A risk assessment is a thorough look at your workplace to identify those things, situations, processes, etc. that may cause harm, particularly to people. After identification is made, you analyze and evaluate how likely and severe the risk is.
A manager is carrying out a risk assessment among drillers in an underground gold mine. The drillers use pneumatic jackhammers. After some years in this mine several of the drillers developed lung problems, and the owner realizes that safety and health practices need to be improved in this regard.
A risk assessment is a comprehensive review of your workplace to identify anything that may cause harm. Hazards can include tasks, applications, tools and environmental conditions. In other words, hazards are anything that has the potential to cause harm. The risk is then the likelihood of that harm occurring.
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.
The qualitative risk assessment is the most common form of risk assessment. You will often see this type of risk assessment in workplaces. This type of risk assessment is based on the personal judgement and expertise of the assessor, who will often use their own experience to decide on the risk levels involved.
This risk assessment has been designed to be used as a tool to quickly identify hazards within the workplace that can cause harm to workers. It should be used periodically to assess WHS risks and what should be changed to improve safety for workers and clients.
A risk assessment is a process to identify potential hazards and analyze what could happen if a hazard occurs. A business impact analysis (BIA) is the process for determining the potential impacts resulting from the interruption of time sensitive or critical business processes. There are numerous hazards to consider.
You have a legal duty to assess the risks to the health and safety of your employees (and risks to the health and safety of persons not in your employment) to which they are exposed while they are at work.
If you run a small organisation and you are confident you understand what's involved, you can do the assessment yourself. You don't have to be a health and safety expert. If you work in a larger organisation, you could ask a health and safety advisor to help you.
A risk assessment checklist ensures you've evaluated every area of your business when preparing to conduct a risk assessment. With a checklist, you can be sure you have considered risk from every direction and have all the information to allow your company to ultimately develop a risk management plan.
ergonomic - repetitive movements, improper set up of workstation, etc., physical - radiation, magnetic fields, pressure extremes (high pressure or vacuum), noise, etc., psychosocial - stress, violence, etc., safety - slipping/tripping hazards, inappropriate machine guarding, equipment malfunctions or breakdowns.
Identifying and locating potential hazards is the first step in a risk assessment. Several different types of hazards should be considered. Physical risks include tripping or falling in the workplace, sustaining injuries when lifting heavy materials or working with dangerous machinery.
Types of Risks
Widely, risks can be classified into three types: Business Risk, Non-Business Risk, and Financial Risk.
Risk assessment is nothing more than a careful examination of what, in our work, could cause harm to people, so that we can weigh up whether we have taken enough precautions or should do more to prevent harm. The aim is to make sure that no one gets hurt or becomes ill.
Step 1: Identify the hazards/risky activities; Step 2: Decide who might be harmed and how; Step 3: Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions; Step 4: Record your findings in a Risk Assessment and management plan, and implement them; Step 5: Review your assessment and update if necessary.
An effective risk assessment can drastically reduce the likelihood of work-related accidents. They raise awareness about hazards and the risks they pose and help employers identify options to minimise health and safety risks.
Step 2 - Get organised. The 4 C's - Competence, Control, Co-operation and Communication are a useful aid to getting organised.
Health and safety professionals, such as occupational health and safety officers or consultants, can provide expert guidance and support in risk assessment. They possess the knowledge and expertise to help employers and employees identify potential hazards and risks and develop effective control measures.