A risk assessment is an important step in protecting your workers and your business, as well as complying with the law. It helps you focus on the risks that really matter in your workplace – the ones with the potential to cause harm.
A health and safety risk assessment is simply a careful examination of what, in your work, could cause harm to people, so that you can weigh up whether you have taken enough precautions or should do more to prevent harm. Workers and others have a right to be protected from harm caused by a failure to take reasonable control measures. The risk assessments are a comprehensive analysis of a building’s activities, occupants and human behaviour. The assessment will include a site visit and a document containing photos and a detailed report.and will also include an action plan, which will give a specific description of any actions, along with a risk rating and suggested timescale for implementation.
Risk assessment process
Our general health and safety risk assessment process is undertaken in a systematic manner as laid out in the Management of Health and Safety Regulations and the HSE guidance document – Five steps to risk assessment, which involves the following stages:
- Identifying the hazards.
- Deciding on who might be harmed.
- Evaluating the risks and deciding on precautions.
- Recording the findings and implementing them.
- Reviewing any existing risk assessments and updating where necessary
The Risk Assessment report will be bespoke and suited to meet the requirements of specific specialist activities including:
- display screen equipment;
- manual handling;
- fire;
- control of substances hazardous to health;
- provision and use of work equipment;
- personal protective equipment;
- design risk management, as required under The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 (CDM)
- lifting operations;
- young persons; and
- pregnant workers