Risk Assessment Policy & Procedures
Introduction
Risk assessment is a pivotal concept in health and safety risk management. However, it is often seen as a bureaucratic or a complex process. Neither is true. Risk assessment is a valuable tool in preventing and controlling risks in the workplace, helping with the planning of work, the development of safety procedures and reducing the number of accidents in the workplace. It is also a statutory requirement and failure to comply, leaves Ayurva Academy vulnerable to enforcement action, with obvious deleterious costs to the company in terms of fines, increased insurance premiums and the loss of reputation, business and research continuity. The company sets out the legal context of risk assessments and clarifies the risk assessment process for those required to undertake them.
Key requirements of the policy are;
- All significant hazards must be risk assessed
- Risk assessments must be reviewed regularly
- Schools must maintain a risk assessment register
- Everyone must take responsibility for, and take an active role in, the risk assessment process, including; Managers, Tutors and Staff.
Policy
Ayurva Academy is committed to achieving and maintaining the highest standards of health and safety for all employees, students and anyone else who may be affected by the company’s activities. This is to be accomplished by;
- the identification of all significant workplace hazards,
- the identification of anyone who may be exposed to the hazards and how they may be harmed,
- the evaluation of the risks to which employees, students and others are exposed,
- the selection and monitoring of realistic and practical preventative and control measures to ensure safety in the workplace, and,
- the recording and regular review of Risk Assessments must be carried out by competent people; e.g. those with the necessary training, experience, knowledge, skill etc.
Risk assessment training is mandatory for; Senior Staff . It is available to all other staff following an assessment of training needs by the relevant School etc. Risk assessments must be recorded, (hardcopy or electronically), and must be accessible and available for reference and inspection upon request. This document forms part of Ayurva Academy health and safety policy. Risk assessments must be reviewed regularly. The review period depends on the hazards associated with the activity, the level of risk associated with them, the number of people affected, length of time the activity takes, how often the activity is done etc.
Scope
Ayurva Academy is a complex organisation conducting a wide range of therapy based courses. This policy document sets out how the company will identify and manage risks associated with all significant hazards associated with the company’s activities that may affect the health, safety and welfare of staff, students and others.
Legislation
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (“MHRegs”) impose a duty on employers to carry out suitable and sufficient risk assessments of all significant hazards in the workplace in order, to identify the risks to employees and those who may be affected by, or have a connection with, any work activity. Where the risk assessment made under the MHRegs identifies significant specific hazards, such as hazardous chemicals, a risk assessment on those specific hazards must be undertaken, under the auspices of the specific relevant legislation. E.g. the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) 2002. Separate company policies deal with these specific hazards.
Monitoring Risk Assessments
While the quality of the assessment is primarily the responsibility of those carrying out the assessment, those assessments which clearly do not address all the significant hazards, should be returned by the person checking the assessment for further consideration. Managers should check at least annually that they have copies of assessments for all relevant work and they should monitor that risks are adequately controlled in practice and that written risk assessments are being carried out where necessary. In essence, to make sure they are suitable and sufficient. This could be done during routine safety inspections or audits where spot checks could be made. The manager should check that project risk assessments are in place before work starts. This could be carried out during induction safety training for new staff and research students.
A step-by-step guide to completing the risk assessment form.
List the Hazards (Hazard Description)
Walk around your workplace and look at what could reasonably be expected to cause harm. Ignore the minor hazards l and concentrate only on significant hazards, which could result in serious harm or affect several people. Seek the views of your other employees or their representatives, as they may have noticed hazards, which are not immediately obvious. It is advisable to consult manufacturers’ instructions or hazard data sheets to assist with identifying hazards and put the risks into perspective. The following examples can be used as a guide:
- Mechanical hazards (e.g., crushing, shearing, cutting, falling objects, entanglement)
- Electrical hazards (e.g., short circuit, direct contact, indirect contact, source of ignition)
- Radiation hazards (e.g., lasers, electro-magnetic effects, ionising/non-ionising radiation)
- Hazardous substances (e.g., Toxic gas/mist/fumes/dust, flammable fluids, biological substances)
- Work activity hazards (e.g., highly repetitive actions, mental overload/stress, poor workplace design, lifting and handling, proximity to other requiring ‘social distancing’ etc.)
- Work environment hazards (e.g., noise, vibration, heating, lighting, ventilation)
List those at risk (people at risk)
It is important to consider who may be affected by the hazards present. The individuals most likely to be at risk, are those that spend the most time in the workplace, however it is equally important to consider people who may not be in the workplace all the time, e.g., cleaners, visitors, contractors, maintenance personnel, students etc.
Members of the public and people who may share your workplace should be included in the list, if there is a chance they could be hurt by your activities. Some categories of workers may require a more detailed assessment because of their condition, including expectant and nursing mothers, disabled and young persons, or lone workers.
Evaluate the risks (Initial assessment)
The next stage of the assessment, once the hazards and people at risk have been identified, is to establish the level of risk before any control measures have been put into place. The process is as follows:
- Work environment hazards (e.g., noise, vibration, heating, lighting, ventilation)
- Rate the likely severity (S) of any hazard being realised on a scale of 1 to 4 (1 is Negligible, 4 is Extreme or Fatal).
- Multiply the severity and the likelihood to find the risk factor (R), for example a severity of 3 and a likelihood of 2 would give a risk factor of 6.
- Assess if the level of risk is acceptable or not.
At this stage you are assessing the Risk Factor without any control measures in place. Once control measures are put in place, the risk assessment should be repeated to assess the residual risk.
When calculating the risk factor, you should use table 1 below as a guide. The table provides a ‘heat map’ which will indicate using the colour, hazards that are currently under control, or if further action is required.
Control Measures
After evaluating the initial risks, you should then review what existing controls are in place or are being put in place. When considering control measures the most important starting point is implementing the ‘Hierarchy of Control’ (see below), which will assess the different ways a hazard can be reduced or removed.
This process also highlights the point that whilst providing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is a consideration, as a control measure it should always be down the list of options. In line with the risk hierarchy of control.
The Hierarchy of Control
- Elimination or avoidance (i.e., does the process/activity have to be carried out).
- Substitution (i.e., what alternatives can be used, for example, chemicals, processes, equipment).
- Controlling risks at source (i.e., can the hazards be designed out).
- Separation and isolation (i.e., physically separating or isolating the process/activity, ‘socially distanced’ from colleagues or students).
- Safe working procedures (i.e., are these in place and known to individuals taking part).
- Training, instruction, and supervision (i.e., are all staff competent enough to carry out their duties).
- Personal Protection Equipment – PPE (the last resort but also to supplement some of the other controls).
Other considerations
- Welfare facilities
- First aid facilities
- Emergency procedures
The ‘Hierarchy of Control’ should always be used in the order it appears on the list, meaning eliminating or avoiding the hazard should always be considered first. Risk assessors should then work down the list and introduce the most appropriate means of controlling the risk. Once again it must be stressed that issuing PPE is not the first option but is the last measure that should be considered. The best form of control is usually to implement the most appropriate measures from one to four, then introduce the measures from five to eight to re-enforce the controls.
The Residual Risk
Once all the control measures have been put in place, the remaining or residual risk must then be assessed. This will follow the same process as the ‘Initial Assessment’ with the result being a risk factor (R) score i.e., L x S=R. The residual risk is the risk of the control measures failing and not the risk of an accident happening.
Even after all precautions have been taken, usually some risks remain. What must be decided for each significant hazard is whether the remaining risk is, high, medium, or low.
This will determine whether any further controls are still necessary, to make the process as safe as is reasonably practicable. It is important at this point that the risk assessment is completed honestly, for example, a low-risk score should not be given deliberately, to avoid further action.
It should be noted that if the process is hazardous, giving it a low score on an assessment form will not make the process any safer. This must be done through acting upon the findings of your initial assessment.
Further Action Required
Once the Residual Risk Factor (R) has been established, further actions or controls may still be required. Further action could include eliminating or substituting a process/substance etc., or introducing safe systems of working or additional training, instruction, or information to employees.
When actions/comments are identified, responsibility for carrying these actions must be assigned to an individual or group of individuals. Ownership for different parts of the risk assessment process must be given and individuals should be informed of their expectations and responsibilities placed on them, including when they should be completed. The date set for implementing any remedial actions should be a realistic so the action can be achieved.
Record your findings – significant risks
Significant findings of the assessment must be recorded. This means recording the more significant hazards and the most important conclusions. This can be illustrated by the following examples:
- Electrical installations: insulation and earthing checked and found sound.
- Fume from welding: local exhaust ventilation provided and regularly checked.
If the risks will impact on any other employees, you must inform them of your findings.
You must keep a copy of your risk assessment, as this will confirm when the activity took place, the findings considered and who was involved in the process.
Monitoring and Review
Monitoring and review is an important stage in the process, however it is often overlooked. It will provide an opportunity to review the assessment in the light of changes to personnel, procedures, equipment, and facilities. It will also prevent a possible situation where the risk assessment is completed and then never reviewed again until perhaps, an untoward occurrence which could take place. This could lead to potential risks that if overseen can result in possible disciplinary action resulting in possible litigation.
The individual who will be performing the review of the risk assessment should be identified and when this will take place.
Risk Assessment – Good practice and responsibilities
For the risk assessment to be effective, there are some areas of good practice that should be included in the process, including:
- Undertake the risk assessment as a group activity.
- Always involve individuals at risk and in control in the risk assessment.
- Base the risk assessment on the principals of ALARP (as low as reasonably practicable).
- Should be an ongoing process of continuous improvement/risk reduction.
- Treat the risk assessment as a live document and review it annually as a minimum.
- Conduct a risk assessment if an incident/accident or near miss occurs, when there is a change to process or method, when new individuals are involved in a task and when there is a change to work location or office.