Workplace risk assessments are a key feature of health and safety in the workplace. Other than being a legal requirement, there is also an important moral code to follow when understanding the risk and danger when asking your employees to work in and around potentially hazardous equipment and environments. But what do you need to do to when conducting a workplace risk assessment? We’ll go through the basics.
Why you need to do a workplace risk assessment
Most workplaces have something that can be hazardous. Either directly or over the course of time. This can be something as simple as the way an office worker is sitting, or the way construction staff lift heavy gear. These are obviously two examples at different parts of the scale, but the fact is both can cause an employee harm. That is why you need to complete a risk assessment.
A risk assessment allows you to take a look at the entirety of the problem and find ways at which you can either eliminate the issue or reduce the risk. Some risks are impossible to remove, but in those cases, you must go to the best lengths possible to reduce the risk of illness or injury. Often by providing instructions, PPE or creating awareness.
The basic result in a risk assessment should be that your employees and customers are protected from their work and environment.
How do I conduct a workplace risk assessment?
While all workplace assessments will differ slightly, they should all follow the same process. This process is aimed at identifying the unique risks in all roles and workplaces and how the business aims to mitigate them. Working to the following format will help:
Find the RISKS
The first part of this process is the obvious part. The person responsible for the health and safety of the business must complete a thorough risk assessment to ensure all risks are accounted for. This doesn’t just mean the obvious risks. Time must be spent determining how someone could get hurt or injured across the entire business. This may include looking at machine manuals or other instruction leaflets for appliances that are heavy, hot, sharp or awkward. These are just a few examples but will hopefully set you on your way. And just remember, there are risks in relatively ‘safe’ businesses as there is in more hazardous roles too.
Identify the Harm and Record
Next you must assess the harm that can be done from the risks you have identified. This will feel closely linked to the previous stage, but you should complete separately even if you think you’ve already identified the harm. The way someone sits could cause them back, wrist or muscle harm. Similarly, working in a server room may cause electrical shock. Harm can come from many areas of the workplace.
Act upon the Findings
It is important that once you find the potential risks within your organisation that you act upon them. This could mean anything from educating staff, hanging signs, buying protective equipment or more. There’s no use on doing this work, discovering risks and doing nothing about it. Apart from the fact that that would be illegal, it is hardly going to inspire confidence from your employees and stakeholders that you care about their safety and the safety of the business.
Remember to Review
Reviewing is so key here. Things change within businesses. And every time something changes – staff expansion, office changes, new equipment purchases, anything! – you must review and build on your existing risk assessment plan. The best way to describe the assessment is that it is a living document and must grow and evolve over time. This way, you stay compliant, and your staff and customers stay safe. Hopefully out risk assessment breakdown helps you understand why you need to compile a report and how to do it.
For more information on how Direct365 can help you become compliant in many other different ways, see our safety hub.
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