Health & Safety Pro-formas
Risk Assessment
Risk assessment is a basic tool to allow you to identify hazards, decide who is at risk, assess the level of risks to people, and decide on suitable controls to ensure that the work can be done safely.
The law requires employers to protect staff and any other people against risks to their health and safety that may arise from work activities and to identify and implement control measures so as to reduce the risk to the lowest level as far as is reasonably practicable.
Definition of a Hazard:
Anything with the potential to cause harm
Definition of a Risk:
The likelihood of injury or ill-health occurring from a hazard together with the severity of injury or ill-health if exposed to the hazard.
5 Steps to Risk Assessment
Step 1: Identify hazards
Step 2: Decide who might be harmed and how
Step 3: Evaluate the risks, decide whether existing precautions are adequate or if more should be done
Step 4: Record your findings and implement control measures
Step 5: Review your assessment and amend if required
Example of an office based Risk Assessment
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health, (COSHH)
A risk assessment must be carried out on all substances which are liable to expose anyone within the University to the potential hazards of ill health.
The main purpose of conducting the assessments is to ensure adequate control measures are in place and to demonstrate that all factors have been taken into account when deciding on the level of risk, the maintenance of the control measures, requirements of monitoring exposure and, if necessary, health surveillance.
Display Screen Equipment Assessment
Every employer should perform a suitable and sufficient analysis of workstations for the purpose of assessing the health and safety risks to which users are exposed. An assessment should be carried out when a new workstation is set up, a new user starts work, or when a substantial change is made to an existing workstation e.g change in office.
The Health and Safety Executive has produced a user friendly guide to give advice on using VDU's as well as guidance on regulations.
Manual Handling
Manual Handling Operations include any transportation or supporting of any load by hand or use of the body. This will include the lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling, carrying, supporting or movement of any load.
Where a general risk assessment has been conducted under The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and identified a risk from manual handling operations where the manual handling operation cannot be avoided, then a more specific and detailed assessment should be carried out.
For further information and guidance, please see the Health and Safety Executive's website on Manual Handling Operations.
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