Why it is essential to assess your risks in the workplace.

As an employer, you’re required by law to protect your employees, and others, from harm, this blog will highlight how risk assessments are an important tool for keep people safe.

Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, the minimum you must do is:

• Identify what could cause injury or illness in your business (hazards)
• Decide how likely it is that someone could be harmed and how seriously (the risk)
• Take action to eliminate the hazard, or if this isn’t possible, control the risk.

In a recent press release from the HSE, detailed below, A Director has been given a suspended prison sentence and two firms have been fined after a worker was killed when glass panes fell on top of him whilst unloading a shipping container from a lorry, there were a number of failings from this event, where detrimental risks were not accurately assessed, resulting in this unnecessary fatality – The HSE inspector, whom investigated stated;

“This case highlights the importance of engaging competent contractors and making sure that roles and responsibilities are clearly defined. Management arrangements need to be clear between clients, contractors and principal contractors so that health and safety arrangements can be properly planned, coordinated and implemented.

“All parties are required to ensure that safety arrangements are in place and followed. This was a wholly preventable incident which led to the death of Tawanda Chamwandayita in tragic circumstances.”

https://press.hse.gov.uk/2023/01/20/director-given-suspended-prison-sentence-and-firms-fined-after-worker-dies/

Assessing risk is just one part of the overall process used to control risks in your workplace.

Risk management is a step-by-step process for controlling health and safety risks caused by hazards in the workplace, and as stressed by the HSE, the steps needed to manage risk by a competent person, would be.

1. Identify the hazards – Look around your workplace and think about what may cause harm (these are called hazards).
2. Assess the risks – Once you have identified the hazards, decide how likely it is that someone could be harmed and how serious it could be. This is assessing the level of risk.
3. Control the risks – Look at what you’re already doing, and the controls you already have in place.
4. Record your findings – Record your significant findings, use a risk assessment to keep simple, but essential findings.
5. Review the controls – You must review the controls you have put in place regularly to make sure they are working.

Our expert staff at OMS are happy to help, if you have any problems or queries regarding your Health & Safety needs within your business, at info@oms.uk.com