Seaward PAT Tester

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Dagenham

020 8595 5888

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Bexley

Health and Safety Risk Assessments

A Risk Assessment is systematic review of the work activities you undertake as part of your business, looking at what could cause harm, and deciding on suitable control measures to prevent accidents or serious incidents occurring. The Risk Assessment process should include the controls required to eliminate risk or suitable reduce the consequences So why conduct a risk assessment? Organisations with 5 or more employees are required by UK law to have documented risk assessments for all significant hazards posed by the organisations work activities.

Organisations with less than 5 employees still have a duty to undertake risk assessments, however there is no legal requirement to record the findings, although it is strongly recommended that you do. What is risk assessment? A risk assessment is simply a careful examination of what, in your work, could cause harm to people, so that you can weigh up whether you have taken enough precautions or should do more to prevent harm. Workers and others have a right to be protected from harm caused by a failure to take reasonable control measures. Accidents and ill health can ruin lives and affect your business too if output is lost, machinery is damaged, insurance costs increase or you have to go to court. You are legally required to assess the risks in your workplace so that you put in place a plan to control the risks.

This legislation calls upon the owner, manager or other person who has control of a workplace to carry out a risk assessment based upon the identification of fire hazards in the individual workplace. The assessment process then calls for that person to evaluate the likelihood of fire occurring, identifying those employees or other persons placed at risk, and estimating the adequacy of any control measure or procedure in place within these premises. The assessment process is carried out to ensure that:

  1. Fire hazards are identified.
  2. The risk of those hazards causing harm is made as low as reasonably practicable.
  3. The necessary physical fire precautions and management arrangements to ensure the safety of all the people in the premises are decided upon.
  4. All who use the workplace are able to reach a place of safety quickly and without external aid.
  5. Any defects, deficiencies or failures are identified in order to be rectified or overcome.
  6. That any risk from the processes within the workplace, or any storage of flammables, are known to those who use the workplace, are properly controlled and information regarding these matters are brought to the attention of all workplace users. This assessment should be reviewed after any significant changes in material matters affecting the workplace have occurred, or if it is believed to be no longer valid or relevant. However, if neither of the proceeding conditions applies then a routine review every 12 months is advisable it should be carried out by the person responsible for the premises and recorded. This will also help to maintain awareness of the contents of the fire risk assessment.

How to assess the risks in your workplace

Step 1 Identify the hazards

Step 2 Decide who might be harmed and how

Step 3 Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions

Step 4 Record your findings and implement them

Step 5 Review your assessment and update if necessary

Risk Assesment