Risk assessment

3. Risk assessment

Employers should take whatever steps necessary to ensure the safety and health of workers. To prevent accidents, you should establish a health and safety management system that incorporates risk assessment, risk management and monitoring procedures.

The guiding principles that should be considered throughout the risk assessment process can be broken down into a series of steps:

• Step 1. Identifying hazards and those at risk

Looking for those things at work that have the potential to cause harm, and identifying workers who may be exposed to the hazards.

Step 2. Evaluating and prioritising risks

Estimating the existing risks (their severity, their probability, …) and prioritising them in order of importance. It is essential that the work to be done to eliminate or prevent risks is prioritised.

Step 3. Deciding on preventive action

Identifying the appropriate measures to eliminate or control the risks.

Step 4. Taking action

Putting in place the preventive and protective measures through a prioritisation plan (most probably all the problems cannot be resolved immediately) and specifying who does what and when, when a task is to be completed and the means allocated to implement the measures.

Step 5. Monitoring and reviewing

The assessment should be reviewed at regular intervals to ensure it remains up to date. It has to be revised whenever significant changes occur in the organisation or as a result of the findings of an accident or “near miss” investigation.



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