Risk Assessment

Introduction
Risk assessment is an essential part of the planning stage of any health and safety
management system. The aim of the planning process is to minimize risks. Risk
assessment methods are used to decide on priorities and to set objectives for
eliminating hazards and reducing risks. Wherever possible, risks are eliminated
through selection and design of facilities, equipment and processes. If risks cannot
be eliminated, they are minimized by the use of physical controls or, as a last
resort, through systems of work and personal protective equipment.
Principles of risk assessment
What is Risk Assessment?
A risk assessment is an evaluation of the risks arising from hazards (anything with
the potential to cause harm). It looks at what could go wrong and cause harm and
how, and who might get hurt. It assesses what is already being done to control the
risks and whether more preventative and protective measures are needed. “Risk” is
the likelihood of something going wrong and the possible severity that could result
in terms of injury or damage
Forms of risk assessment There are two basic forms of risk assessment.
(a) A quantitative risk assessment attempts to measure the risk by relating the
probability of the risk occurring to the possible severity of the outcome and
then giving the risk a numerical value. This method of risk assessment is
used in situations where a malfunction could be very serious (e.g. aircraft
design and maintenance or the petrochemical industry).
(b) The more common form of risk assessment is the qualitative assessment,
which is based purely on personal judgement and is normally defined as
high, medium or low. Qualitative risk assessments are usually satisfactory
since the definition (high, medium or low) is normally used to determine the
time frame in which further action is to be taken. The term ‘generic’ risk
assessment is sometimes used and describes a risk assessment which covers
similar activities or work equipment in different departments, sites or
companies. Such assessments are often produced by specialist bodies, such
as trade associations. If used, they must be appropriate to the particular job
and they will need to be extended to cover additional hazards or risks.
Terminologies
Hazard and risk
A hazard is the potential of a substance, activity or process to cause harm.
Hazards take many forms including, for example, chemicals, electricity and the use
of a ladder. A hazard can be ranked relative to other hazards or to a possible level
of danger.
A risk is the likelihood of a substance, activity or process to cause harm. Risk (or
strictly the level of risk) is also linked to the severity of its consequences. A risk
can be reduced and the hazard controlled by good management. It is very
important to distinguish between a hazard and a risk – the two terms are often
confused and activities often called high risk are in fact high hazard. There should
only be high residual risk where there is poor health and safety management and
inadequate control measures.
Risk Profiling
Risk profiling is a systematic and structured approach to risk management that is
used to identify the threats to which a company or organisations is exposed. The
range of threats goes beyond health and safety risks to include quality,
environmental and asset damage, issues in one area can impact in another.
A risk profile is an outline of the most important risks a business faces, the
potential consequences and what they are doing about it. It gives a significance
rating to each risk providing a tool for prioritizing risk and to anticipate additional
costs or disruption to operations. It also describes the willingness of a company to
take risks and how those risks will affect the operational strategy of the company.
For many years risk profiling has been championed as a sure means of targeting
resources towards the greatest hazards. A risk profile is the starting point for
determining the greatest health and safety issues to the organisations. Risk
profiling helps the company or organization to get a clear understanding of which
workers are most at risk during specific jobs or phases and ensuring that all are
aware of any dangers and how to avoid harm from them.
Risk Register
A risk register brings together the information from risk assessments to help an
organisations understand its overall risk profile, or to make sure nothing derails a
specific project. The register helps to identify, assess and manage risks down to
acceptable levels.
The use of a risk register provides managers with an overview of the risk status of
their organization at a particular point in time and becomes a dynamic tool for the
monitoring of actions to be taken to mitigate risk. It can allow employees to see
clearly how their organization is dealing with risks and can demonstrate to
inspectors or insurance inspectors who came to visit that the management of health
and safety is run in a structured and disciplined manner
The objectives of risk assessment
The main objective of risk assessment is to determine the measures required by the
organization to comply with relevant health and safety legislation and, thereby,
reduce the level of occupational injuries and ill-health. The purpose is to help the
employer or self-employed person to determine the measures required to comply
with their legal statutory duty under the Health and Safety
The risk assessment will need to cover all those who may be at risk, such as
customers, contractors and members of the public. In the case of shared
workplaces, an overall risk assessment may be needed in partnership with other
employers. The moral, legal and financial arguments for health and safety
management were discussed in detail. The important distinction between the direct
and indirect costs of accidents is reiterated here. Any accident or incidence of ill-
health will cause both direct and indirect costs and incur an insured and an
uninsured cost. It is important that all of these costs are taken into account when
the full cost of an accident is calculated.

In a study undertaken by the HSE, it was shown that indirect costs or hidden costs
could be 36 times greater than direct costs of an accident. In other words, the direct
costs of an accident or disease represent the tip of the iceberg when compared to
the overall costs (The Cost of Accidents at Work HSG 96).
Direct costs are costs that are directly related to the accident. They may be insured
(claims on employers’ and public liability insurance, damage to buildings,
equipment or vehicles) or uninsured (fines, sick pay, damage to product,
equipment or process).
Indirect costs may be insured (business loss, product or process liability) or
uninsured (loss of goodwill, extra overtime payments, accident investigation time,
production delays).
There are many reasons for the seriousness of a hazard not to be obvious to the
person exposed to it. It may be that the hazard is not visible (radiation, certain
gases and biological agents) or have no short-term effect (work related upper limb
disorders). The common reasons include lack of attention, lack of experience, the
wearing of personal protective equipment, sensory impairment and inadequate
information, instruction and training.