VOLUNTARY SECTOR RISK ASSESSMENT

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VOLUNTARY SECTOR RISK ASSESSMENT

• Is yours right, wrong or just different?
• When is it good enough?

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The Task

• To risk assess every hazard in your working
  environment that has the potential to cause harm!

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Your first reaction?

• Wow, what a great opportunity
• Or
• Help. I cant do this

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• Accidents and ill health can ruin lives and
  affect your business too if output is lost,
  machinery is damaged, insurance costs increase or
  you have to go to court. You are legally required
  to assess the risks in your workplace so that you
  put in place a plan to control the risks.

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Where to start?

• Risk Assessments What is risk assessment?
• According to the 5 steps to Risk Assessment
  published by the HSE it is-
• A risk assessment is simply a careful examination
  of what, in your work, could cause harm to
  people, so that you can weigh up whether you have
  taken enough precautions or should do more to
  prevent harm. Workers and others have a right to
  be protected from harm caused by a failure to
  take reasonable control measures.

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REMEMBER-

1. There are standard formats that can be tailored
   to the situation but you cannot rely on a text
   book assessment that does not reflect the
   situation, because-
2. EVERY ORGANISATION IS DIFFERENT
3. ALL CIRCUMSTANCES WILL BE DIFFERENT
4. EACH RISK ASSESSMENT MUST SUIT THE EXISTING
   SITUATION AND ENVIRONMENT OF THE ORGANISATION

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How to assess the risks in your workplace

• 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

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Step 1 - identify the hazards

• Establish how people could be harmed. When you
  work in a place every day it is easy to overlook
  some hazards.
• Walk around your workplace and look at what could
  reasonably be expected to cause harm.
• Ask your employees or their representatives what
  they think. They may have noticed things that are
  not immediately obvious to you.
• Check manufacturers instructions or data sheets
  for chemicals and equipment as they can be very
  helpful in spelling out the hazards and putting
  them in their true perspective.
• Have a look back at your accident and ill-health
  records these often help to identify the less
  obvious hazards.
• Remember to think about long-term hazards to
  health

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Step 2 -Decide who might be harmed and how

• For each hazard you need to be clear about who
  might be harmed it will help you identify the
  best way of managing the risk. That doesnt mean
  listing everyone by name, but rather identifying
  groups of people (eg people working in the
  storeroom or passers-by).
• In each case, identify how they might be harmed,
  ie what type of injury or ill health might occur.
  For example, carer may injure back when helping
  service user out of bed
• Remember some workers have particular
  requirements, eg new and young workers, new or
  expectant mothers and people with disabilities
  may be at particular risk.
• Extra thought will be needed for some hazards
  cleaners, visitors, contractors, maintenance
  workers, members of the public, etc, who may not
  be in the workplace all the time but if they
  could be hurt by your activities if you share
  your workplace, you will need to think about how
  your work affects others present, as well as how
  their work affects your staff talk to them and
  ask your staff if they can think of anyone you
  may have missed.

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Step 3 -Evaluate the risks and decide on
precautions

• Having spotted the hazards, you then have to
  decide what to do about them. The law requires
  you to do everything reasonably practicable to
  protect people from harm. So first, look at what
  youre already doing, think about what controls
  you have in place and how the work is organized.
• Consider
• Can I get rid of the hazard altogether?
• If not, how can I control the risks so that harm
  is unlikely?
• Can I try a less risky option
• Consider the likelihood of harm is it
• Very unlikely
• Unlikely
• Possible
• Likely
• Highly likely
• Involve staff, so that you can be sure that what
  you propose to do will work in practice and wont
  introduce any new hazards.

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Step 4 -Record your findings and implement them

• Write down the results of your risk assessment,
  and sharing them with your staff,
• Keep it simple, for example Tripping over
  rubbish bins provided, staff instructed, weekly
  housekeeping checks
• A risk assessment does not have to be perfect,
  but it must be suitable and sufficient. You need
  to be able to show that
• a proper check was made
• you asked who might be affected
• you dealt with all the significant hazards,
  taking into account the number of people who
  could be involved
• the precautions are reasonable, and the remaining
  risk is low and
• you involved your staff or their representatives
  in the process.

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Step 5 -Review your risk assessment and update if
necessary

• Look at your risk assessment again. It may be
  necessary to review them every 3 or 6 months. It
  may be annually. Every situation is individual.
• Have there been any changes?
• Are there improvements you still need to make?
• Have your workers spotted a problem?
• Have you learnt anything from accidents or near
  misses?
• Make sure your risk assessment stays up to date.

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What risk assessments and procedures do I have to
make?

• AGENCY / TEMPORARY /
• VOLUNTARY PERSONNEL
• ACCESS
• ACCIDENTS
• ACCIDENTS Accident Investigation
• ASBESTOS CONTROL SAFETY
• AUDIT PROCEDURES

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• BUSINESS TRAVEL ABROAD
• CONSTRUCTION WORK
• CONTRACTORS
• CONTRACTORS Contractors Check List
• CONTRACTORS Contractors Permits to Work
• CONTROL OF SUBSTANCES HAZARDOUS TO HEALTH

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• DISPLAY SCREEN EQUIPMENT
• DISPLAY SCREEN EQUIPMENT DSE risk self
  assessment
• DISPLAY SCREEN EQUIPMENT Computer User Guide
• ELECTRICITY AT WORK
• ELECTRICITY AT WORK Portable Electrical
  Equipment
• ELECTRICITY AT WORK Equipment user training
  record
• ELECTRICITY AT WORK Electrical Safety
  Information sheet

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• EMERGENCY PROCEDURES
• ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
• EVENTS
• FIRE SAFETY
• FIRE SAFETY Prevention
• FIRE SAFETY Procedures
• FIRE SAFETY - Record
• FIRE SAFETY - Training
• FIRST AID
• FOOD HYGIENE

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• GAS SAFETY
• HOME WORKING
• HOME WORKING Self assessment
• HOME WORKING Risk assessment record/summary
  sheet
• LONE WORKING
• LIFT MAINTENANCE
• MANUAL HANDLING
• MOBILE PHONES/PERSONAL DIGITAL ASSISTANT (PDA)

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• NEW OR EXPECTANT MOTHERS
• OFFICE ENVIRONMENT
• - Cleanliness
• - Doors
• - Drinking Water
• - Floors
• - Floor Area Room Space
• - Housekeeping
• - Lighting
• - RSI/WRULD

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• - Sanitary Conveniences
• - Staircases, Stairwells
• - Storage
• - Temperature Ventilation
• - Welfare Facilities
• - Windows Doors
• - Workstations
• - Workspace
• PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE)
• POLICY STATEMENT

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• RISK ASSESSMENT Risk Assessment flow chart
• RISK ASSESSMENT Workplace self assessment
• RISK ASSESSMENT Risk compliance certificate
• RISK ASSESSMENT Record Summary sheet
• RISK ASSESSMENT Safety Risk Assessment Matrix

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• SAFE SYSTEMS OF WORK
• SAFETY COMMITTEE
• SHOPS
• SMOKING AT WORK
• STRESS PREVENTION
• VISITORS
• VEHICLE DRIVER SAFETY

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• WORKING AT HEIGHT
• WORKING AT HEIGHT Equipment Maintenance
• WORK EQUIPMENT
• WORK EQUIPMENT Equipment training record
  sheet
• WORKING OUTDOORS
• WORK RELATED VIOLENCE
• WAREHOUSE SAFETY
• YOUNG PERSONS AT WORK

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Dont panic Help is at hand!

• Where can you get help from?
• Charities Safety Group
• Health and Safety Executive
• Professional Bodies
• Training NEBOSH etc
• Internet
• Benchmarking

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• Review risk assessments
• Any questions?