Risk Assessment
What is a risk assessment?
A health and safety risk assessment identifies potential hazards that are present in your workplace and the likelihood of harm occurring from interaction with the hazard..
How is health and safety risk assessment conducted?
Risk assessments are an essential part of your health and safety management and are used to look after all employees and visitors.
HSE give guidance on how to conduct a Risk Assessment by using the five-step approach to workplace risk assessment:
- Identify all hazards present in the workplace.
- Identify those at risk from the hazards
- Evaluate the level of danger, the likelihood of accidents, and the measures currently in place to reduce risks.
- Record the findings in a suitable form normally your business Risk Assessment form.
- Review the assessment regularly, normally on a specific timescale or after change including, after an accident, when something changes or changes in technology
If you have five or more employees there is a legal requirement to conduct risk assessments under UK health and safety legislation.
It’s important to note the difference between hazards and risks. A hazard is anything that can cause harm, including work accidents, emergency situations, toxic chemicals, employee conflicts, stress, and more. A risk, on the other hand, is the chance that a hazard will cause harm. As part of your risk assessment plan, you will first identify potential hazards and then calculate the risk or likelihood of those hazards occurring.
Who can conduct a Risk Assessment
Anyone in your organisation can conduct a risk assessment but they must be competent to do so and have the right amount of knowledge of the 5 steps to a risk assessment and also on the areas to be risk assessed.
The best way to determine if an individual is suitable to conduct a risk assessment is to look who in your organisation has had the right level of knowledge, experience, training and skills to be able to conduct a risk assessment in your organisation.
If you do not have the in-house skill set to manage health and safety internally then you may need to get external help – Southwest Health and Safety can provide this for you or give you the training.
Its important to note that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recommends appointing competent people this can come from either internal or external of the business.
Tailor-made Risk Assessments to suit your company requirements
We are subject matter experts in all types of health and safety assessments that need to be done in the workplace, and are able to offer a range of services to support you.
- We can carry out the risk assessments for you.
- You conduct your own assessment, we will support you through the process.
- We can provide a checking services, so once your risk assessments are complete we can check to make sure they are legally compliant.
- Training your staff, providing the appropriate forms, and checking the completed assessments.
We can offer other health and safety support
If you need help with your risk assessment services, you might also need help with creating a health and safety policy and or even health and safety procedures for your business
We are able to offer a a retained health and safety service, contact us to find out more or just to have an informal chat or to arrange a free consultation, please get in touch.
Our health and safety packages are cost-effective and help you control your budget. We serve across Wiltshire and Hampshire and the whole of the South and South West.
Our Vision
To be your trusted partner for all your health and safety requirements no matter what industry you are in.
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