Health and safety risk assessment

1.1 Identify the hazards (see 2, 3 and 4).

• Physically inspect your premises and the tasks carried out there.
• Ask employees and safety representatives what hazards they are aware of.

  Working as a small team, with an insider from each department to provide experience and an outsider for a fresh eye, can be useful.

• Check suppliers' instructions and information on equipment and materials.
• Check your records of accidents and sickness. These may point to hazards.
• If your work varies, or you operate on different sites, include other hazards which you can expect to come across.

1.2 Decide who could be affected.

You are responsible for the health and safety of everyone who could be affected, not just your employees.

• Visitors, contractors and new employees may be at extra risk.

  Bear in mind that they may not be aware of your safety procedures.

• Consider those who are particularly vulnerable (eg pregnant women, people who work alone and those with a disability).

1.3 Evaluate how likely it is that employees and others could be hurt and how effective your existing precautions are (see 5).

• If there are any specific legal requirements affecting your industry, have you complied with them?
• Do you meet industry standards?
• What risk remains? How many people could it affect, and how badly?

1.4 Decide what you can do to eliminate or minimise the risk (see 6).

• Ideally, you should eliminate the hazard altogether.
• Most risks can be reduced to acceptable levels with simple procedures and systems.
• Consider additional measures, which are reasonably practicable, to reduce the risk to an acceptable level. For example, warning signs or personal protective equipment.

1.5 Record the outcome of your health and safety risk assessment and any corrective action taken (see 7).

• The written record can be a useful reminder of areas you may need to keep under review.

1.6 Review your assessment periodically (eg annually).

• You will also need to amend your assessment when circumstances change (eg when you acquire new equipment).

2.1 Identify places where uneven floors, loose cables and spillages may cause people to trip or slip when moving around.

• Note areas where poor lighting might increase the risk from these hazards.

2.2 Look out for sharp corners and open drawers that people might walk into.

2.3 Check doors and crossings where people might collide.

• People carrying large items or pushing loaded trolleys may not be able to see where they are going.

2.4 Pay special attention to staircases and unguarded drops where people might fall.

2.5 Make a note of areas where unstable stacking or poor storage might lead to people being hit by falling objects.

• Even files falling down from a high shelf could cause serious injuries.

3.1 Unsafe electrical installations (eg old or damaged wiring or overloaded sockets) can start fires or cause electric shocks.

• Electrical equipment can be particularly hazardous if it is poorly maintained or portable.

3.2 Machinery can cut or catch people, or can emit harmful substancesl, particles or fumes.

• Machines may also create unacceptable levels of noise, especially if poorly maintained.
• All moving vehicles are potentially dangerous.
• Some machinery is inherently hazardous (eg pressure boilers, lifts, lathes).

3.3 Any hazardous substances that you use or produce could be a potential cause of injury or ill health.

• Inflammable goods that are not properly stored present a fire hazard.
• Solid or liquid waste that is not properly treated or disposed of can be a health or fire hazard.
• Toxic or corrosive materials may cause poisoning or burns.

3.4 There may be special hazards resulting from the nature of your business. For example:

• Burns and scalds in catering businesses.
• Falling objects on construction sites.
• Dangerous chemicals, tools or machinery associated with your particular industry (eg solvents, presses).

4.1 Many factors in the working environment are now recognised as putting employees under physical or mental stress.

• Poor lighting can lead to eye strain and headaches.
• Inadequate ventilation makes people tired and more likely to have accidents.

  It can also lead to the rapid spread of infectious diseases in the workplace.

• Uncomfortably high or low temperatures make it hard to concentrate and make employees more vulnerable to illness.
• Excessive noise can lead to headaches or even hearing loss.
• Poor air quality (eg from ink or paint fumes) can be an irritant or even a health hazard.

4.2 Poor design of chairs and equipment can cause musculoskeletal problems, such as lumbar pain and upper limb problems.

4.3 Bad practice and inadequate training in areas such as the manual handling of objects can lead to unnecessary injuries and back problems.

• Consider the layout of the work flow and whether storage is adequate.

4.4 There can be particular health problems for people working with computers. Ensure:

• PC screens are clear and flicker-free, and can be adjusted, and are free from glare.
• Desks and chairs are adjustable to the right height, and employees are shown how to make these adjustments (see 6.3).
• Footrests and other means of support are offered to those who need them.
• Working practices include regular breaks away from the screen and the keyboard.

4.5 Implement a smoking policy.

• Smoking is banned in almost all commercial premises and enclosed public places.

5.1 Your precautions must be sufficient to reduce the risk to an acceptable level.

• Your local council, the Health & Safety Executive or the Department for Communities and Local Government can advise you (see 8).

5.2 Your precautions should meet industry standards.

• Your trade association may be able to provide advice or information.
• You may want to include management of health and safety as part of a benchmarking exercise against other companies.

5.3 Ideally, your precautions will reduce risk as far as reasonably practicable.

• You are fully justified in balancing cost against risk in deciding what precautions are reasonable.

6.1 The best option is to remove a hazard altogether.

• For example, installing improved flooring or lighting, using safer machinery or using non-flammable materials

6.2 You can control risks with suitable systems and procedures.

These might include:

• Procedures for dealing with simple hazards (eg spillages).
• Physically separating employees from hazards. For example, by setting up barriers or cordoning off certain areas of the building.
• Insisting that staff take regular rest breaks to prevent tiredness.
• Developing a sound, workable evacuation plan, in case of emergencies.

6.3 You can improve the effectiveness of procedures by providing appropriate information and training.

• Employees must be given training before being exposed to the hazards.

  Make it part of your induction programme.

• The training should make it clear how seriously you take health and safety.

  Make it clear that failure to follow the procedures will be viewed as a disciplinary offence.

• Ideally, induction and training should be recorded, with the trainee's signature as confirmation of having received the training.
• Use signs to warn people of hazards.

6.4 You can reduce risk by minimising exposure to the hazard.

• Only suitably trained employees should be allowed to operate or repair dangerous machinery.
• A 'permit-to-work' system can be used to control access to particularly dangerous situations.

6.5 Provide personal protective equipment, such as protective clothing, goggles and ear defenders as a last resort when other steps are impracticable or are insufficient on their own.

6.6 Regular safety monitoring will help to ensure that the precautions you have put in place are working.

This monitoring should include:

• Regular visual inspection of the workplace.
• Records of all incidents, including illness, accidents and 'near misses' (see 2).
• Planned maintenance and routine equipment inspection.

  Regular inspection is legally required for some potentially dangerous equipment, including boilers, lifts and air-conditioning installations.

7.1 Your records must show that:

• You made a comprehensive assessment, using specialist help where appropriate.
• You have dealt with all the obvious significant hazards.
• You have put reasonable precautions in place to ensure that the remaining risk is acceptably low.

7.2 Your records can include cross-references to other documents. For example, your company's manuals and health and safety procedures.

8.1 HSE Books provides a range of free and paid-for publications (01787 881165).

• Many of these publications and free advice can be found on the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) website.

8.2 You can ask for advice from the HSE, the Department for Communities and Local Government or your local council.

• The HSE and the local authority will generally work constructively with you to try to improve health and safety.
• The Department for Communities and Local Government can provide advice on fire safety and fire-risk assessments (020 7944 4400).