This document describes a risk assessment and the various steps to perform a risk assessment. Risk assessment is a term used to define the overall process of a system. In this system, we identify and define hazards that can lead to injury or harm. Once a hazard is identified, effective ways to eliminate the hazard or reduce the hazard if it cannot be eliminated.
Organizations must protect their employees by eliminating the risks stipulated by national law or by minimizing the risk of preventing injury as far as possible. Employers must ensure that equipment, machinery, and workplaces are as safe as possible for workers.
Table of Contents
What is a risk?
Risk can be defined as the risk of harm (low, medium, high) and the severity of the injury (low, medium, high). Assume that an office worker receives an electric shock from an exposed wire. So electricity is dangerous. The odds are different: a low probability for a wire in the corner of a room and the same wire at the mall entrance gate. At the same time, the output of a 220V wire is much higher compared to a 12V wire, which can reduce the likelihood of consequences, or both.
Objectives of the Risk Assessment
The purpose of a risk assessment is to control or eliminate risk. This is achieved through the accurate and accurate application of health and safety standards. The purpose of a risk assessment is to prevent accidents such as:
- Personal trauma and health tragedy.
- There should be fewer other kinds of events.
- This rating prevents safety violations.
- Indirect and direct costs in case of an accident or incident.
Steps of Safty Risk Assessment
A risk assessment consists of the following steps:
Step 1: Identification of the hazard at the workplace
In the risk assessment, first of all, we identify the hazard at the workplace. Hazard identification includes the following steps.
(a) Workplace Inspection:
A suitable person can systematically inspect the workplace to detect various hazards. An inspection is a comprehensive inspection by a qualified person or group to ensure that a procedure is operating safely.
(b) Previous Incidents and Accidents Data:
Data on an organization’s previous or near-misses can help identify risks for risk assessment. This data helps to prevent such accidents or accidents in the future by controlling the related risks or risks.
(c) Manufacturer’s Guidelines and Information:
Manufacturers receive detailed instructions for purchasing new equipment or machinery. This guidance report contains all relevant risks and procedures for safe use, as well as some general details and guidelines. When we buy new equipment or anything else, this product comes with a safety data sheet and label. These markings help to clearly identify the hazardous nature of the equipment.
(d) Information from Health and Safety Laws:
Knowing the laws that apply to your particular workplace will help you identify the hazards and risks. Once these risks are identified, organizations can eliminate or minimize them. For example, knowledge of the law pertaining to working at height allows a competent person or management to determine which activities can and cannot be performed at heights.
Step 2: Those who may be affected by the identified hazards and hazardous activities occurring in the work area
This step includes the most important risk assessment step. Let’s say you recognize a face that is in serious danger. In this case, we are thinking not only of those who participate in certain activities but also of those who will be affected by these activities. A name is not required. Instead, a common group or population is perceived as workers, plumbers, etc. Here are the details:
(a) Worker operator:
Some hazards only pose a hazard to the operator. For example, the worker on top is at risk of falling. On the other hand, some risks pose a general risk to all employees. For example, the high temperatures to which all employees will be exposed.
(b) Maintenance workers:
Because of their routine maintenance functions, this personnel is often involved in removing controls from machines. For example, a technician may need to remove a system guard to repair a malfunction. When normal security measures are lifted, the risks to these workers increase and other ways to overcome these risks are discovered.
(c) Contractors:
The workplace poses risks to these contractors and the risks to the workplace are created by the contractors themselves. All these risks must be carefully considered using risk assessment methods.
(d) Visitors:
These people are not involved in the work. However, they are still exposed to all kinds of hazards, such as fire and toxic chemicals.
Step3: Assess the likelihood of harm and how serious the injury is, evaluate the effectiveness of existing control measures, and determine whether additional control measures are required.
Once a hazard has been identified, the following risk assessment steps should be performed to assess the risk associated with the hazard. The evaluation process should consider the following:
- Probability of occurrence.
- The consequences of the harm or the seriousness of the consequences.
(a) Risk level and its privatization:
Qualitative assessments are evaluated using words such as “very moderate”, “high”, “medium”, “main” or “negligible” to calculate the level of risk. The difficulty with the similarity of these words is not universally used as it creates different perceptions among different people, increasing results.
To overcome or create the same approach, a systematic quantification method was created in which the risk was divided into two components and each presented in a separate format.
Risk Formula= likelihood X Severity of injury
Now the number determines the risk, so the higher the number, the higher the risk. Different risks can be easily divided into specific risks and grouped into ratings. The following factors both affect the level of risk (probability and outcome):
People: the age, gender, the physical and mental condition of the worker, etc.
Equipment: Changing work tools increases your chances of becoming a victim. Paintbrushes have increased exposure to chemical fumes from spray guns compared to spray guns.
Material: Fire probability of gasoline vehicles compared to diesel vehicles.
Environment: Poor or good lighting performance of existing hazard controls, operator attitudes, supervision, and abilities also affects the likelihood.
risk = probability X outcome
Step 4: Record the important results of the risk assessment in writing (soft or hard) for future reference.
This step also includes the most important risk assessment step. This includes details.
