IOSH Syllabus Contents
1. Module one: Introducing managing safely
2. Module two: Assessing risks
3. Module three: Controlling risks
4. Module four: Understanding responsibilities
5. Module five: Understanding hazards
6. Module six: Investigating incidents
7. Module seven: Measuring performance
Module two: Assessing risks
Key learning points
1. What is risk?
2. What is a risk assessment?
3.How are risk assessments carried out?
What is risk?
Risk is part of everyone's life - we can't avoid risks but we can put things in place to manage them effectively.
Can you remember, for example, when you first learned to drive? Perhaps you were looking forward to your first lesson because you were eager to become independent. On the other hand, you might have been a bit apprehensive about getting behind the wheel for the first time. Either way, learning to drive involves a degree of risk. Because you were learning, you would've had a qualified instructor or another competent person sitting next to you, so the risk would have been well managed.
Learning to drive helped you learn to manage risks for yourself, as well as giving you a
skill. There'll always be a small risk in taking driving lessons, but without that risk you'll never learn to drive - a skill which you're likely to use throughout your life.
So what do we really mean by risk?
Imagine that you own a warehouse distribution company. The warehouse is an old building and the roof is in need of some repair. You're concerned about poor weather, since this could damage the building and its contents.
In these circumstances, rain would certainly be a threat to the building and its contents. A few moments
of rain, sleet or snow wouldn't make any difference, but a long downpour would be much more of a problem. So the question you have to ask is 'how likely is it to rain?'
it did rain, the extent of the damage would depend on the contents of the warehouse and their value.
Let's suppose the contents are plastic garden furniture which is designed to be outside in all weathers and can be easily dried off. In this case there'd be little damage.
On the other hand, if the contents were television sets, they'd be completely ruined by the rain. Stock would have to be written off at a large cost to your company.
The chance of a downpour causing damage to garden furniture is very low, but the risk of damage to a stack of television sets is much higher.
On top of that, you might conclude that the chance of a downpour happening at all is much higher in the winter than in the summer. So, if you were trying to decide whether to fix the roof or leave it in its current condition, you'd probably ask yourself two questions: what are the chances it'll rain, and what could get damaged if it did?
Basic terms that apply to risk assessment.
In order to ensure a safe working environment, you need to understand the definition of risk and be able to estimate it, evaluate it and take action if necessary. Before we work our way through this process, let's take a look at the basic terms that apply to risk assessment.
A hazardous event takes place when someone or something interacts with the hazard and harm results.
Suppose there's a hole in the ground. The hole (the hazard) by
itself isn't causing any harm, but if someone tripped over it (the hazardous event) then it would become harmful.
Every hazardous event has likelihood and a consequence.
Likelihood is a measure of the chance that the hazardous event will occur. If the hole is in a busy area, such as a shop entrance, it's more likely someone will trip over it. However, if it's in an area that doesn't get a lot of traffic, such as a back yard, tripping over it would be less likely.
The consequence is the outcome of the hazardous event. If you tripped over a hole, there could be several possible outcomes: you might land on your feet with no damage at all, you might drop whatever you were carrying, or perhaps you could end up with a sprained ankle or even a fracture.
We'll use this definition of risk throughout this course. Consequence is also sometimes referred to as severity - these terms may be used interchangeably.
What is a risk assessment?
Risk assessment is a means of making sure that the serious workplace risks are managed by cost-effective control measures. Assessing risks allows you to prioritise the action you take to control them. In this module, we discuss how to assess risk. In Module three, we'll look at ways of controlling risk.
Put simply, a risk assessment is a careful examination of anything in your workplace that
could cause people to suffer injury or ill health while they're at work.
Risk assessment is about deciding who might be harmed and then judging how likely it is that something will go wrong, and how serious the consequences could be. Once you've worked out what the risks are and how significant they are, you can concentrate on cutting them out or at least controlling them.
You don't have to carry out the assessments yourself - if you're not confident, get help from someone who is appropriately qualified and trained and knows about what they're assessing. But remember, you're responsible for making sure that it's done property.
It's always a good idea to involve other people in the risk assessment process - particularly the person whose job you're assessing. They may have noticed things which aren't immediately obvious to you. By involving your staff, you're also helping them to think about what could go wrong and how to avoid problems.
A risk assessment enables you to:
Remember, accidents and ill health can have a devastating effect - they can ruin lives and your business.
Case study 1
A nurse who had a long history of back complaints was required to do work involving heavy manual handling of patients. She wasn't sent to the occupational health department to assess her fitness. The work aggravated her injuries and resulted in surgery and retirement on grounds of ill health. She claimed, and was awarded, compensation from her employers. The judgment recognised the failure of the employer to carry out a manual handling risk assessmen
Case study
A kitchen designer and manufacturer felt that he wasn't realising the full potential of the workforce he wanted to get them more involved in all aspects of the business. Weekly meetings now cover everything, including risks! The business owner commented: 'Since we've been talking about risk, we're more aware of potential hazards... in 16 months we haven't had a single injury
Case study
A company providing services to the travel industry assessed the risks of its shrink wrapping facilities. As a result, it was able to reduce the risk of manual handling injuries to employees, get staff involved with risk assessment and develop business processes. The company is now aiming for quality management certification and also targeting bigger customers, who expect to see proof that their suppliers are taking safety and health and seriousl
Did you know..
Research carried out in Europe found that the average cost for a minor accident is 16 times higher than the cost of the related preventive measure
How are risk assessments carried out?
We've learned that almost anything can be a hazard in some circumstances, so when preparing to carry out a risk assessment of your workplace, it's essential that you first make a list of all the tasks you manage, including:
- the location where the activities are taking place
- the people involved in these activities
- the equipment being used
- the activities being performed.
You might find it useful to draw rough sketches or take photos of the areas.
When your list is complete and you have a full picture of the work tasks, you're ready to use it in Step 1 of your risk assessment and identify which of the things you've listed are hazards.
Risk assessment doesn't have to be complicated - what's important is that you concentrate on significant hazards which could result in serious harm or affect a number of people.
When carrying out a risk assessment, you need to:
Step 1: identify the hazards
Once you've recorded this information you can then:
Step 2: estimate the risk
Step 3: evaluate the risk
Finally, you should:
Step 4: record your findings
Step 5: review your findings.
Step 1: Identify the hazards
Here's your chance to do a bit of detective work! Walk around your workplace to see what's going on. Look for anything that could reasonably be expected to cause harm. Examine the location or work settings, equipment being used and the activities carried out. You should pay specific attention to how these activities are being carried out and whether people are doing things as they should.
By doing this walk around, you'll be more confident that you haven't overlooked any hazards that might need to be risk-assessed.
a) Observe the location(s) you manage
Observe the physical layout at each location and the activities being carried out. For example, do people have enough space to work comfortably without being unnecessarily at risk? Is the work environment safe to do the job properly?
You also need to think about common areas, such as corridors or stairs. You don't want to miss a risk assessment because two managers each thought the other was responsible for the activity in that location.
b) Assess the activities being carried out
Assess each work activity in the workplace before and
while it's being carried out. Think about both the routine and non-routine operations.
You're also responsible for people who visit the workplace, such as contractors, visitors, members of the public and even trespassers. And don't forget young workers, trainees and expectant mothers, who may have additional needs.
c) Assess permanent and temporary pieces of equipment and substances used at the location
Consider the types of plant, equipment, machinery and other substances used in your workplace. Are they fit-for-purpose? Have they been installed according to the manufacturer's instructions? And are they being used in accordance with them?
If pieces of equipment - such as photocopiers and lifting equipment - are shared between departments, you'll need to agree with other managers who will be responsible for carrying out the risk assessment.
Speak to your staff and their representatives (as appropriate) to find out if they consider anything in the workplace to be a hazard - they may have noticed something that isn't obvious to you.
Step 2: Estimate the risks
Now that you've identified the hazards, you can estimate the risks. To do this you need to know who might be harmed and how.
For each task and hazard, you need to be clear about who might be harmed. You need to identify how they might be harmed.
You need to consider workers who work both on and off-site. For example, sales representatives and engineers may spend much of their time travelling and may not have a fixed place of work.
Some workers may have particular requirements, such as new or expectant mothers or people with disabilities.
You're also responsible for people who visit the workplace, such as contractors, visitors, members of the public and trespassers. And don't forget young workers and trainees who may have additional needs.
Did you know...?
Young workers have 50 per cent more accidents than older workers (European Agency for Safety and Health at Work).
Now that you've identified what the hazards are and the people who might be harmed, you'll need to weigh up how serious each risk is.
You need to consider three things:
• who might be harmed and how?
• how likely it is that something could go wrong?
• how serious would the outcome be?
Consider the situation where window cleaners from a small local firm are using a ladder to clean windows on a three-storey block of flats during their monthly window-cleaning round.
How likely is it that they could fall? To assess this, you need to consider a number of factors, such as:
• the stability of the ladder
• the condition of the rungs
• the type of footwear
• the lighting levels.
When you've considered all relevant factors, you can rank the likelihood of the fall. You'll find it helpful to do this by using a three-point scale:
Low (1) if it's unlikely that the event will happen
Medium (2): if it's fairly likely that the event may happen
High (3) if it's likely that the event will happen.
Now that you've calculated the likelihood of the fall, you need to do the same for the consequence.
If a window cleaner were to fall off the ladder, what would the likely outcome be?
Again, you need to consider a number of factors, such as:
- the height of the fall
- whether there's anything to help stop the fal
- what the person falls onto.
When you've considered all relevant factors, you can rank the seriousness of the fall. Again, you'll find it helpful to do this by using a three-point scale:
Low (1) minor injuries requiring first aid - for example, grazes or minor cuts
Medium (2) an injury requiring further medical assistance - for example, cuts needing stitches or broken bones
High (3) major injuries, such as amputations, dislocation of bones, or death.
Now you can estimate the level of risk involved - whether something is going to be a low risk, a medium risk or a high risk. Remember: risk = likelihood x consequence.
We might decide that it's unlikely that the window cleaner will fall because the ladder is robust and secure, so we'll rank the likelihood as low (1). We might also decide that if the window cleaner were to fall from the lowest rungs of the ladder the injuries might not be so severe as if she were to fall from the upper rungs of the ladder - so the seriousness might be low (1) for the lower rungs and high (3) for the upper rungs.
For the two outcomes we've just described, we have two levels of risk:
1 x 1 = 1 and 1 x 3 = 3
Suppose in another situation the ladder is in poor shape, not secure and on uneven ground. So this time we rank the likelihood of falling from the ladder as high (3). Again, as above, the seriousness of the fall could range from low (1) to high (3). So we have two levels of risk:
3 x 1 = 3 and 3 x 3 = 9
Did you know...?
The Health and Safety Authority in Ireland found that the fatality rate in agriculture increased from 15.9 workers in every 100,000 in 2013 to 22.9
in 2014 (HSA annual report and statistical summary 2014).
Notes:
Step 3: Evaluate the risk
OK, so now you've estimated the risk and worked out your risk level - what are you going to do about it? International occupational safety and health or labour laws expect organisations to do everything 'reasonably practicable' to protect people from harm.
Usually, the higher the risk level, the more serious the risk is and the more likely you'll need to take action. To make it easier to decide on the urgency of the action, you can allocate an action level to each level of risk.
This way of estimating and evaluating risk is called the 'risk matrix' approach - it's a commonly used tool.
Did you know...?
In Great Britain in 2014/15 an estimated 23.3 million days were lost due to work-related ill health and 4.1 million due to workplace injuries. On average, each person suffering took around 15 days off work (Health and Safety Executive).
34 page missing
You can also use a five-point scale to estimate likelihood and consequence, with five descriptions for likelihood and five for consequence.
So the likelihood could be ranked as:
1) Very unlikely - there's a 1 in a million chance of the hazardous event happening
2) Unlikely there's a 1 in 100,000 chance of the hazardous event happening
3)
4)
5)
Fairly likely there's a 1 in 10,000 chance of the hazardous event happening
Likely there's a 1 in 1,000 chance of the hazardous event happening
Very likely there's a 1 in 100 chance of the hazardous event happening.
Consequence would be ranked as:
1) Insignificant no injury
2)
Minor minor injuries needing first aid
3) Moderate up to three days' absence
4) Major - more than seven days' absence
5) Catastrophic-death.
विपत्तिपूर्ण
This approach has the advantage over the three-point scale of giving a better definition of the medium risk area.
Notes:
35
In the case of the 5 x 5 matrix, the action levels might be:
5
5
10
15
20
25
20-25 Stop
stop activity and immediate action
4
8
12
16
20
15-16 Urgent action take immediate action and stop activity
necessary, maintain existing controls rigorously
3
3
6
9
12
15
8-12 Action
improve within specified smescale
INCREASING CONSEQUENCE
2
2
4
6 CO
8
10
3-6
Monitor
look to improve at next review or if there is a significant change
1
3
4
5
1-2
No action
2
2
1
3
4
5
no further action, but ensure controls are maintained and reviewed
INCREASING LIKELIHOOD
Risk estimation techniques and action levels will vary from company to company. Remember, there are several ways to do a risk assessment. It's important that you use the right method. Usually, complex processes require more advanced methods.
Find out how risk estimation and evaluation takes place in your organisation. If it's necessary for you to take action, you'll need to decide what to do to reduce the risk.
In Module three, we'll discuss the different ways of reducing risk that are available to you.
It's important to remember that there's never a zero risk rating because there's always a chance of something happening. Also, once you've done something to reduce the risk, you'll need to estimate and evaluate the risk again to see whether you've done enough.
Step 4: Record your findings
Now that you have assessed all the risks, you'll need to record your findings. This is not only good practice, it may be the law - written risk assessments are a legal requirement in the UK if you employ five or more people.
It doesn't matter what form you use to record your findings - it could be a risk assessment form similar to the one on pages 41-42, or one of your own. What matters is that the information you record about the activity is all there. For example: the hazard, the likelihood and consequence of the hazardous event, the risk level and control measures.
In general, it's helpful to record:
details of the person carrying out the risk assessment the date and time of the assessment
details of the location, equipment and activity they're
. assessing the hazards they've identified, together with the risk level existing control measures and how well they work
additional control measures and the residual risk the date for review of the assessment.
You should always share the findings with your workers so that they are fully aware of the hazards and risks related to their tasks and can take appropriate control steps, as highlighted by the risk assessment, to keep themselves and others around them safe.
Step 5: Review your findings
अपने निष्कर्षो की समीक्षा करें
We're almost there! As we all know, things change - for
example, work procedures change, we buy new equipment
December
XAssessment Review
and staff come and go. The same applies when new information comes to light, such as information about substances you use at work. When changes like these are identified, you'll need to review your risk assessments. Make sure your risk assessments are up-to-date, taking account of any changes or any new information. Where risk ratings are low, you still need to review assessments to make sure they stay low.
X Progress report
In Module three, we'll discuss the steps you need to take to control risks.
2
Did you know...?
Worldwide one worker dies every 15 seconds and in the UK alone 142 people were killed at work in 2014/15 (Health and Safety Executive, 2016).
Notes: ?
Did you know...?
In many developed countries, 35 per cent to 45 per cent of absenteeism from work is due to mental health problems (World Health Organization).
Risk assessment form
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