INDG163 - Five steps to risk assessment

Five stepsTOrisk assessment

5 steps toRISK ASSESSMENTThis leafletaims to helpemployersand selfemployedpeople toassess risksin the workplace.It isaimed atfirms in thecommercial,service andlight industrialsectors.What is riskassessment?A risk assessment is nothing more than acareful examination of what, in yourwork, could cause harm to people, sothat you can weigh up whether you havetaken enough precautions or should domore to prevent harm. The aim is tomake sure that no one gets hurt orbecomes ill. Accidents and ill health canruin lives, and affect your business too ifoutput is lost, machinery is damaged,insurance costs increase, or you have togo to court. You are legally required toassess the risks in your workplace.The important things you need to decideare whether a hazard is significant,and whether you have it covered bysatisfactory precautions so that the risk issmall. You need to check this when youassess the risks. For instance, electricitycan kill but the risk of it doing so in anoffice environment is remote, providedthat ‘live’ components are insulated andmetal casings properly earthed.2

e hurt. If so, check that you have takenwhat reasonable precautions you can toavoid injury.How to assess the risksin your workplaceFollow the five steps in this leaflet:STEP 1: Look for the hazardsSTEP 2: Decide who might beharmed and howSTEP 3: Evaluate the risks and decidewhether the existing precautions areadequate or whether more shouldbe doneSTEP 4: Record your findingsSTEP 5: Review your assessment andrevise it if necessaryDon’t be overcomplicated. Inmost firms in the commercial, serviceand light industrial sectors, the hazardsare few and simple. Checking them iscommon sense, but necessary. Youprobably already know whether, forexample, you have machinery that couldcause harm, or if there is an awkwardentrance or stair where someone couldIf you are a small firm and you areconfident you understand what’sinvolved, you can do the assessmentyourself (you don’t have to be a healthand safety expert!). If you are a largerfirm, you could ask a responsibleemployee, safety representative or safetyofficer to help you. If you are notconfident, get help from a competentsource (see under ‘Getting help’ on page8). But remember - you are responsiblefor seeing it is adequately done.Hazard and Risk -don’t let words in thisguide put you off!hazard means anythingthat can causeharm (eg chemicals,electricity, workingfrom ladders, etc)risk is the chance,high or low, thatsomebody will beharmed by the hazard.3

STEP 4But what if the work you dotends to vary a lot, or you oryour employees move fromone site to another? Identify thehazards you can reasonably expect andassess the risks from them. After that, ifyou spot any additional hazards whenyou get to a site, get information fromothers on site, and take what actionseems necessary.But what if you share a workplace?Tell the other employers andself-employed people there about anyrisks your work could cause them, andwhat precautions you are taking. Also,think about the risks to your own workforcefrom those who share your workplace.But what if you have alreadyassessed some of the risks?If, for example, you use hazardouschemicals and you have already assessedthe risks to health and the precautionsyou need to take under the Control ofSubstances Hazardous to HealthRegulations (COSHH), you can considerthem ‘checked’ and move on.More information about legal requirementsand standards can be found in theHSE publications An Introduction toHealth and Safety, Essentials of Health andSafety and Management of Health andSafety at Work: Approved Code of Practice.Details of these are given on page 8.Record yourfindingsIf you have fewer than five employeesyou do not need to write anything down,though it is useful to keep a writtenrecord of what you have done. But if youemploy five or more people you mustrecord the significant findings of yourassessment. This means writing downthe significant hazards and conclusions.Examples might be ‘Electricalinstallations: insulation and earthingchecked and found sound’ or ‘Fumefrom welding: local exhaust ventilationprovided and regularly checked’.You must also tell your employees aboutyour findings.Suitable and sufficient -not perfect!Risk assessments must be suitable andsufficient. You need to be able to show that:● a proper check was made● you asked who might be affected● you dealt with all the obvioussignificant hazards, taking intoaccount the number of people whocould be involved● the precautions are reasonable, andthe remaining risk is low.6

STEP 5Keep the written record for futurereference or use; it can help you if aninspector asks what precautions youhave taken, or if you become involvedin any action for civil liability. It can alsoremind you to keep an eye on particularhazards and precautions. And it helps toshow that you have done what the lawrequires. There is an example at the endof this guide which you may findhelpful to refer to, but you can makeup your own form if you prefer.To make things simpler, you can refer toother documents, such as manuals, thearrangements in your health and safetypolicy statement, company rules,manufacturers’ instructions, your healthand safety procedures and your arrangementsfor general fire safety. These mayalready list hazards and precautions. Youdon’t need to repeat all that, and it is upto you whether you combine all thedocuments, or keep them separately.Review yourassessment andrevise it ifnecessarySooner or later you will bring in newmachines, substances and procedureswhich could lead to new hazards. Ifthere is any significant change, add tothe assessment to take account of thenew hazard. Don’t amend yourassessment for every trivial change,or still more, for each new job, but ifa new job introduces significant newhazards of its own, you will want toconsider them in their own right anddo whatever you need to keep therisks down. In any case, it is goodpractice to review your assessmentfrom time to time to make sure thatthe precautions are still workingeffectively.7

HSE officesGovernment Buildings,Phase 1,Ty Glas,Llanishen,CARDIFF CF14 5SHTel: 029 2026 3000Fax: 029 2026 3120Inter City House,Mitchell Lane,Victoria Street,BRISTOL BS1 6ANTel: 01179 886000Fax: 01179 262998The Marches House,Midway,NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYMEST5 1DTTel: 01782 602300Fax: 01782 60240014 Cardiff Road,LUTONLU1 1PPTel: 01582 444200Fax: 01582 444320Priestley House,Priestley Road,BASINGSTOKERG24 9NWTel: 01256 404000Fax: 01256 404100Wren House,Hedgerows Business Park,Colchester Road,Springfield,CHELMSFORDCM2 5PFTel: 01245 706200Fax: 01245 7062223 East Grinstead House,London Road,EAST GRINSTEADRH19 1RRTel: 01342 334200Fax: 01342 3342221 Hagley Road,BIRMINGHAMB16 8TGTel: 0121 607 6200Fax: 0121 607 63495th Floor Belgrave House,1 Greyfriars,NORTHAMPTONNN1 2BSTel: 01604 738300Fax: 01604 7383331st Floor,The Pearson Building,55 Upper Parliament Street,NOTTINGHAMNG1 6AUTel: 01159 712800Fax: 01159 712802Marshalls Mill,Marshall Street,LEEDSLS11 9YJTel: 0113 283 4200Fax: 0113 283 4296Edgar Allen House,241 Glossop Road,SHEFFIELDS10 2GWTel: 0114 291 2300Fax: 0114 291 2379Arden House,Regent Centre,Regent Farm Road,Gosforth,NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNENE3 3JNTel: 0191 202 6200Fax: 0191 202 6300Grove House,Skerton Road,MANCHESTERM16 0RBTel: 0161 952 8200Fax: 0161 952 8222Marshall House,Ringway,PRESTONPR1 2HSTel: See ManchesterFax: 01772 836222Belford House,59 Belford Road,EDINBURGHEH4 3UETel: 0131 247 2000Fax: 0131 247 2121375 West George Street,GLASGOWG2 4LWTel: 0141 275 3000Fax: 0141 275 3100Offshore Division,Lord Cullen House,Fraser Place,ABERDEEN AB25 3UBTel: 01224 252500Fax: 01224 2526629

HazardSTEP 1Look only for hazards which youcould reasonably expect to result insignificant harm under theconditions in your workplace. Usethe following examples as a guide● slipping/tripping hazards (egpoorly maintained floors or stairs)● fire (eg from flammablematerials)● chemicals (eg battery acid)● moving parts of machinery(eg blades)● work at height (eg frommezzanine floors)● ejection of material (eg fromplastic moulding)● pressure systems (eg steamboilers)● vehicles (eg fork-lift trucks)● electricity (eg poor wiring)● dust (eg from grinding)● fumes (eg welding)● manual handling● noise● poor lighting● low temperatureSTEP 2Who mightbe harmed?There is no need to listindividuals by name - justthink about groups ofpeople doing similar workor who may be affected, eg●●●●●●●office staffmaintenance personnelcontractorspeople sharing yourworkplaceoperatorscleanersmembers of the publicPay particular attention to:●●●●staff with disabilitiesvisitorsinexperienced stafflone workersThey may be morevulnerableSTEP 3Is more neededto control therisk?For the hazards listed, do theprecautions already taken:●●●●meet the standards set by a legalrequirement?comply with a recognisedindustry standard?represent good practice?reduce risk as far as reasonablypracticable?Have you provided:●●adequate information,instruction or training?adequate systems or procedures?If so, then the risks are adequatelycontrolled, but you need to indicatethe precautions you have in place.(You may refer to procedures,company rules, etc.)Where the risk is not adequatelycontrolled, indicate what more youneed to do (the ‘action list’)Review and revisionSTEP 5Set a date for review of the assessment (see opposite).On review check that the precautions for each hazard still adequately control the risk. If not indicate the actionneeded. Note the outcome. If necessary complete a new page for your risk assessment.Making changes in your workplace, eg when bringing in new● machines● substances● proceduresmay introduce significant new hazards. Look for them and follow the 5 steps.

RISK ASSESSMENT FORCompany NameCompany AddressPostcodeSTEP 1STEP 2ASSESSMENTUNDERTAKEN(date)SignedDateASSESSMENTREVIEWDateSTEP 3List significant hazards here:List groups of peoplewho are at risk from thesignificant hazards youhave identified:List existing controls or notewhere the information may befound. List risks which are notadequately controlled and theaction needed:

5 steps toRISK ASSESSMENTHSE priced and free publications areavailable by mail order from HSE Books,PO Box 1999, Sudbury, Suffolk CO10 2WATel: 01787 881165 Fax: 01787 313995Website: www.hsebooks.co.uk (HSEpriced publications are also availablefrom bookshops.)For information about health and safetyring HSE's InfoLine Tel: 08701 545500Fax: 02920 859260 e-mail:hseinformationservices@natbrit.com orwrite to HSE Information Services,Caerphilly Business Park, CaerphillyCF83 3GG. You can also visit HSE’swebsite: www.hse.gov.ukThis leaflet is available in priced packs of10 from HSE Books, ISBN 0 7176 1565 0.Single free copies are also available fromHSE Books.This leaflet contains notes on goodpractice which are not compulsory butwhich you may find helpful inconsidering what you need to do.© Crown copyright This publication maybe freely reproduced, except foradvertising, endorsement or commercialpurposes. First published 5/99. Pleaseacknowledge the source as HSE.INDG163(rev1) Reprinted 7/03 C5000Printed and published bythe Health and Safety Executive