Health and Safety Risk Assessment

A Health and Safety Risk Assessment Should Include 5 Steps The simplest definition of a Risk Assessment is that it is a careful examination of what, in the workplace, could cause harm to people, so that employers can weigh up whether they have taken enough precautions, or whether more should be done to prevent harm. It forms a crucial part for OHS management and the main objective that it has is to determine the measures needed to comply with the OHS Act, 85 of 1993, and all other regulations and legislation, to reduce the level of incidents and/or accidents. Why must a Risk Assessment be carried out? It can help the employer comply with their legal duty and it helps them protect their employees and their business. There may be confusion as to when a risk assessment must be conducted, and employers may complicate the entire procedure by thinking that it is a complex and difficult procedure. It can be conducted at any time, and it should be conducted before employees conduct a task, start work for the day, or do work that presents a significant chance of injury or ill-health. Employers are legally allowed to appoint a competent person to conduct a risk assessment on their behalf. However, the competent person must possess the right qualification to do so in addition to the necessary skills, training, knowledge, and experience, for instance an OHS Manager or officer.

Health and Safety Risk Assessment Methodology Overview Employees must be safeguarded form Occupational Health and Safety risks that they may be exposed to in the workplace. This can be achieved through risk management processes that involves risk analysis, risk assessment, and effective risk control practices. TO carry out an effective risk management process, it is crucial to understand the legal context, concepts, risk analysis, and health and safety risk assessment methodology, and control processes, along with the roles played by all involved.

The past year, with the emergence and spread of SARS-CoV-2, the classification of it as a pandemic, and the subsequent lockdown and quarantine regulations that followed to curb the spread of the virus, has changed the way in which a lot of businesses operate. Employees were forced to work remotely, where possible, for long durations of time and it became imperative to include health and safety risk assessments for working from home, as the home environment, much like any other, also presents its own unique hazards and risks.

The types of health and safety risk assessment methods depend on the type of assessment that is being carried out. There are three main types that can be identified, which will be discussed in the article in detail, they are: Baseline Risk Assessment Issue-Based Risk Assessment Continuous Risk Assessment

Health and Safety Risk Assessment for Employees Overview Employers have a legal obligation to consult with employees, or Health and Safety Representatives, on matters relating to health and safety. It is imperative that employers make provision for health and safety risk assessment for employees as health and safety is the responsibility of employees as well and they have legal obligations as well. However, in the following sections, how employers must consult with their employees, over what, and why, will be discussed in detail.

Health and safety risk assessments involve a thorough examination of the work environment to ensure that there are no health or safety hazards and risks that may cause harm to employees, visitors, or to members of the public.

A health and safety risk assessment process is a systematic process that includes the following steps: Identification of hazards and risk factors that have the potential to cause harm to employees. An analysis and evaluation of the risks that are associated with the hazards identified. A determination of the appropriate ways in which the hazards can be eliminated or controlled where the hazard cannot be eliminated.

When employers consider the implementation and maintenance of an effective health and safety management programme, it is imperative to look further than what it will cost to implement and maintain a system to see the health and safety, and financial benefits that can be derived from ensuring a healthy and safe work environment.

All employers, whether they are self-employed workers, contractors, or owners and CEOs of larger organisations, are legally required to assess the hazards and risks to the health, safety, and wellbeing of employees, and anyone else who may be affected by their work activities.