Risk Assessment in The Workplace. Part 1.
A risk assessment is a systematic process that identifies the potential negative effects of risks, the severity, probability and costs of them occurring, and assesses the feasibilty of mitigating or eliminating those risks.
I believe it is important to make sure companies understand their risks; in fact, by conducting a risk assessment they can realize what steps they need to take to ensure that their company has optimal safety. In order to conduct an effective risk assessment there are different aspects that need to be assessed such as: physical hazards (how severe is the hazard?), chemical hazards (what are some common chemicals used in your workplace?), biological hazards (what are some organisms found in your workplace?). The four main factors that affect the risk assessment are: the quality of management information, data-gathering, analytical methods and computing technology.
Management of risk is a task that employers and employees need to undertake separately as risk management is primarily internal whereas safety management is primarily external. The two must be closely linked as employees in most companies depend on their employers for their livelihoods and safety is not only the responsibility of employers. Additionally, employers are ultimately responsible for everyone working under them, therefore they should manage risks that may affect everyone in their organisation.
Risk management is not just limited to employers. Employees should also take responsibility for managing their own risks, this may include conducting risk assessments to measure how likely an incident is to happen and determine the most dangerous places in the workplace. This can help employees see where they could potentially be in danger, inform their employers about what hazards may be present and come up with solutions to reduce risks.
By conducting risk assessments, workers can identify potential risks from different sources in their workplace which will enable them to better manage them. This will ensure that all workers are safe at work and that businesses function effectively without unnecessary interruptions or costs due to accidents occurring or people getting sick. Most importantly, it could potentially save lives. Employees should be adequately trained on how to conduct a risk assessment and make sure they are aware of their responsibilities in managing risks. If they do not take responsibility, they will not know what they need to do and cannot manage any risks that may be present in their workplace.
Risk assessment is important before purchasing new equipment that could potentially cause harm or injury to staff or customers. This can help reduce the need for expensive equipment upgrades, repairs, or changes to protocols or procedures. It also helps prevent injuries and illnesses due to the new equipment. The purchase of new equipment is not the only case where risk assessment is required, it is also necessary when changing processes and procedures in order to determine whether they affect the safety of employees or clients.
According to a study by Intertek that was conducted in 2012 and surveyed over 600 companies, 82% of companies conducted risk assessments however only 18% had a formal process in place. Conducting an assessment is often seen as a time consuming process that requires extensive data collection, analysis and documentation. However, the study also showed that companies who conducted formal risk assessments had a lower average number of days away, restricted or transferred (ADART) injuries and illnesses compared to non-formal assessments.
However, although conducting risk assessments is important it should not be done too frequently as this could also have negative impacts on both the business and its employees. Conducting a risk assessment regularly could mean more time and resources spent on data collection and analysis, which can cut into employees' time that they need to focus on their primary job duties. Studies have shown that there could be insignificant improvements in safety after conducting a risk assessment too often. Therefore, it is really up to the organisation and their staff to determine what frequency would work best for them.
There are many steps that should be taken in order to ensure that an effective risk management is carried out. The first step is to conduct a facility assessment, this involves looking at each facility and identifying the current risks that are present. This will give the organisation a better idea of what they need to do or what issues need to be addressed before they proceed with putting new devices into use. The assessment will also help organisations understand which areas they can improve upon for risk reduction purposes.
The second step is to conduct a hazard analysis, this involves assessing how harmful or dangerous a hazard may actually be and plan strategies on how best to manage it appropriately. This will help organisation determine the most appropriate way to control or eliminate the hazard. A hazard analysis enables companies to focus on their most dangerous hazards and come up with a plan for preventing them from occurring.
According to a study by Intertek, only 38% of small businesses conduct risk assessments that are formally documented because they are time consuming, take a long time to complete, require extensive data collection and analysis, and are expensive. Additionally, only 21% of small businesses carry out more than one risk assessment per year due to the costs involved with conducting the assessments. Therefore, it is recommended that energy companies and small businesses conduct risk assessments as often as possible when they are doing their business planning. However, this should not be done too frequently or else it could create unnecessary costs for the organisation that would otherwise be carried by employees.
There are various scoring systems available for risk assessments to gauge how well each hazard assessment was done. The most common scoring system used is the total score and this evaluates how effectively a specific set of hazards were assessed and what steps were taken to eliminate or reduce them. Other scoring systems evaluate specific aspects of the assessment such as plan effectiveness, risk reduction strategies, and safety process evaluation (SPE).
The total score is made up of the following:
The total score for each hazard is calculated by adding the scores for controls and safety process evaluation. This will allow a company to determine if its risks are being effectively managed and where it needs to improve. The risk reduction strategies are the hardest part of the assessment so organisation should focus on reducing those risks first, by doing this, it can make sure that other employees will not get hurt in a specific area which will help them avoid unnecessary costs.
There are different types of hazards present in a workplace, however hazards do not necessarily mean physical dangers; they could also be social or psychological in nature. A hazard is anything that can potentially cause harm or injury to someone while they are on the job. There are different types of hazards that organisations need to be aware of, they include:
The most common hazards in an organisation include:
When assessing risk, a company should first look at what the potential costs are if an employee gets hurt and how this will impact their business. For example, if a worker becomes injured due to working with a specific piece of equipment then there would be downtime for them meaning that another person would have to complete their job in their place.
Conclusion
In order to make sure that the workplace is safe and injury free, risk assessments need to be conducted on a regular basis
and should be implemented when a company or organisation starts to install new equipment or are looking for ways in which to cut down on costs. This will ensure that the risk management process is carried out effectively and will also help the organisation cut down on expenses. When conducting a risk assessment, it is important to evaluate the hazards that are present in a facility and those that will be coming into contact with employees in order to reduce their risks as much as possible.
The amount of time and money an organisation has invested in safety management procedures tends to affect how effective they are.