Risk Assessment Essentials for Your Workplace

In this article the risk management specialists at WTS consider the essentials of workplace risk assessment and how the process can be used to keep employees, customers and others safe from harm.

The article initially considers the legal position asking if your business really needs a risk assessment and why? It then goes on to consider the key stages of the process from the assessment itself, who can do it, how to mitigate risk through action, essential record keeping, and concludes by highlighting the importance of an iterative approach to the review process in keeping things up to date and relevant.

Do you need a risk assessment?

In the UK every business regardless of its size must ensure its employees are protected from any harm that may come to them at work. This responsibility also applies to anyone else who may visit or use the business in some way. All employers must adhere to a number of key laws including the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. These describe what you need to do and how you must do it to make sure you do not fall foul of those regulations.

How to assess risks in your workplace with a five step process?

There are five key steps that you should follow when evaluating workplace risk, they are:

1. Identify
2. Who & How
3. Assess
4. Control
5. Review

Carrying out a risk assessment is the first step you must take when considering the likely risks that may be present in the workplace. A risk assessment is an essential tool that helps you identify where the risks exist, who might be injured, what and how serious the risks are. It doesn’t just cover injury risks either – it also considers any risks that may lead to illness. For our purposes, we can include the safety of any water systems being used in the workplace. This should provide a safe source of water that is not contaminated by bacteria such as legionella. If Legionella bacteria is allowed to take hold in the water system, it could potentially lead to an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease, which is a serious lung condition that can be fatal under certain circumstances.

Who might be harmed and how serious is the risk?

The next step in the risk assessment process is to consider who might be harmed and how significant the risk factors are in each case. This doesn’t mean you can ignore low risk elements, just that it gives you a better sense of where the risk factors lie and how serious they are.

Taking action to mitigate your risk

Finally, you must take action to tackle each individual risk highlighted in the risk assessment. The ideal scenario is to remove each risk, but there are situations where this is simply not possible. If this is the case, controlling the risk would be the solution. You should also document what actions you have taken.

For example, let’s continue our consideration of a buildings water systems and any potential bacteria that may be contaminating it. The business may be in an older building with a more complex water system. If you identify pipework that is no longer used, the ideal solution would be to remove it. However, the pipework may lead to a shower room that is only occasionally used and therefore cannot be removed. In this case, you could adopt a practice of regular cleaning and weekly flushing through of the shower head and taps in that room. This would help to minimise the legionella risk associated with water outlets that are not often used. Proper treatment of the water would also minimise the risk that dangerous bacteria would spread throughout the system.

Who can carry out a workplace risk assessment?

You can conduct the workplace risk assessment on your own if you feel able to do so. Alternatively, a competent person can take on the task. Competency means that you know and understand risks in this specific workplace and understand health and safety issues and how to identify them. Some businesses such as a hospital or large hotel will be complex enough that it may be prudent to hire an expert from outside the business to take on this role.

• Expert legionella risk assessment

Identifying all hazards is vital as you must make sure that none are missed. Speaking to people who work in different areas of the building or departments is an important step here. They may identify hazards you might miss. You also need to think about vulnerable people among your employees or customers, or indeed anyone else who visits the business premises. For example, in terms of water safety, Legionella bacteria and the associated risks, those aged over 50, those with lung diseases, and anyone who has a weakened immune system would be at greater risk than others and this needs to be factored in to your approach.

After all risks have been identified in the workplace, you must consider how serious each one is. There will be cases where you’re already working to control and minimise the risk. If so, it’s wise to check whether you can do anything else to remove the risk or whether you can reduce it even further.

Recording your risk assessment and the actions you take

UK law states that you must record the findings of your risk assessment and all the controls taken if you employ five or more individuals. However, it’s sensible to keep records of everything anyway, as they are useful in helping to remember the actions taken resulting from the discoveries made in the risk assessment.

Reviewing your assessment and control measures

You should also periodically review your risk assessment and the measures you have put in place to control the risks you have found. For example, if you are treating a water system to keep Legionella bacteria at safe levels, you should regularly check to make sure those measures are working as intended. If you make changes to the water system, such as by changing the use of the building or by introducing new elements or taking old ones away (adding a new boiler or removing old pipework, for example), you should repeat the legionella risk assessment. A new one will help make sure you are still identifying and attending to all the risks you have identified in the workplace.

Identify, who and how, assess, control and review, are the five main steps to remember when you are tackling hazards in the workplace.

1. Identify
2. Who and how
3. Assess
4. Control
5. Review

This applies to the entire workplace but we can see how important it is regarding legionella and other bacteria too.

Legionella risk management solutions

Water Treatment Services offer a range of specialist legionella and water safety management solutions to support businesses and those responsible for the safety of water systems.

Contact us today to learn how our water safety experts can help you manage your water systems, maintain regulatory compliance and so keep people safe.

With offices in London serving the South and South East England, Manchester (North West), Birmingham (Midlands), Bristol (South East England and Wales), Leeds (North and North East) and Glasgow (Scotland), supported by regional teams of specially trained technicians and engineers we can offer specialist legionella risk assessments, training, water testing and other risk management solutions throughout the UK and Internationally.

Contact us today to learn how our expert water safety and legionella risk assessment solutions can help you.