Risk Assessment How to Make a Risk Management Plan - Report Example

Name: Course: Tutor: Date: Risk Assessment Risk assessment entails answering questions such as which are the hazards, who will be harmed and in what places, and how can this be avoided or what precautionary measures are necessary. It is necessary to put up a plan on how to implement the necessary precautionary measures identified when conducting a risk assessment1. The risk assessment plan should be reviewed often to make necessary improvements. A specific date should be set for review of the risk assessment plan. In a workplace and even a workshop, there are tasks that arise due to changes in the world, the changes in the system of working in the workshop, the changes in models of machines and so many others. These require different routines of performing workshop tasks of modification of the routine tasks. Revising of the risk assessment plan is important so that new hazards are identified and precautions taken before any one is harmed2 The reason why it is important to conduct a risk assessment is; for the safety of everybody in the workshop, to avoid losses due to company destruction, to avoid losses due to compensations to people harmed by lack of precautionary measures and to abide by the law3. One mistake can lead to great losses not only to an organization but also to the country as well. If for example precautions are not taken on how to handle explosive chemicals or gases, and the explosion occurs in one building, this could extend to the neighboring buildings causing damage. This paper aims to discuss and report the risks identified in an assessment conducted previously on a workshop. The risk assessment will give a report based on the observation sheets. Observation Sheets These are records of information about unsafe practices and hazards identified during an inspection of the workshop. They are given in the pictures provided in the appendix below. At one working section (picture 9), there was no working space. The machines were very close to where the employee’s chair was. There was no room for movement in that working space. This means that there are high chances of an employee touching the working tools or machines even when not in use. The risk of such tools or machines falling or being destroyed are high. In any working area, space is important as it reduces chances of workers getting injuries from handling workshop machines. In most of the sections assessed, tools and working machines were not stored appropriately. There was a used metal which needed disposal but was placed together with a high pressure gas machine. There are high chances of the high pressure gas machine pipe being cut by the sharp edge metal placed next to it when a worker moves the machine (picture 10). In picture eleven (11), it is evident that the workshop employees do not handle the tools and equipments appropriately. The tools are just placed on the working bench and not stored in there correct areas of storage. In order to reduce risks in any area of work, some areas need placards with information guiding employees on what to do and what not to do. In some section of the workshop (picture 12), a placard is placed behind a door. This is not the right position for a safety measure placard or poster to be placed. Placards contain important information for use by those operating in the workshop; they should therefore be placed in areas where they can easily be read to avoid mistakes. The placard is behind the door which means if the door is opened by anyone, the information is not accessible to the people who need it or the door has to be closed for the information to be read. Some very dangerous tool, with a hook is also right behind the door so that if someone opens the door, it falls. There are dangers of falling tools that could harm those working in such areas. The equipment can also trap an employee’s body causing injury. In picture 24, there is clear evidence of poor storage with different types of tools placed in one room. Even a bicycle is in the same store. A cupboard is slightly opened but cannot be accessible. Cupboards can keep important tools for the workshop and may be needed urgently. When there are so many things blocking the way to a cupboard where there are important things stored, or any area where important things are stored, high chances of causing danger are created. If for example a fire extinguisher was kept in an area where so many tools and equipments blocking the way have to be removed, high chances are that the fire intended to be stopped will spread causing more damage and harm. high chances are that the fire intended to be stoped will spread causingmore damage and harm.ng the way have to be removedd byThis is a clear indication that the tools are not placed in their respective positions for easy access for workshop operations. Poor handling of tools and machines and poor storage is also observed in picture 13 and 21. In picture 21, there is careless handling and lack of appropriate storage of workshop tools. The tools are not returned to their respective places of storage even though the storage racks are available. A sheet indicating how they are stored should be in the workshop and regular supervision conducted, to find out the workers who do not return the tools back to their right positions in order to reduce cases of mishandling of workshop tools. Lack of appropriate handling of workshop tools is one of the causes of injuries in workshops. In picture 13, the hammer is just left on top of the working table and wood chips not disposed after completion of the work. The worker was not observed at the time but in such a place, there is need for wearing protective gear which should protect the employee from air borne dust which is harmful for anybody’s health. If such protective wear are not available in a workshop, the manager should be informed and new protective wears bought. This leads to an observation in picture 16 where there is an employee in a workshop with no protective wear. The people around him, who seem to be getting some explanations, also have no protective wears. There is also a fun in a very dangerous position. If a fun switch would be turned on, the people around it would be injured. The fun lies at a very low position. It should be raised to be far from the walk way to avoid any risks of someone getting injured. There is need for observation of safety precautions in handling and storage of workshop tools. The main problem with this workshop is handling of tools and machines. Most of the tools are not placed in the right places of storage and are placed in areas where they can cause harm. Tools and machine handling guidelines should be put around the workshop where workers can easily read, the workers should be trained on how to handle and store the tools and machines and supervision should be done often to reduce chances of workers still neglecting the precautionary measures. In workshops, all electrical appliances and machine tools should be switched off after use at the end of the working day. This was not done as observed in one machine in the workshop. Picture 14 shows a machine still on with no one supervising it. Already set precautionary measures should be observed. In one section of the workshop, there is a placard that reads “Please keep the door closed”. It is evident that this is not an office where an employee would not want to be disturbed. The substances inside may be hazardous and the place guarded. During an inspection, this door was found open. There are several reasons why this door would be open; one of them is, an employee forgot to close it and another is, an employee was inside and thought it not necessary to close the door while still inside. Such cases can be avoided by developing a system that automatically closes it if not closed after one minute. The system detects if it is open and rectifies since employees may forget. This is an observation in picture 15. Picture 17 shows hazardous substance in a bucket with gloves on top of the bucket and a funnel close to it. Information about risk factors can be obtained by asking employees about the area of work, how they handle their tools and any other information the assessor may find important to ask. In this case, the substance in picture 17 found to be obtained for its function by use of a funnel. When such a substance is obtained by use of a funnel, there is risk of spilling the substance. Employees may suffer from contamination by the hazardous liquid spilt in the area of work. This can be avoided by using methods that reduce spillage such as siphoning. Contamination can also be avoided by cleaning the spillages using appropriate methods whenever they occur. In a workshop, entrances and exits should be maintained. This is not observed as one entrance of the workshop was found blocked by some equipment (Picture 19). In picture 20, there is poor handling of tools, poor handling of workshop machines and the risk of falling tools. The machine is placed on top of some documents which are inappropriate, the workshop tools placed on top of the table instead of there respective racks and some tools and documents are placed on top of a working machine. Access to the main gas valve should be guarded. Some gases are explosive and when their storage is inappropriate there are high chances of causing damage. It should be guarded before an appropriate storage tank is provided. The gas is stored in a tank that is easily accessed by workers. This is indicated by the presence of two workshop equipments on top of the gas tank (picture 23). Report The risks are already identified with possible ways to avoid such risks. The following report is an overview of what should be done in the workshop to reduce risks. The report will give the hazards identified in the workshop, indicate the risk factors associated with the hazards and lastly indicate the possible control measures. Workshop hazards include; fire, slips, trips, falls, machine and tool injuries, cuts, burns, puncture wounds, abrasions, hazardous substances, inadequate/poor ventilation or heating systems, injury from lifting workshop tools, compressed air hazard, injury from mechanical equipments and personal safety and hygiene4. Based on the observations made, the following are hazards identified in the workshop inspected. Injuries from tools or workshop equipments, slips, trips, falls, compressed air hazard, personal safety, fire, spillage and injury from mechanical equipments. Risk Factors Fire Risks of fire can be caused by lack of training workshop staff on fire safety, smoking in forbidden areas, inflammable substances and gases exposed to fire, electric fires and other sources of ignition. From the observation made above, high chances of fire could be caused by lack of necessary measure in handling electrical appliances. Another cause could be lack of training of workshop staff. A fire extinguisher was placed in a position where it could not be easily found accessed by anyone in need of it (picture 18)5. Control measures All staff should be trained on fire safety measures, restriction placards of no smoking should be placed in areas where possible fires could start due to ignition, and explosive substances should be handled with care especially the explosive waste materials which should be disposed appropriately. House keeping standards should also be maintained. Electrical appliances should be switched off at the end of every working day and must also be PAT tested with valid In Date sticker6. Slips, Trips and Falls These are caused by slipping on wet floors, falling from heights and tripping over obstructions. There were so many obstructions noted in the observation sheet. There was accumulation of materials with tools being left on the benches, documents placed on top of some machines and some items placed on top of cupboards. Picture 9 showed lack of space and obstruction from machine parts extended to the walk/operation way. This can lead to tripping. There are other pictures too that show obstruction for example picture 19, 20, 21 and 24. A workshop that is not clean to a standard required causes risk to people working in it from stripping, slipping or falling. The workshop inspected was not clean and so had potential risks from the above mentioned7. Control measures Walk ways and floors should be kept clean; waste generated from working with a machine should be disposed or cleared off the place of work at the end of a working day and any spills cleaned appropriately. In most cases spills are of different substances, different cleaning methods are available and should be used. The staff should therefore be trained on how to clean any spillage8. Machine and Tool Injuries Machines are used for cutting, abrasions, drawing, chopping and so many other operations. When handling these machines, a worker can be injured. Control measures It is important to ensure that only those with required skills handle the machines. The machines should be assessed often for any risks, should have preventive maintenance programs and also emergency repair procedures. Spillage Spillage risks occur due to spillage of coolants, liquid wastes or liquid substances used in a workshop. These could cause contamination of a work place if the liquid is hazardous or could cause slipping and falling of employees in the workshop. Control Measures Containers suspected to be damaged and could spill any hazardous substance or a substance that could cause slipping in the workshop floors should be replaced and disposed. Care should be taken when handling hazardous substances to avoid spills. Appropriate containers for storage should also be used. Hazardous substances should not be kept on inappropriate containers for their storage as indicated by the manufactures (Izzard 2006). Hazardous Substances These are gases or liquids that can cause damage to one’s health. An example is engine oil. Some substances used in a workshop are dangerous and should not be touched, should not get into contact with one’s eyes or should not be breathed. Precautions should be taken so that employees are not affected by such substances. Hazardous substances can also be solvents, airborne dust, acids, metal fumes and pesticides. Pesticides may not apply to this workshop but acids, solvents, airborne dust, and metal fumes do. In one picture for example, there were saw dust left on the working bench, an indication that the workshop employees could suffer from small particles of these dust. Control measures Appropriate disposal procedures should be followed for such hazardous substances and appropriate protective gears worn when handling them. Placards indicating that they are hazardous should be placed in areas of use or storage to inform the workshop employees. They should also be stored appropriately. Without appropriate storage measures an employee could still be harmed (Izzard 2006). Eating and drinking in the workshop should be forbidden. References Five Steps to Risk Assessment. Health and Safety Executive. 2006. 1-8. Izzard, Nick. Risk Assessment: Generic Workshop Risk Assessment.. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations. School of Engineering, 2006. Retrieved on 29th April 2009 from: http://portal.surrey.ac.uk/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/ENG/SAFETY/RISK/RISK-FILES/GENERIC-WORKSHOP-RAX1.PDF University of BATH. 2002. WS1 - Generic Risk Assessment for General Workshop Procedures. Retrieved on 29th April 2009 from: http://www.bath.ac.uk/internal/bio-sci/bbsafe/raws1.htm Appendix Read More