Health and safety risk assessments
April 2, 2009
My colleague is currently reviewing the management of health and safety within our company, and one major part of this is carrying out a full assessment of the potential hazards and risks within the building and employees’ jobs.
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires all employers to ensure the health, safety and welfare of employees and workers at all times, and part of this is that the employer must assess potential risks, and take steps to remove or reduce those risks. Health and safety legislation is becoming more complex all the time and the consequences and penalties for employers that do not comply or have the unfortunate event of an accident (or worse still, fatality) which leads to a claim are increasing each year.
As my colleague has worked through the risk assessment, it has amazed me just how many potential hazards there are in the building – from loose electrical cables that could cause a trip hazard, to overloaded shelves, to the location of water coolers (one of ours is in a space that has a laminated floor and therefore any spills instantly become a slip hazard). The company I work for operates in a standard office environment, and there are literally hundreds of hazards, so the risk assessments for a workplace such as a warehouse or factory will be an enormous task to take on.
Once the assessment has taken place, an action for each risk is required to ensure the risk is reduced or eliminated. For example with the water coolers, the answer could be to move the cooler to a safer place; however it is in the reception area and therefore needs to stay there for visitors and customers to use, so the next best action is to give the nearest employee (the receptionist) the responsibility of monitoring leakages and using appropriate ‘wet floor’ hazard signage and mopping spills immediately.
Some companies use an external consultant to carry out complete risk assessments and create action plans, however this can be expensive and costs should be weighed up against carrying this out in-house, and against the potential claim costs if it is not done properly (as is often the case if health and safety is tagged onto someone’s day job).
For more information on health and safety and risk assessments, look at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE website).
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