Are your risk assessment methods working effectively? Paul Reeve discusses the need for ongoing controls.
These days, most electrical contractors have to show clients that they can carry out risk assessments well before a toolbox enters the building. Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, contractors have a legal duty to undertake risk assessments of their work.

Essentially, companies need to assess whether any activities can harm people and, if so, how badly and how likely this is to happen. Doing this allows the significant risks to be identified. These then become priorities for action. Reasonable steps must be taken to remove or reduce the chance of harm and, in particular, serious harm.

Kevin Myers, chief inspector of construction at the Health and Safety Executive, told delegates at the ECA's 2003 ZAP conference, doing something is a lot better than doing nothing and firms need to "focus on their biggest health and safety risks". The basic steps in a risk assessment are:

  • identifying hazards;
  • assessing the risk of harm;
  • assessing the adequacy of existing control measures;
  • assessing if extra controls are needed;
  • reviewing the assessment to see if the controls are working.

Those who do risk assessments must be competent, but that doesn't mean they always have to be a qualified health and safety professional. In many cases, competency to carry out risk assessments can come from a good knowledge of the business and the ability to communicate, backed up by basic health and safety training and the ability to spot hazards and identify sensible control measures. That said, substantial technical competence is essential for risk assessments covering electricity, vibration, noise and other hazards.

Identify the hazards
The first step with any risk assessment is to identify all the significant hazards in the job. What makes a hazard particularly important is if it could kill or lead to serious injury. Falling from a height or being struck by a forklift are, to most people, obvious and significant hazards, but even lifting a heavy, awkward piece of kit could cause serious harm.

It must then be assessed how likely it is that people might be harmed by the hazards. For example, would operatives be working at height all day, every day, or just once a month? Take into account the work situation and the people involved – a young trainee may be more at risk than an experienced supervisor. Consider how many people may be harmed.

This exercise indicates the risk to workers before any health and safety measures are taken into account. The biggest risks should, not surprisingly, be the priority for action.

Assess existing controls
By itself, identifying risks to workers does not improve health and safety. It's what you do with your risk assessment that stops people being harmed. Too many companies assess risks then stop, as if knowing the risks is enough. It's control measures that reduce the risk of harm and bring real benefits to the business.

Too many companies assess risks then stop, as if knowing the risks is enough

A risk assessment should review the significant risks and see what controls are already in place. This allows the actual risk to be assessed, taking the control measures into account.

Once the existing controls have been taken into account, the next step is to assess the remaining risk of harm. If the risk is still significant, the employer must do even more to reduce it, for example doing the work another way, providing more training or personal protective equipment (ppe).

When looking to control risks, only rely on ppe if there is no better way of reducing the risk. It is better to work at a height of two metres on a firm, working platform, than two metres up on a shaky ladder with a safety harness. Remember if ppe is not worn or if it does not fit properly, it does not provide protection.

Check if controls work
Work can change as it proceeds, sometimes in unexpected ways. If activities alter, consider whether the risk assessment should also be changed.

Once a risk assessment has been conducted and any necessary controls introduced, ensure that the controls are suitable for what is actually happening on site. If there are extra risks, or controls are not working properly, then change the risk assessment and control measures accordingly.

Have you ever heard someone say "we've done our COSHH assessment", when what they mean is that they handed out a chemical data sheet? Does anyone check that the sheet is helpful, understood or being followed? Ask and inform employees about your health and safety measures. They know what happens in the work environment and can make health and safety management simpler.

MCG setting the standards

The Major Contractors Group (MCG) recently produced a set of pre-qualification health and safety requirements that have been adopted by its members. The criteria require plans for undertaking risk assessments and safe systems of work. These include the need for a documented process: who completes assessments and how are the findings recorded? MCG members also want to know about:
  • generic risk assessments ie those dealing with common and familiar tasks;
  • when are assessments reviewed?
  • how are the workforce informed of the findings?
  • how is the work of others on site considered in the risk assessment?
  • how is relevant risk information communicated to those who need to know?
  • have emergency procedures been considered, in addition to everyday work?
The full MCG health and safety criteria can be found at: www. thecc.org.uk.

Source

Electrical and Mechanical Contractor

Postscript

Paul Reeve is health and safety adviser at the ECA.