Risk Assessment is required by law.
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 state:
Reg. 3(1)
(a) The risks to the health and safety of his employees to which they are exposed whilst they are at work; and
(b) The risks to the health and safety of persons not in his employment arising out of or in connection with the conduct by him or his undertaking.
For the purpose of identifying the measures he needs to take to comply with the requirements or prohibitions imposed on him by or under the relevant statutory provisions
It should be also realised that Regulation 3(2) imposes similar requirements on self-employed persons.
When undertaking a Risk Assessment the person must understand the terms in use, i.e. the meaning of Hazard and Risk.
When conducting a Risk Assessment it is necessary to consider the actual likelihood of the harm happening, the potential severity of the harm in terms of injury or harm to health and the numbers of people exposed to the risk and for how long.
The above factors will influence the level of depth and sophistication needed in the risk assessment. It is important to focus on real risk but this must not be simplistic or obscure the wider view required for the risk assessment to be “suitable and sufficient” Appropriate control measures are detailed in the risk assessment which must be brought to the employees’ attention.
The following links show samples of two templates used by HSM Safety Management in current use with client companies.
Additionally Risk Assessments are required for COSHH, Manual Handling and also for Vibration Exposure.
The provision of these assessments are part of the services offered and sample assessment templates are viewable by following the links