a Health & Safety Policy and how do I write one?

If you employ 5 or more people, this includes Directors and part time staff; it is a legal requirement to have a Health & Safety Policy in writing.

You need to do this to inform people about how you intend to deal with health and safety issues that affect what you do and how you carry out your works. It is there to show your commitment to health and safety and to identify who has what responsibilities within your business.

Is it hard or can I write it myself?

First of all it need not be complicated; a long document doesn’t always make it a good document, but it should include all aspects of the work you do and the Safety arrangements you have for each part.

What you need to do is identify who has what responsibility, in a small business that might be just one person, but if someone in your business writes the risk assessments and method statements, and someone else checks the equipment that you use, you should identify those individuals and write down what they are responsible for.

What do I put in my Policy?

Firstly it should have a Policy Statement; this is sometimes called your general Statement of Intent. This sets out how you intend to manage the health and safety aspects of your business. It will say how you will tell people about the Policy, your Safety aims and goals, and commit you to ensuring the health safety and welfare of your employees, contractors and those affected by your work. By law it must be signed by the person in charge of Health and Safety, which in a smaller company is almost always the Managing Director or Owner. Your policy must carry a signature (no more than12 monthsold), and be reviewed annually at the very maximum.

The next stage is to identify the roles and responsibilities within the business. Again this could be just one person or it could be several people who are identified to carry out specific tasks. It should also identify that every individual has a responsibility under health and safety legislation. The most popular way to do this is with an organisational chart, showing the hierarchy of seniority within your organisation and identifying named persons and their job titles, as well as their role to play in health and safety. In a smaller organisation this may not be necessary; a simple list would suffice if there are very few levels of management or control.

The final stage of writing your Policy is to identify the arrangements that you have in place for managing different aspects that affect those who either carry out work or who may be affected by the work being done. This will be the largest section of your Health and Safety policy. The arrangements give information about how you manage that particular aspect. Each element should have its own heading and under that heading you will state what you do to manage the risks associated with the use of electrical equipment and who is responsible for making sure that it takes place. The arrangements will vary dependent on the type of work that you generally undertake. Some examples of arrangements might be;

·         Welfare when on site

·         Risk Assessment procedures

·         First Aid procedures

·         Training

·         Plant Machinery & Equipment

·         Emergency procedures

·         Manual handling

Depending on the size of your organisation this list can be very long, and you may find that you add to it over time.

So I’ve written it – what next?

Firstly it should be signed and dated by the most senior person in the business, don’t forget the buck stops with you! (No matter who you delegate to do what, Health & Safety is always the responsibility of the most senior person within the company, even if you use an outside consultant for help)

Secondly, do not hide it in a draw or folder somewhere, it must be brought to the attention of those who might be affected by it. Your employees, sub contractors and sometimes people who you are working for. If you have delegated responsibility for certain things within your Policy don’t forget to make sure that those people are aware of what they are responsible for. It can be a good idea to give a copy to all new starters and to put a copy on the notice board.

You must review the Policy yearly or more often if something changes that could affect people.

Don’t forget – this is a legal document, only include things that you will actually do. Don’t say things like  you will carry out weekly inspections if you only do them monthly; this will lead to HSE inspectors being suspicious about other things that you ‘haven’t done’  if something goes wrong.

 Writing a Health & Safety Policy doesn’t have to be difficult; it simply needs to reflect what you do and how you manage it.

For more help creating your own Health and Safety policy please call us on 01709 252 485, or visit http://www.safatraining.co.uk/contact-us/ and use our contact form.

Accident Statistics

Do your accident statistics reflect the truth?

I have been in many companies where their accident statistic report is far from what is really happening on the shop floor.

Many companies chose to manipulate their reports in order to comply for ISO or to win contracts, but in doing so they often overlook simple solutions to reduce accidents and risk hefty fines for non-compliance with Health & Safety regulations.

A while back I was asked to do a site safety report for a small company I do some work for, as with all my site safety reports, I started in the office looking over risk assessments, safe operating procedures and the accident reports.

The company employ 10 employees on the shop floor and 5 further workers in the office. The shop floor workers pick and pack small items weighing no more than 10kgs, and late afternoon load these into a couriers van, so the accident risk in the company is low to medium with the most obvious risk of injury being manual handling, so I was not surprised to see the accident rate was very low, 1 accident in the last 6 months.

While I was out on the shop floor I noticed the workers carrying out the packing were not wearing gloves and 2 of the workers had fresh looking plasters on, when I questioned them I was told the gloves supplied made packing awkward so most people chose not to wear them and that on average, there were 2 to 3 workers per week who received minor cuts.

I took up my concerns with the supervisor who told me that as they were minor cuts, they only required cleaning and plaster put on, so it was not worth all the paperwork to record them.

After completing my site safety report, I presented it to the director along with my concerns of the 2 to 3 cuts that were happening per week and going unreported. The director ensured me he had no idea of this as he had left Health & Safety in the hands of the supervisor who had been on an IOSH Managing Safety course.

I recommended they trial cut 4 gloves and supplied some demos for them which were thin and gave the wearer good dexterity. I am glad to report back that after revisiting them some 4 months later, the workers and bosses were all happy with the gloves and the accident figures were really at an all time low.

The point of the post is that:

1. No Director should just assume his / her staff are looking after Health & Safety, after all, any backlash will come straight to him / her.
2. If accidents are not reported, trends will be missed along with the opportunity to correct them.

 Remember!

All companies must appoint a competent person

Quote from HSE

“You must get help from a competent person to enable you to meet the requirements of health and safety law.

A competent person is someone who has sufficient training and experience or knowledge and other qualities that allow them to assist you properly. The level of competence required will depend on the complexity of the situation and the particular help you need.”

The competent person can either be an employee, suitably trained or outside consultants can be used, but either way, it should be noted the overall responsibility remains with the Employer.

SaFA Training & Consultancy Ltd  are one such consultancy company operating in Yorkshire and surrounding areas.

Need Health and Safety advice? Look up SaFA Training at www.safatraining.co.uk