In this article we are going to answer this question “What Is The Purpose Of A Risk Assessment”?
Risk assessment is a risk management process which involves identifying potential hazards and analyze what could happen if the hazard results to an accident. The definition has already given a clue on the purpose of risk assessment.
We are still going answer the question “What Is The Purpose Of A Risk Assessment” more in-depth.
What Is The Purpose Of A Risk Assessment
- The purpose of the risk assessment process is to evaluate hazards, then remove that hazard or minimize the level of its risk by adding control measures, as necessary. By doing so, you have created a safer and healthier workplace.
- Conducting a risk assessment in your workplace will allow you to minimize risks, better comply with workplace safety regulations and help you to create and maintain a healthier work environment. Internal assessments are the number one way to uncover risks in your workplace.
- Risk assessments aim to identify all of the possible hazards within the workplace and to subsequently protect employees, work associates and customers from these hazards through implementing control measures
- The purpose of writing method statements and risk assessments is ultimately to get you to plan the health and safety management of your work, to minimise and control the risks in an appropriate way, and to protect your workforce and those that may be exposed.
Here Are Purposes Of Risk Assessment Highlighted From Other Sources:
Source – oiraproject
- Identify the hazards created at work and evaluate the risks associated with these hazards, to determine what measures they should take to protect the health and safety of their employees and other workers, having due regard to legislative requirements;
- Evaluate the risks in order to make the best informed selection of work equipment, chemical substances or preparations used, the fitting out of the workplace, and the organisation of work;
- Check whether the measures in place are adequate;
- Prioritise action if further measures are found to be necessary as a result of the assessment;
- Demonstrate to themselves, the competent authorities, workers and their representatives that all factors pertinent to the work have been considered, and that an informed valid judgment has been made about the risks and the measures necessary to safeguard health and safety;
- Ensure that the preventive measures and the working and production methods, which are considered to be necessary and implemented following a risk assessment, provide an improvement in the level of worker’s protection.
Source – britsafe
- To identify health and safety hazards and evaluate the risks presented within the workplace
- To evaluate the effectiveness and suitability of existing control measures
- To ensure additional controls (including procedural) are implemented wherever the remaining risk is considered to be anything other than low.
- To prioritize further resources if needed to ensure the above.
Why are risk assessments important?
As previously stated, carrying out suitable and sufficient risk assessments is the primary management tool in effective risk management. It is a legal requirement for any employer and must be documented wherever five or more people are employed.
Risk assessment is a straightforward and structured method of ensuring the risks to the health, safety and wellbeing of employees (and others) are suitably eliminated, reduced or controlled
The main purpose of risk assessments are:
- To identify health and safety hazards and evaluate the risks presented within the workplace
- To evaluate the effectiveness and suitability of existing control measures
- To ensure additional controls (including procedural) are implemented wherever the remaining risk is considered to be anything other than low.
- To prioritise further resources if needed to ensure the above.
It can be a costly lesson for a business if they fail to have necessary controls in place. They could face not only financial loss (through fines, civil actions, etc) but also loss in respect of production time, damage to equipment, time to train replacement employees and negative publicity amongst others.
A recent article in British Safety Council Safety Management magazine outlines an incident where a business was ‘fined £274,000 after two workers became trapped in moving machinery in two separate incidents’. In the report, Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector Saffron Turnell noted that “companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.” It is cases like this one that should act as a warning for all business and highlight the importance of risk assessments.
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