Introduction 

Whether you like it or not risk assessments are necessary paperwork that show you have thought through your event and activities with safety in mind. It's not that difficult-a-process although the terminology needs some introduction which I will attempt here.

Hazard

A hazard is an accident waiting to happen - whether it's a scaffold or a slippery floor. The way to deal with hazards is to remove or avoid them thus reducing the risk.

1. If the scaffold was leaning over dangerously you would not let anyone use it thus avoiding it. If the scaffold could not be repaired safely then you would have to take it down i.e. remove it.
2. If the slippery floor had just been polished / cleaned then you would use signs to warn people or close the corridor thus avoiding the area. If the floor surface was badly worn and provided no grip whatsoever then you would need to replace it thus removing the hazard

It is not always possible to remove hazards and this is especially true if you are using dangerous machinery or products. But it might be possible to do the task differently and more safely therefore avoiding or reducing the risk.

The most common group of hazard are slips, trips and falls. By the end of this article you should be able to identify these and write a risk assessment for even the most basic activity like walking !

Risk

Risk is the likelihood of an accident occurring. A hazard with high risk needs to be controlled carefully.

Controls

Controls could be in the form of training staff, providing protective equipment or using a physical barrier to prevent access. The purpose of the controls is to reduce the risk.

Further Action

This is where you can specify the details if necessary. This is your chance to show-off and prove how safety concious you are. For example how will you prevent public access, who will monitor the activity or structures.

Like all the other boring paperwork once you have done a risk assessment you can effectively keep re-using and only ever have to update it when your activities change or when new hazards become apparent.

Risk Assessment for Walking 

 HAZARDRISK
CONTROLS
FURTHER ACTION
 uneven ground  high risk  hire suitable flooring / temporary road structurewear proper footwear
darkness / night
medium risk
 provide adequate lighting take a torch
crossing the road
low risk
use a pedestrian crossing
stop, look and listen

Finally

Like all the other boring paperwork once you have done a risk assessment you can effectively keep reusing it and only ever have to update it when your activities change or when new hazards become apparent.

I have never heard of a risk assessment being wrong although they can probably be inaccurate! It is a process rather than an definitive document so as long as you have had a go and made yourself more aware of the dangers it is worthwhile.

This information is provided free under the Creative Commons license. Free to distribute and amend for non-commercial use although you must give credit to Creative Dynamo Network if you find it useful