As part of a health and safety policy, an organisation must carry out risk assessments. A risk assessment reviews work activities to identify hazards and risk factors that have the potential to cause harm and then proposes suitable control measures to prevent harm.
- A hazard is anything that may cause harm, such as chemicals, electricity, working from ladders, an open drawer etc
- The risk is the chance, high or low, that somebody could be harmed by these and other hazards, together with an indication of how serious the harm could be
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recommends five simple steps to a risk assessment:
- Step 1: Identify the hazards
- Step 2: Decide who might be harmed and how
- Step 3: Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions
- Step 4: Record your findings and implement them
- Step 5: Review your assessment and update if necessary