Health and Safety Surveys and Risk Assessments

PROBABILITY
4 HIGH FREQUENT/COMMON
3 MEDIUM OCCASIONAL
2 LOW POSSIBLE
1 IMPROBABLE IMPROBABLE
IMPACT	1 TRIVIAL TRIVIAL	2 LOW MINOR	3 MEDIUM 3 DAYS+ ABSENCE FROM WORK	4 HIGH MAJOR INJURY OR DEATH

5 Steps to Risk Assessment

                                   Step 5 - Review your assessment and update if necessary

                             Step 4 - Record your findings and implement them

                    Step 3 - Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions
          Step 2 - Decide who might be harmed and how
Step 1 - Identify the hazards

SHALLOW WATER DEEP WATER HOT WATER

The table above illustrates how the risk has been rated by considering the likelihood (Probability) on the left and the likely consequences (Impact) along the bottom.

For example, if we consider the likelihood (probability) of an instance occurring is likely to be "occasional" (3 MEDIUM) and if it did happen the consequences (Impact) is likely to be a minor injury (2 LOW),

...the risk would be rated as:

3 X 2 = 6 (Probability X Impact = Rating)

Quantifying risks enables them to be looked at in relation to one another and so helps establish priorities - essential when dealing with multiple risk assessments and conflicting demands on time.

Companion Health and Safety Surveys are like safety nets that trawl through legislation and sites/workplaces to help ensure nothing is missed which might otherwise leave organisations and management exposed.

Companion Health and Safety Risk Assessments, as required by legislation, consider the nature of the hazards, who might be harmed, the likelihood of an occurrence, the likely impact or injury, what precautions are in place and what reasonably practical additional and/or alternative precautions can be put into place to remove or reduce the risk.

Duty-holders are required to identify risks in the workplace and to reduce those risks as low as is reasonably practical.

With a multitude of legislation that started with the Chimney Sweeps Act and includes the substantial Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 plus European safety legislation, some would say it is not reasonable for busy managers to be aware of all that they need to cover.

Keeping it simple
so that you can get on with your business.

Companion

Health and Safety Services Limited

Risk Rating