How to carry out a risk assessment

Any business that has employees is required to protect them by law. As part of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and as a business owner, you’re expected as a minimum to identify potential hazards or risks and decide how likely it is that someone will be harmed in this way. You should also take certain actions to reduce the risk of an accident or get rid of the hazard altogether.

One of the most effective ways to determine the risks and reduce their likelihood of occurring is with a risk assessment. Below, you can find out the steps involved in a risk assessment, how to complete one and how to ensure your employees are protected in the future too. Don’t forget to take a look at our blog ‘What is a risk assessment policy’ if you want more information before carrying out a risk assessment.

How many steps are there to a risk assessment?

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) identifies five key steps to creating an acceptable risk assessment:

1. Identify the hazards
2. Assess the risks
3. Control the risks
4. Record your findings somewhere
5. Review the risks in the future

How do you conduct a risk assessment?

Identify the hazards

First, you will need to do a thorough check of your premises and make a note of any potential hazards or places where accidents could occur. It may be worth asking employees what they consider to be a risk, as well as observing them in action and checking any accident books to see if there are any recurring incidents that need particular attention. Make notes of anything you spot as you go, as you’ll need to report these later.

Common hazards and risks include:

• Trailing wires
• Heavy machinery
• Electricity
• Slips, trips and falls
• Transport
• Confined spaces
• Hazardous substances
• Noise
• Manual handling
• Stress

Assess the risks

Once you’ve identified potential hazards, step two is to assess the risks associated with each one. This means determining the likelihood of the hazard causing harm and the potential severity of that harm. Consider factors like how often employees are exposed to the hazard, how severe the consequences of an incident could be, and existing control measures that might already be in place. This step helps you prioritise which hazards need the most urgent attention and what level of control measures are necessary.

Control the risks

Once you’ve done this preparation work, it’s time for the most important step — removing the hazard altogether or controlling those risks or, if this isn’t possible, putting physical precautions in place. These could be additional handrails on stairs, wet floor signs, altering the layout of the space to make it easier to navigate, replacing machinery or providing suitable personal protective equipment (PPE).

Record findings

The fourth step involves recording your findings. This is where you will need to fill in a risk assessment form (if you employ five or more people).

Review risks in the future

The fifth step is an ongoing one and involves monitoring all risks and their proposed solutions to ensure that they’re working and that they don’t change or worsen.

When to carry out a risk assessment?

A workplace risk assessment should be completed before any hazardous work activity begins. This means you can identify and control any potential hazards before they cause harm to your staff. It’s also important to review your risk assessments regularly, especially if there are any changes in the workplace, like new equipment, processes, or legislation. It’s also beneficial to reassess if an accident or near miss did happen, just in case the current controls need adjusting.

 

How do you write a risk assessment report

This whole risk assessment should be recorded in a document that shows what considerations you’ve made and the control measures you’ve put in place.

Luckily, you don’t have to start this document from scratch or design it yourself. All Citation customers get access to a range of risk assessment templates that you can use to guide you through the process. Our Health & Safety consultants are also on hand 24/7 to answer any questions you may have. Remember, you can’t copy a risk assessment template from another business and simply alter the company name – your premises may have different hazards that will need to be taken into account individually.

Once your assessment is complete, you should continue to monitor potential risks in the workplace, especially if some circumstances change. For example, a risk assessment should be revisited when an employee tells you she is pregnant as there may be further precautions required to keep her safe while at work.

It’s very important that you return to the assessment every so often to make sure that the information included is still correct and that there are no new hazards to consider. It will also need to be amended when new staff come on board or there is a change to certain processes.

 

Get risk assessment support from Citation

At Citation, we have a range of Health & Safety services that could support your businesses, including risk assessment support, Health & Safety Software, accident reporting support and much more!

Our team are always happy to help, simply contact us today to find out more and ask any questions you might have.