South Lakeland District Council
Environment & Housing Department
Food & Safety Section, South Lakeland House, Lowther Street,
Kendal, Cumbria LA9 4UD
Tel 01539 733333
THE LITTLE BOOK OF RISK
ASSESSMENT
A GUIDE FOR MANAGERS,
SAFETY REPRESENTATIVES
AND
THOSE INVOLVED IN
RISK ASSESSMENT
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
There is nothing new or revolutionary in this booklet as most of the contents are freely available from standard health and safety
reference sources, all I have done is to adopt the magpie approach and incorporate various elements into the text.
My personal input has been to reinterpret the information, frame it in a user friendly way and add my own slant on the subject.
The booklet is a result of several years working as an enforcement officer attempting to explain risk assessment to somewhat
reluctant managers in the private sector and I currently use it to train managers in S.L.D.C.
Safety Advisor, May 2002.
INTRODUCTION
This booklet has been aimed at managers but the basic principles apply to all persons involved in risk
assessment, e.g. safety representatives and persons not classed as managers but who are responsible for
certain employees.
Although managers are responsible for putting into place adequate arrangements for ensuring effective
day to day management of their employees [see par’1 page 2 ] the task of risk assessment can be
undertaken by suitably trained employees.
WHY RISK ASSESSMENT?
THE REASONING BEHIND TWENTY COMMON CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS
1. But we've always done it this way
2. I thought it would be all right
3. I thought I could just fix it before….
4. It was nobody's job really
5. It was somebody else's job
6. Nobody told us (staff)
7. We were never informed (management)
8. I knew it was wrong - but I was waiting for someone to tell me
9. The staff will never do that
10. It's only temporary
11. We're under commercial pressure
12. That doesn't need guarding - we only use it in emergencies
13. Nobody ever uses that - everybody knows its knackered
14. It's new so it must be alright
15. We're very safety conscious here
16. We've got a safety officer who does that
17. They've got protective equipment
18. It's contracted out
19. Yes, I'm in charge, but I'm not responsible
20. Safety - no problem, mate, I'm insured for a million pounds
1
Health & Safety, Part Of Our Culture At South Lakeland District Council
Under section 3.5. of the Councils General Health & Safety Policy 2002 you as Managers are responsible
for putting into place adequate arrangements for ensuring effective day to day management of the health
and safety of employees under your control. One of the most important arrangements will be the carrying
out of Suitable and Sufficient Risk Assessments in relation to your employees work activities.
Health & Safety must be part of the culture at the Council and the correct approach has to start at the top.
Most of the HARDWARE has been taken care of thanks to technological benefits e.g. class 2 / double
insulated electrical equipment, tamper proof machine guarding and a host of fail-safe devices, warning
systems etc' that we encounter in everyday life, so subject to adequate maintenance the equipment should
be low risk.
The HARDWARE has been taken care of but the SOFTWARE must be sorted out and this can be done by
the Risk Assessment process, by SOFTWARE I mean how the various workday activities are carried out.
RISK ASSESSMENT FOR MANAGERS
Risk Assessment is not a science or an art but a mixture of both, it follows the Bhuddist principle of
reincarnation as each Risk Assessment review should lead to a safer world of work and thus to Nirvana,
the final stage of enlightenment. Ah but I forgot ,we are dealing with people so Nirvana will have to wait.
H.S.[ G ] 65 Successful Health & Safety Management. " Prime responsibility for accident and ill health
prevention rests with management " The Council has adopted the guidance contained in this document as
the basis for a positive Health & Safety culture and it is worth mentioning chapter three " Organising for
health and safety ".
The 4 C's; Control
Co-operation
Communication
Competence
Control, in the workplace and control of the workforce by responsible management who must get the
commitment of staff to conduct their activities in a safe manner.
Co-operation, employees should be encouraged to " own " their arrangements for Health & Safety and be
aware of their responsibilities under the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, the arrangements are laid out in
the staff H&S booklet.
Communication, visible, positive behaviour from Managers, there is no place in the Council for negative
attitudes to Health & Safety. Make time during group meetings to address Health & Safety issues and
encourage the reporting of incidents ["near misses" or “near hits”].
Competence, starts at recruitment and placement, your staff must have suitable levels of Information,
Instruction, Training and Supervision for their job or else they should not be doing it
The Management Of Health & Safety At Work Regulations 1999, Regulation 3, Risk Assessment states
that " Every employer shall make a suitable and sufficient assessment of; a] the risks to the health and
safety of their employees to which they are exposed whilst they are at work; and b] the risks to the health
and safety of persons not in their employment arising out of or in connection with the conduct by them or
their undertaking " I realise that this regulation refers to "employers " but the Management Regulations are
underpinned by H.S.G. 65 which places the responsibility for health and safety on the manager.
The Management Regulations were revised in December 1999 to include pregnant workers, young workers
and fire precautions.
Stress, the curse of the new millennium. We are surrounded by uncertainty and fear with a constant
stream of media information or should I say misinformation regarding litigation due to breaches in Health &
Safety law. Suitable and Sufficient Risk Assessment should lead to a reduction in stress as it will identify
strengths as well as weaknesses in your management systems.
2
Keep it simple, remember SLIPS, TRIPS, FALLS along with MANUAL HANDLING and
MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS are still top of the pops with regard to injuries and fatalities sustained
by the workforce.
Employees, this is not a one way street for employers, managers and Group Heads as the employees
have duties under section 7 of the Health & Safety At Work Act 1974, Regulation 10 of the Management
Reg's and Part 3 of the Councils local agreed procedures [ breaches of safety regulations ]. The duties are
concerned with the correct use of equipment, devices, systems, following Codes Of Safe Working Practice,
not putting themselves or others in danger etc'.
The Health & Safety Executive, is the Governmental body responsible for enforcing Health & Safety in
Local Government and they also provide help and advice on the many pieces of legislation which we
implement. During any investigation by the H.S.E. the Risk Assessments of the Local Authority will be
examined to determine if they are Suitable and Sufficient, so it is crucial that we get it right.
Conclusions
Apart from having a legal duty to abide by the various pieces of Health & Safety legislation we all have a
moral duty to behave in a responsible manner when we are at work.
Our workplace must be safe so that accidents can be eliminated or at least reduced to the lowest practical
level leading to an elimination or at least a reduction of the pain and misery suffered by the accident victims
and their families.
The Council must give it's employees the opportunity to retire at the statutory time instead of having to
retire early due to ill health caused by work.
This will in turn make the organisation more efficient and help in the reduction of accident related costs to
the Council as well as to the overall cost to the National Health Service.
Employees ! we need you to be: HAPPY HEALTHY HERE
Instead of: ILL INJURED ABSENT
[ quote from the Health & Safety Commission’s strategic plan 1999/2002 ]
3
DEFINITIONS
1] An accident is, “an unplanned undesired event”
2] Risk Assessment is, "Identifying hazards and quantifying and reducing risk".
3] It is done to make the workplace safer and healthier.
4] Hazard is, "something with the potential to cause harm”.
5] Risk is, “the likelyhood that the harm from a particular hazard will be realised”.
6] You must consider, employees, contractors and customers.
7] Three common pieces of legislation are,
- Manual Handling Operations Regulations
- Display Screen Equipment Regulations
- Personal Protective Equipment Regulations
8] All employees must be assessed regardless of the level of risk to which they are exposed.
9] Cost is no excuse.
10] Suitable and sufficient Risk Assessment should result in,
- reduced accidents
- fewer stoppages and less work related illness
- better productivity for the organisation
11] It should also result in,
- safe working conditions
- better productivity
- a better work environment for the employee
4
CONTROLLING RISKS
The action that you take to control the risks must be Suitable, Sufficient and Proportionate i.e. the level
of action must correspond to the level of risk, e.g. a person washing a car wearing a wet suit and full
breathing apparatus would be out of proportion to the level of risk, so would a welder dressed in shorts and
a T shirt using an arc welding kit.
Key points
. AVOID
. EVALUATE
. COMBAT RISKS AT SOURCE
. ADAPT THE TASK TO THE INDIVIDUAL
The 1999 Management of Health & Safety at Work stresses the need to consider young persons, new
employees and inexperienced workers in particular, so Health Safety must be part of the induction process
to new entrants.
CODES OF SAFE WORKING PRACTICE
Once the risk assessment has been undertaken you now have part of the necessary data for a Code Of
Safe Working Practice [ C.S.W.P. ] to be drawn up.
The Council has a number of Corporate codes in operation [ Display Screen Equipment, Violence to Staff
etc’ ] and compliance with the codes will depend on the type of work process, e.g. D.S.E. is a prescriptive
code consisting of a series of instructions to be followed, this type of code can be used Council wide
without any adaptation by managers.
The Violence to Staff code contains mainly general advice along with prescriptive elements and it is up to
individual managers to tailor the code to suit their employees requirements, e.g. the requirements for car
park patrol officers would be different to those for reception staff.
Information from Approved Codes Of Practice, current technical journals, manufacturers instructions,
consultation with employees, accident data, best practice etc' will also be used in the production of
C.S.W.P.'s.
5
Monitoring
The Risk Assessment has been undertaken, the C.S.W.P. drawn up and the staff are aware of the safe
way to approach the job, end of story and we all live happily ever after, no, not quite.
Human nature being what it is the C.S.W.P. falls by the wayside and staff revert to short cuts and bad
practice, they usually do this with the best of intentions i.e. to get the job done quickly.
Active Monitoring uses a ' check and correct ' method to make sure that the relevant C.S.W.P. or job
method is actually adhered to.
In common with risk control, monitoring must be proportionate e,g, if the office staff have been assessed
under the Display Screen Regulations a quarterly check may be sufficient to prove compliance as the
problems associated with D.S.E. tend to be long term.
At the top end of the risk scale employees involved in confined space entry are monitored every time they
enter a confined space.
For medium risk activities such as vehicle maintenance the frequency could be on a two weekly basis to
make sure that the relevant personal protective equipment is worn and the correct tools and equipment
used, a simple tick list will be sufficient in most cases to check that what should be done is actually being
done.
A draft Code Of Practice for Active Monitoring has been piloted during the early part of 2001 and
monitoring of the Council’s boat launching facilities at Ferry Nab has been undertaken.
The Code should be finalised before the end of 2002.
Group Meetings
Good practice indicates that Health and Safety issues should be addressed during staff meetings and I
would ask all Managers to reserve a slot as a standing item in the agenda for this purpose. A copy of the
minutes [ or the relevant H&S input ] should be sent to the Safety Advisor.
You may be surprised to discover less obvious Health and Safety issues brought to your attention as a
result of consulting your staff, please refer to your Safety Co - ordinator for advice if you feel that particular
issues are beyond your level of experience, if the S.C. cannot help, contact the Safety Advisor.
The Health & Safety Executive [ H.S.E. ] is the Governmental body responsible for enforcing health and
safety in local government. This includes routine inspections of the way we manage health and safety, they
also provide help and advice on the many pieces of legislation which we implement as well as carrying out
accident investigations.
In the event of an accident investigation by the H.S. E. the following documentation will be examined by
the inspector so it is essential that these systems are built into the management systems of the Council,
Health & Safety Essentials
. Risk Assessments
. C.S.W.P.'s
.Training records [ including a 'test of understanding' ]
. Monitoring systems
6
South Lakeland District Council
Risk Assessment
Risk assessment is a systematic study of what, in the work that you do, may cause harm to anyone. It is a
process which by following it through, ensures that all hazardous situations are considered and the level of
risk associated with each is evaluated.
Quote "Risk Assessment is not an intellectual exercise, it is designed to save lives and promote
health"
Hazard something with a potential to cause harm.
eg: a chemical
an item of machinery
a heavy load etc.
Risk the likelihood that the harm from a particular hazard will be realised. The level of risk is determined
by the likelihood of the occurrence and the severity of the outcome.
Risk assessment is a tool which you can use to satisfy yourself and others (customers, employees, The
Health & Safety Executive ] that you have taken all reasonable steps to comply with the requirements of the
law. The aim is to further reduce the likelihood of accidents occurring. It is also evidence that you have
considered all reasonably foreseeable outcomes. This may be of benefit to you should an accident occur
and you find yourself facing criminal or civil charges.
Risk assessment is what motor insurers do: they look at the hazard - your vehicle being damaged or stolen;
they consider the risk ie. where you live, the type of car, your previous record, your age etc.; they take into
account existing precautions - garage, alarm etc.; they evaluate the risk as a whole, comparing it to others
and reduce their risk by increasing the premiums - offset by their desire to have your custom.
Another example of risk assessment is the mental process we go through every time we cross a road: the
hazard is being hit by a vehicle; we look at the factors involved - the amount of traffic, the speed it is
travelling, are we laden down with anything, what footwear do we have etc. We then evaluate the risk
involved with crossing the road there and then and weigh that against the level of risk we are prepared to
take, unfortunately this is usually influenced by how much of a rush are we in.
QUOTE " Prime responsibility for accident and ill health prevention rests with management "
SOURCE, Successful Health & Safety Management, H.S.E. Books, H.S.G.65.
7
RISK ASSESSMENT
The Management Of Health & Safety At Work Regulations 1999.
Regulation 3.
Every employer (self-employed person) shall make a suitable and sufficient assessment of:
(a) the risks to health and safety of his employees (himself) 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 of his undertaking,
for the purpose of identifying the measures he needs to take to comply with the
requirements and prohibitions imposed upon him by or under the relevant statutory
provisions.
The law says that the risk assessment should be "suitable and sufficient". This means that it should identify
the significant risks arising out of the work that you do. Trivial risks can usually be ignored, as can those
arising out of routine activities associated with life in general, unless the work activity compounds those
risks.
For example: someone trips over their own feet or loses their footing on the stairs,
[assuming that the flooring and stairs are free from defects] these are not significant
risks.
Whereas someone tripping on defective flooring, or slipping on a recently mopped
floor although common accidents, your activities and the location will probably have
compounded the risk.
There are no fixed rules on how to undertake a risk assessment, but we will look at one recommended
method.
The process we will go through now is known as "The 5 Steps to Risk Assessment".
The process can either be followed for each different area of operations.
For example: Administration, external visits for inspection / enforcement. This is particularly useful where
different staff have responsibility for specific areas.
In addition, you may consider further breaking down the areas eg. External visits: lone working, safe place
of work,personal protective equipment etc'.
or for each type of problem eg. manual handling, chemicals and slips, trips & falls.
8
FIVE STEPS TO RISK ASSESSMENT
1 Look for the hazards
2 Decide who might be harmed by each hazard, and how
3 Evaluate the risks arising from the hazards and decide whether existing precautions are adequate
or more should be done
4 Record the findings and bring to the attention of employees the significant findings
5 Review the assessment when necessary and revise it if necessary
1. Identify hazards
What could reasonably be expected to cause harm? Talk about the area and the work carried out
there etc with others - brainstorm ideas. Look at accident reports, near-misses, use your own
experience and learn from other peoples misadventures.
Look to see if anything has changed eg new equipment, new procedures etc. Look at what actually
happens, not what should happen! Consider: inexperienced workers - what happens away from the
office; non-routine operations; emergencies and times of crisis, overtime, working at night etc.
2. Who might be harmed and how?
WHO MIGHT BE HARMED? (By your activities)
- Yourself
- Employees or others working with you
- Customers: Consider:,customers with disabilities, behaviour of customers
- Contractors and other visitors
- Members of the public
- Widen the scope of your thinking - remember your duties to others under H&SW Act
9
3. Evaluate risks
Evaluate the risks arising from the hazards considering the existing precautions.
Remember - Risk = likelihood of occurrence x severity of outcome, usually referred to as the Risk
Rating.
So - how often will someone be exposed to the hazard? How you carry out this assessment of risk
is again up to you. Some people prefer the numerical approach but for the sake of consistence
throughout the Authority I would recommend the low, medium, high method of evaluation based on
a simple scoring system, but remember, don’t rely totally on the numbers game..
10
Risk Assessment Process
Risk = Likelihood x Severity
Likelihood of occurrence
1 Highly unlikely to ever occur
2 May occur but very rarely
3 Does occur but only rarely
4 Occurs from time to time
5 Likely to occur often
Severity of outcome
1 Slight inconvenience
2 Minor injury requiring first aid
3 Medical attention required
4 Major injury leading to hospitalisation
5 Fatality or serious injury leading to disability
The risk can then be quantified:
1 - 5 = low risk = review every 12 months.
6 - 12 = medium risk = review every 3 - 6 months.
15 - 25 = high risk = immediate review.
For example: a. Scratches and scrapes sustained whilst opening packaging:
likely to occur often = 5
slight inconvenience = 1
= 5 no great concern
b. Slip on recently mopped floor:
occurs from time to time = 4
first aid required =2
= 8 make people aware of risk
c. Back strain from lifting:
does occur but rarely = 3
major injury =4
= 12 not good enough controls
This is done after consideration of your existing controls so it shows the residual risk.
Are these risks acceptable?
11
Consider controls for reducing risks:
Cease the activity
Substitute the activity for a less hazardous one
Enclose the activity or segregate it from others
Reduce the number of people exposed to the hazard
Reduce the period of exposure
Provide personal protective equipment
One of the existing controls or precautions will be the use of a suitably qualified and experienced
people for the job. This should be taken into account in the risk assessment but it is not sufficient
on it's own.
4. Record the findings
The law requires that you record the significant findings of the assessment and any employees
identified as being especially at risk. It is advisable for everyone to do this irrespective of size.
-The management Regulations require this where there or 5 or more employees;
The following may wish to examine your risk assessment:
- Health & Safety Executive
- Customers and clients
- Fire officer
- Visiting Contractors
- Your Insurance Company
5. Review
Review and revise the assessment when necessary. This maybe when:
- the nature of the work changes eg different activities taken on for the first time, eg: new
operations introduced etc.
- the nature of the risks change eg new research shows increased or reduced risks.
- an accident or other incident occurs which highlights a possible failing within your safety
system. This may be an accident which occurs to someone else that you hear or read about.
- otherwise, you should plan to review your risk assessment on a routine basis.
- Your risk assessment should be a "living" document. It is not something which is done once and
put in a drawer and forgotten. The more staff involved from the start, the more benefit the whole
exercise will be.
- Quote, " The U.K. now has the lowest rate of fatal accidents to workers in Europe, and a
lower rate than in the USA " [ source, The Institute Of Occupational Safety And Health, March
1999. ]
- So beware of complacency and think about CONCERN, CONSIDERATION and
COMPETENCE and build on what has already been achieved
12
RISK ASSESSMENT IN PRACTICE
So much for the theory, let us enter the real world.
The following example of changing a light bulb can be adapted to your particular risk
assessment.
Please send all humourous suggestions as to how many Safety Professionals it takes to change a light
bulb to the Safety Advisor, he could do with a laugh.
Other examples:
- D.S.E. [ Display Screen Equipment ] users
- manual handling
- use of ladders
- working alone
- cash handling
Most of the operations within the Council are covered by specific Codes Of Safe Working Practice so you
could refer to these in the “ existing precautions “ heading on the assessment spreadsheet.
Once again, beware of the numbers game as the scoring is simply a
guide to the risk rating.
Use the following forms BRA [p14] and ARA [p15] to establish the risk rating before and after risk
assessment and refer to the practical examples given in Before Risk Assessment [p16] and After
Risk Assessment [p17] for guidance with regard to scoring the risk rating.
Please note that the points listed in the FURTHER ACTION column on the before risk assessment form
transfer to the EXISTING PRECAUTIONS column on the after risk assessment form.
13
Before Risk Assessment Form
Assessor……………………………………….
Department…………………………………….
Operation assessed………………………….
Date……………
HAZARD WHO EXISITING PRECAUTIONS RISK FURTHER ACTION REVIEW
LxS DATE/ACTION
TIMESCALE
14
After Risk Assessment Form
Assessor……………………………………….
Department…………………………………….
Operation assessed………………………….
Date……………
HAZARD WHO EXISITING PRECAUTIONS RISK FURTHER ACTION REVIEW
LxS DATE/ACTION
TIMESCALE
15
e.g Before Risk Assessment
HAZARD WHO EXISITING PRECAUTIONS RISK FURTHER ACTION REVIEW DATE/
LxS ACTION
TIMESCALE
Changing a 5' Person No precautions 1. Use folding stepladder (check Immediate action
strip light changing 4x4=16 for safe condition)
above a desk lamp and High risk 2. Move desk
other 3. Ensure correct lamp
persons 4. Switch light off
in office 5. Person to steady ladder and
pass lamp
Notes: Ceiling is high - 2.3 metres above desk
Desk is 0.7 metres high
Person stands on a chair which has been placed on the desk
Person falls, fractures leg, suffers concussion, lamp smashes on adjacent desk,
A.N. Other person injured by flying glass
Risk = Likelihood X Severity
LIKELIHOOD OF OCCURRENCE SEVERITY OF OUTCOME
1. Highly unlikely to ever occur 1. Slight inconvenience
2. May occur but very rarely 2. Minor injury requiring first aid
3. May occur rarely 3. Medical attention required
4. May occur from time to time 4. Major injury leading to hospitalisation
5. Likely to occur often 5. Fatality or serious injury leading to disability
1 - 5 = Low risk Review every 12 months
6 - 12 = Medium risk Review 3 to 6 months
15 - 25 = High risk Immediate action required
16
e.g After Risk Assessment
HAZARD WHO EXISITING PRECAUTIONS RISK FURTHER ACTION REVIEW
DATE/ACTION
LxS TIMESCALE
Changing a 5' Same as 1. Use folding stepladder (check 1X4 12 monthly to
strip light before for safe condition) Low risk ensure compliance
above a desk 2. Move desk
4. Ensure correct lamp
5. Switch light off
6. Person to steady ladder and
pass lamp
Risk = Likelihood X Severity
LIKELIHOOD OF OCCURRENCE SEVERITY OF OUTCOME
1. Highly unlikely to ever occur 1. Slight inconvenience
2. May occur but very rarely 2. Minor injury requiring first aid
3. May occur rarely 3. Medical attention required
4. May occur from time to time 4. Major injury leading to hospitalisation
5. Likely to occur often 5. Fatality or serious injury leading to disability
Likelihood = 1 due to precautions
Severity = 4 same as before concerning person changing lamp, i.e. a fall would still result in similar injuries but highly unlikely to happen due to
controls in place.
In this case: Score 4 is acceptable and the risk reduced from High to Low
17