Risk assessment is very important to good safety and health management. All companies are required by law to perform an assessment of the safety in their place of work. At the same time, they are required to have a written record of their safety assessment.
Benefits of a Safety Assessment
Assessing a business’ safety will help the company identify health and safety trends and recognize opportunities to improve problematic areas. It also provides the data necessary to begin developing solutions to any problems. Additionally, it can be used to demonstrate positive results that come from an excellent return on investment. It is also a great way to keep a company’s management committed to safety. There are a few steps that companies can take to assess their business safety.
Identify the Hazards
Hazards are anything that has the ability to inflict harm, human ill-health or injury. Working with dangerous substances, chemicals or dangerous equipment are just a few examples of workplace hazards. To perform a safety assessment, individuals must remember to not over complicate the process. Additionally, they must remember that there is no need to classify every risk or minor hazard that people accept in their everyday lives. For instance, people do not need to consider lifting a two kilogram package to be a workplace danger. However, lifting a 30 kilogram box of one kilogram packages can be classified as a hazard.
Classify the Risk Level of Every Hazard
Risk levels are the likelihood or chance that harm may occur. It is also coupled with how dangerous the ill health or harm can be. When classifying a potential hazard’s risk level, it is very important to decide who is likely to be harmed and how this might happen. At the same time, it is vital to give consideration to vulnerable groups. This includes elderly employees, young people, pregnant employees and shift workers.
Decide What Precautions Are Important
Companies may already implement some safety measures. Risk assessment involves determining if these precautions are adequate. When deciding what precautions are important, businesses must consider how they can control a risk factor. Risk factors can include a hazardous substance, the workplace’s design, inadequate supervision and training, absence of emergency planning procedures and a dangerous system of work. Identifying different risk factors helps safety officers in developing precautions that can reduce these risk factors.
Record the Findings
A company’s safety statement is where a company’ safety officer can record their significant risk assessment findings. Another purpose of this document is to specify how they are going to assign and organize responsibilities to safeguard their employees’ health and safety on an everyday basis. Additionally, a safety statement refers to different procedures found in other documents. Examples of these documents are operating instructions, quality manuals, manufacturer’s instructions and company rules.
Always Review the Program and Update It if Necessary
Putting the safety statement into effect must be an important part of everyday operations. A copy of the relevant extracts or statement must always be kept ready for inspection at every workplace. It should also be relevant all the time. It is important to review the program as changes can affect how a safety program is implemented. These changes include organizational structure, changes in work processes and technical knowledge. Changing these safety standards at regular intervals helps a company comply with new legislation.
Written by Sean Adams. Sean is a OHS administrator who recomends WHS Cert IV Safety Officer Training.
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