4.6 Risk Assessment
4.6.1 Risk Assessment
4.6.2 Details of Assessment
4.6.3 Preventative and Protective Measures
4.6.4 Health and Safety Arrangements (Risk Assessments)
4.6.5 Procedures for serious and imminent danger and for dangerous areas
4.6.6 Information for employees
4.6.7 Cooperation and coordination
4.6.8 Training
4.6.9 New and Young Employees
All work will be negotiated for, or tendered for, taking risk assessments into account.
All levels of Company management (Project Managers and Site Supervisors) are to be fully conversant with these requirements and to produce risk assessments for their specific areas for submission to the Health and Safety Co-ordinator.
A generic written assessment is available for each task wit significant risks normally carried out during work. This is to be varied as required by the Company management taking into account local risk factors where these are appropriate under the actual working conditions.
4.6.1 Risk Assessment
To assess the risks to Company employees and others who may be affected by our undertakings.
In particular management shall:
a) Ensure that all relevant risks or hazards are addressed:
- To identify the significant risks in the workplace by not obscuring those risks with an excess of information or be concentrating on trivial risks.
- To identify hazards, ie. those aspects of work (eg. Substances or equipment used, work processes or work organisation) which have the potential to cause harm.
- Complying with specific Acts or Regulations in order to help identify hazards.
- By assessing the risk from the identified hazards, if there are no hazards, there are no risks.
- By systematically looking at hazards and risks eg. Machinery, transport, substances, electrical etc. and by operation eg., materials in production, dispatch, offices etc.
- By ensuring all aspects of the work are reviewed.
b) Address what actually happens in the workplace or during the work activity within your area of responsibility:
- Actual practice does not differ from the works procedure as this is frequently a route whereby risks creep in unnoticed.
- Assess the non-routine operations eg., maintenance operations, loading and unloading, etc.
- Assess interruptions to the work activity, which are frequent causes of accident. Look at the management of such incidents and the procedures followed.
c) Ensure that all groups of employees and others who might be affected are considered, do not forget office staff, cleaners, maintenance staff, visitor's etc.
d) Identify groups of workers who might be particularly at risk, for example, young or inexperienced workers, those who work alone, those that work in confined spaces, disabled staff etc.
e) Take account of existing preventative or precautionary measures:
- They may already reduce the risk sufficiently in terms of what needs to be done to comply with relevant statutory provisions. But are they working properly? Does action need to be taken to ensure they are properly maintained?
4.6.2 Details of Assessment
The level of detail in a risk assessment should be broadly proportionate to the risk. The purpose is not to catalogue every trivial hazard, nor is management expected to be able to anticipate hazards beyond the limits of current knowledge. A suitable and sufficient risk assessment will reflect what it is reasonably practicable to expect the Company to know about the hazards in the workplace. The format of all such risk assessments is provided within this policy.
4.6.3 Preventative and Protective Measures
These depend upon the relevant legislation - covering particular hazards or sectors of work - and the risk assessment. In deciding upon the measures, the Company shall apply the following principles:
a) It is always best if possible to avoid a risk altogether, eg. By not using or stocking a particular dangerous substance or article it is not crucial to the business.
b) Combat risks at source, rather than palliative measures. Thus if the steps are slippery, treating or replacing them is better than providing a warning sign.
c) Wherever possible, adapt work to the individual especially as regards the design of workplaces, the choice of work equipment and the choice of working and production methods, with a view in particular to alleviating monotonous work and work at a pre-determined work rate. This helps reduce possible adverse effects on Health and Safety.
d) Take advantage of technological and technical progress, which often offers opportunities for improving working methods and making them safer.
e) Risk prevention measures need to form part of a coherent policy and approach having the effect of progressively reducing those risks that cannot be prevented or avoided altogether, and which will take into account of the way work is to be organised, working conditions, the working environment and any relevant social factors.
f) Give a priority to those measures which protect the whole workplace and all who work there, and so yield the greatest benefit overall, ie. give collective protective measures priority over individual measures.
g) Communication - employees need to understand what they are required to do.
h) The avoidance, prevention and reduction of risks at work needs to be an accepted part of the approach and attitudes at all levels of the organisation and to apply to all it's activities, ie. the existence of an active Health and Safety culture affecting the organisation as a whole needs to be assured.
Any necessary plant, equipment, monitoring, hygiene and welfare facilities, medical examinations, health surveillance and protective clothing and equipment specified in the risk assessment must be present at the relevant location before the task is carried out.
4.6.4 Health and Safety Arrangements (Risk Assessments)
The senior Health and Safety personnel (Directors and the Health and Safety Co-ordinator) are responsible for:-
a) Planning: Adopting a systematic approach that identifies priorities and sets objectives. Whenever possible risk are eliminated by the careful selection and design of facilities, equipment and processes or minimised by the use of physical control measures.
b) Organisation: Putting in place the necessary structure with the aim of ensuring that there is a progressive improvement in Health and Safety performance.
c) Control: Ensuring that the decisions for ensuring and promoting Health and Safety are being implemented as planned.
d) Monitoring and Review: Progressive improvement in health and Safety can only be achieved through constant development of policies, approaches to implementation and techniques of risk control.
4.6.5 Procedures for Serious and Imminent Danger and for Dangerous Areas
The Company will establish procedures to be followed by any worker if situations presenting serious and imminent danger arise. The aim is to set out clear guidance on when employees and others at work should stop work and how they should move to a place of safety. In some cases this will require full evacuation of the workplace. In other cases it might mean some or all of the workforce moving to a safer part of the workplace.
The procedures will take account of responsibilities of specific employees. Some employees or groups of employees will have specific tasks to perform in the event of emergencies.
4.6.6 Information for Employees
The risk assessment will help identify information that has to be provided to employees under specific regulations, as well as any further information relevant to risks to employees health and safety. Relevant information on risks and on preventative and protective measures will be limited to what employees need to know to ensure their Health and Safety.
To be comprehensible, information must be capable of being understood by the employees to whom it is addressed. This should take account of their level of training, knowledge and experience. Special consideration should be given to any employees with language difficulties or with disabilities which may impede their receipt of information. For employees with little or no understanding of English, or who cannot read English, the Company may need to make special arrangements.
4.6.7 Co-operation and Co-ordination
The Company's obligation under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 is towards any person that may be put at risk by our activities. Where our activities and that of other employers and self-employed people interact co-operation is required to ensure that our respective obligations are met. This will be achieved on site through communication channels in place as required under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994, and in the office by agreement with the Health and Safety Co-ordinator. Such arrangements are required to meet compliance prior to co-habitation or works commencing on site.
4.6.8 Training
Training is an important way of achieving competence and helps convert information into safe working practices. It contributes to the Company's Health and Safety culture and is needed at all levels, including the Company's Senior Management. The risk assessment and the training co-ordinator will determine the level of training need for each type of work as part of the preventative and protective measures. This may include basic skills training, specific on-the-job training and training in health and safety or emergency procedures.
4.6.9 New and Young Employees
New employees will receive basic induction training on health and Safety, including arrangements for first aid, fire and evacuation, particular attention will be given to young employees. The risk assessment should indicate further specific training needs. In some cases, training may be required even though an employee already holds a formal qualification.
Changes in an employee's work environment may cause them to be exposed to new or increased risks requiring further training. The need for further training should be considered when:-
a) Employees transfer or take on new responsibilities. There may be a change in the work activity or in the environment.
b) There is a change in the work equipment of systems of work in use. A significant change is likely to need a review and re-assessment of risks, which may indicate additional training needs. If the change includes introducing completely new technology, it may bring with it new and unfamiliar risks. Competent outside advice may also be needed. |