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What is the purpose of a Health and Safety Risk Assessment? Employers across all industries are legally required to protect employees, contractors, customers, and visitors to the premiss from harm. To effectively do so, will require for a risk assessment to be carried out. The purpose of a health and safety risk assessment is to improve the overall health and safety in the work environment, however, to achieve this, the risk assessment process must identify workplace hazards and either eliminate or reduce the risks that they pose. Risk assessments must raise awareness regarding hazards and risks. In addition, they must convey health and safety information to employees. Risk assessment findings must be recorded so that compliance with health and safety legislation can be achieved and demonstrated. Risk Assessments Raise Awareness

A risk assessment is a systematic method which involves the looking at work activities, considering what may go wrong and deciding on suitable control measures.

Employers may be asking an imperative question, however, relating to what a health and safety statement, and a risk assessment is, what they relate to, and what they entail.

What a health and safety statement and a risk assessment is, what they relate to and what they entail is explained.

It is crucial for employers to realise when they must review a health and risk assessment and where some may rely on an annual review, there are, however, times when risk assessments must be reviewed much sooner. This article serves as a guide for employers on why and how often they must review their risk assessments.

It is imperative to keep in mind that different types of risk assessment can be used in conjunction with one another with some parts of each that may be present in a single assessment. A health and safety risk assessments considers the hazards in a specific task or an activity. It considers the likelihood that harm may occur, the severity of the harm, and what can be done to prevent it.

General health and safety risk assessment forms an integral part of effectively managing health and safety within the organisation

Basic Health and Safety Risk Assessment Overview A basic health and safety risk assessment involves employers considering the risks in the workplace followed by implementing control measures to control and minimise them. The following handy guide will run through the rules and provide employers with the help they need to conduct an effective risk assessment for their organisation. When must a risk assessment be done? The purpose of a health and safety risk assessment is to identify sensible measures to control the risks in the workplace. The Occupational Health and Safety Act, 85 of 1993 requires that employers provide a workplace which is healthy, safe, and free of harm. The easiest way to ensure this, is for employers to conduct a risk assessment. Those who are self-employed and work on their own are not held to such stringent requirements if their work does not pose a risk to the health and safety of other workers, or members of the public. However, risk assessments must be done, and it is imperative to ensure that record is kept as it proves that the necessary steps were taken to ensure health and safety. Risk assessments must be done whenever there is change in the working environment, even if it is just a shift change that took place.

Health and Safety 5 Steps to a Risk Assessment Overview A risk assessment is a systematic method that involves the evaluation and observation of work activities while considering what could go wrong, deciding on suitable control measures, and implementing them. These control measures are designed to either eliminate the risk, or to reduce or minimise it as far as it is reasonably practicable. It is a legal requirement for employers to ensure that they provide a healthy and safe working environment for employees and visitors to the premises, and by doing a risk assessment and ensuring effective control measures, employers are complying to the law. The health and safety 5 steps to a risk assessment which are provided below can serve as a guide for employers who have never done a risk assessment, or those who wish to brush up on the procedure to do so.