How to Conduct Risk Assessment - Research Paper Example

How to Conduct Risk Assessment Risk assessment needs to be embraced by nearly all organizations since it allows the organisation to plan for the efficient running of the business or organization. A risk is defined by Hallenbeck (12) as a chance, whether low or high, that someone will be harmed particular hazards, in addition to an indication of the level of seriousness the harm could be. In that respect, a hazard is defined by Lachin (9) as anything that may cause harm, for example, chemicals, hanging tools, an open drawer, cracked glass, and faulty electrical lines among many others. Numerous small businesses usually have a thinking that risk assessment is a hard and complex, and as a consequence, it often misunderstood. For this reason, numerous firms or companies have a tendency to employ the services of their party consultants in order to complete a series of assessments and also prepare the needed documentation. In most circumstances, they usually relegate the manual to a remote bookshelf. Hallenbeck (17) defines risk assessment as the determination of the qualitative or quantitative value of risk that is linked to a concrete situation and a recognized threat or hazard. Therefore, a risk assessment is described as a careful examination of what in the workplace or the entire organization in general, could result to harming people and also conducting a review if the precautions and controls that are in place are enough. In the country, the law requires that any business that has more that five (5) employees ought to perform and record risk assessment. In order to perform a risk assessment, one needs to have an understanding of what in the business or workplace may cause harm to the people and make decisions if you are doing enough so as to prevent the harm. Once that decision has been made, you should determine and prioritise coming up with suitable and sensible control measures. Although there is no fixed way doing a risk assessment, the five steps guidance offers the most straightforward way for most businesses. The steps below will ensure that you focus on those risks that really in the firm, organization, company or workplace. Begin by: 1. Establishing what may actually cause harm to the people In the first place, you need to work out how persons may be harmed. This is because when you work in a particular place more often, it is very easy to overlook some hazards. Identification of the hazard identification aims at establishing the qualitative nature of the potential undesirable effects of the contaminant such as (noise, chemical, radiation, and dirt) and the strength of the hazard. This is mostly carried out for chemical hazards, by drawing from the results of the sciences of epidemiology and toxicology. Hazards can also be determined by walking around the workplace and looking at what could possibly cause harm, asking the employees if they have noticed anything and checking the manufacturers’ instructions on products, as well having a look at the accident and ill-health records (Health Safety Executive 3). 2. Determining those who might be affected and in what way For every potential hazard, one needs to be fully aware of who will be harmed. This will assist the person doing the assessment establish the best way of managing the risk. This is done by identifying groups of people such as those working in the storeroom. In each case, you need to establish the manner in which they will be harmed; they kind of injury or ill health that can happen. For instance, those employees who stack shelves might suffer from back injury as a result of repeatedly lifting the boxes. However, you need to take into consideration that some employees may have specific needs such as people with disabilities and expectant mothers. In addition, you need to consider the members of the public who may be affected by your activities (HSE 3). 3. Making an evaluation of the risks and making decisions on the suitable control, taking into consideration the controls that are already in place. Having noted the hazards, one is obliged to make decisions on what will be done regarding them. The state legislation requires that all businesses and workplace needs to do everything that is reasonably practicable so as to offer protection from harm. Although you can actually work this out by yourself, the simplest and effective way is to make comparisons between what you are doing and good practice. Next you can ascertain whether there is more that you should be doing to bring yourself up to the standard. You need to involve the staff so as to ensure what you propose will work and will not introduce new hazards (HSE 4). When controlling risks, the following principles are applicable (Perry 58): Attempting a less tricky option Preventing access to the hazard Organising work in order to reduce hazard exposure Issuance of personal protective equipment Provision of welfare facilities 4. Recording the findings and implementing the risk assessment results Writing down the risk assessment results and sharing them with the employee encourages putting the results into practice. However, if the organisation has fewer staff, it is not necessary to write anything down. When noting down the results, they need to be simple such as tripping over rubbish: bins offered, workers instructed, weekly housekeeping checks. Although the risk assessment needs not to be perfect, it should be sufficient and suitable. One ought to show that: a proper check was made; you asked who might be affected; you dealt with all the significant hazards, taking into consideration the number of individuals who may be involved; precautions are reasonable, and the remaining risk is low; and you involved the employees or their representatives (Lachin, 87-90). 5. Reviewing and making updates if necessary Risk assessment usually comprises of an objective for evaluating the risk in which uncertainties and assumptions are clearly taken into consideration and presented. Very few workplaces remain the same since new equipments and substances will be brought that may result to new hazards. Therefore, it is essential that a review be done on what is being done in the business or workplace. When carrying out an evaluation, you may ask yourself the following questions, have there been any changes? Have the workers spotted a problem? Are there improvements to be made? Are there any lessons learnt from previous accidents or near misses? Is the risk assessment up to date? (Shrader-Frechette and Westra, 134-38). When operating a business, you should not wait until something wrong happens then you start reviewing the risk assessment. Therefore, if there is a significant change, you need to check your risk assessment and amend it where necessary. The most crucial part of the risk assessment is the control measures adopted. They usually set out the steps that should be followed to protect the people. Even though some control measures may be in place already, you will be required to make decision about whether additional measures may be required. The process needs not to be overcomplicated. In most firms, the risks are usually well known, and the required control measures are very easy to apply. In a business environment, the manager or tam leader may have knowledge if, for instance, there are employees who carry heavy loads, and this could harm their backs, or the existence of a slippery floor that is more likely to make people slip or trip. If such instances exist, you need to ensure you have taken the reasonable precautions that will avoid the injury. If you are operating a small organization and you are confident enough that you have a deep understanding of what is involved, you can actually do the assessment yourself. This means that you do not need to be a safety or heath expert (Lachin, 112). On the other hand, if you are working in a larger organization, you may need to ask for the assistance from the safety and health adviser. Furthermore, if you are not sure of yourself, you may seek for help from a person who is deemed competent. However, in all the cases, one needs to ensure that during the process he/she involves the employees or their representatives. This attributed to the fact they be in possession of useful information in relation to the manner in which work is carried out, thus making risk assessment more effective and thorough. In that respect, it should not be forgotten that there should be someone who will oversee the assessment just ensure it is done properly (Hallenbeck, 38-41). If you working in an office environment that is characterised by low risk, one can actually complete the risk assessment easily and quickly by making use of the HSE’s new web-based tool. The utilisation of this tool enables you to select the actions and risks that are characteristically relevant for your workplace and then you can save and print the completed risk assessment. Just like any other assessment method, it is very crucial that you follow through the assessment with required actions and conduct an evaluation of the assessment on a regular basis (Manas 122-123). In order to ensure in-house competency, most businesses are encouraged to perform the risk assessments. Nonetheless, it is regarded to be very wise for smaller businesses to employ expert support and advice when doing so (Perry 78). Summarily, it is good for the business to complete risk assessment and effectively manage health and safety in the workplace. It considered to be very beneficial since both keeps the employees safer and may have beneficial effect on the businesses insurance costs; both on claims and premiums. Risk assessment also decreases the lost time of production through machinery downtime or worker absence and also enhances employees’ productivity and motivation. Works cited Hallenbeck, William H. Quantitative risk assessment for environmental and occupational health. Chelsea, Mich.: Lewis Publishers, 1996 Health Safety Executive. 2012. Five steps to risk assessement. 20 April 2014 . Lachin, M. John. Biostatistical methods: the assessment of relative risks. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Manas, Jerry. Napoleon on Project Management: Timeless Lessons in Planning, Execution. New York: Thomas Nelson Inc, 2006. Perry, Pat. Risk Assessments Questions and Answers: A Practical Approach. London: Prentice- Hall, 2003. Shrader-Frechette, Kristin and Westra, Laura, Technology and values, Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. 1997. Read More