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Health and safety: undertaking a risk assessment.

Article Excerpt
[check] This checklist provides a plan of action for those carrying out a risk assessment in their company or organisation.

The 1999 Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) and the 1999 Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations require every organisation to undertake a risk assessment as part of their Health and Safety management programme. Failure to comply with the legislation can result in fines and/or imprisonment for senior managers or directors. By identifying hazards in the workplace and the likelihood of an accident occurring (the risk), employers can take action to deal with the most pressing problem areas. Reducing accidents in the workplace benefits both employer and employee through the creation of a safer working environment and savings due both to a reduction in lost time and productivity, and fewer accident claims. This checklist does not aim to cover the complex legal issues, for which expert advice should be sought.

Definition

A Health & Safety Risk Assessment is a planned procedure in which all hazards in the workplace are identified and their Risk Potential evaluated. The Risk Potential is a combination of the likelihood (when could an accident happen) with the severity (what could result) if an accident did happen.

Advantages

Risk assessments:

* comply with health and safety legislation

* make accident prevention easier by identifying hazards

* help to improve workforce morale by conveying a "caring" attitude.

Disadvantages

There are no disadvantages to carrying out a risk assessment, but remember that...

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