Evaluating the risks in your workplace

From Lawpack's Health & Safety at Work Essentials.

When initially drawing up an outline assessment, the best plan is to keep things simple. In an office or commercial operation, there shouldn't be many dangerous items or situations. It's just a combination of observation and common sense.

It's the small, often overlooked, hazards which you probably need to concentrate on. If you're a reputable employer, you've probably already guarded potentially harmful machinery and provided your workforce with any necessary protective clothing. Instead, you may have to look at the steep inside staircase that you need to make people aware of. Taking the correct precautions may simply mean a well-placed sign.

Here's some guidance on what to be aware of:

1. Look for hazards
   Spend time, ideally with a colleague, walking around your workplace with a critical eye. Think about what could go wrong at each stage of work. Identify and document all areas that may be hazardous and the type of hazards involved. Discuss with your workforce any concerns they have and, if legitimate, add them to the list. List everything, but although it's important to document every potential hazard, concentrate only on the ones that are significant. Check your accident record book to see if there are any types of injuries or accidents that recur regularly.
   
   
2. Assess who may be harmed and how
   If it's the low beam outside your building, then everyone who enters is at risk. Not only are your employees in danger of hurting themselves but your visitors are also. New employees, who are unfamiliar with your office/shop floor/warehouse layout, will need particular attention. Likewise any person doing work experience, temporary staff or those with special needs.
   
   
3. Decide whether the precautions in place are adequate or whether more could be done
   If you discover a significant potential hazard, decide how best to reduce the risk. The law requires you to do all that is reasonably practicable to ensure that your place of work is safe, so if you cannot get rid of the hazard, look at ways of controlling it, for example, a non-slip mat on slippery entrance steps. There may be occasions where your office is in a building occupied by other business tenants. If this is the case, then you should consult with them on any hazards that affect everyone (e.g. fire escapes, reception areas may be areas of joint responsibility). Also, discuss any concerns with your landlord where the hazard relates specifically to the building and any contents that fall under the tenancy agreement.
   
   
4. Document your findings
   If you employ five or more people, you must record the significant findings of your assessment. You need to cover:
   • the areas you have investigated;
   • any hazards you have found and whether they were significant;
   • the conclusions you came to;
   • the controls put in place to reduce the risks of significant hazards.
     
     
   You may find it useful to include this entire document in your own health and safety policy document.
   
   
5. Review the assessment and revise it as necessary
   Review the assessment, particularly following an accident at work or if new machines or substances are brought onto the site. As your business grows, you will employ more people and invest in further, and perhaps more sophisticated equipment. When your business grows, there will also be a growth in hazards. Remember to review your assessment regularly.