HSE publishes ‘plain English’ guide to risk assessments

The HSE has today (11 July) issued a revamped risk assessment guide featuring examples that spell out, in plain English, what is - and what is not - expected from a risk assessment.

It has also urged businesses to “spend less time dotting 'i's and crossing 't's and more time on putting practical actions into effect.”

Launching the guidance, HSE's Deputy Chief Executive, Jonathan Rees, said:

"We want to save lives, not tie businesses up in red tape - good risk assessment is the way to achieve this. Risk assessment is at the heart of sensible health and safety. We believe it should be a practical way of protecting people from real harm and suffering, not a bureaucratic back-covering exercise. On its own paperwork never saved a life, it needs to be a means to an end, resulting in actions that protect people in practice.

"I hope that this new, more straightforward guidance will help managers understand what's expected of them and get more focus on the kind of risks that cause real harm and suffering - the ones that killed 220 workers last year and resulted in 35 million working days being lost. This guide takes the user through the process step-by-step with the minimum of fuss to achieve this aim."

The guidance Five Steps to Risk Assessment, which was first published in 1993, has been revised and simplified to make it even easier for normal business people, not just health and safety experts, to use. It also places greater emphasis on making sure that decisions are actually put into practice.

The 11-page booklet contains advice and tips on five key elements to an effective risk assessment: identifying the hazards; deciding who might be harmed and how; evaluating the risks and deciding on precautions; recording findings and implementing them; and finally ensuring they are reviewed at regular intervals.

This is supported by four examples of what a risk assessment might look like. The HSE claims that the examples help emphasise that risk assessments need not be difficult and the paperwork need not be long and complicated.

The booklet can be downloaded at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/risk

In the current no win no fee compensation culture it is often easy for businesses to go overboard when conducting risk assessments. Ignoring advice from the HSE they often attempt to eliminate all risk rather than safely manage it. There are often stories in the press which highlight health and safety overkill, for example the recent story of the council who paid a consultant £200 to consider the risks surrounding making a cup of tea. An article in the recent July/August issue of Workplace Law Magazine considers this story, and others, asking those at the cutting edge of health and safety what there opinion on excessive risk aversion is.

Inspired by the article we have produced a limited edition Health and Safety Overkill mug. Order yours now to ensure that you and your colleagues will take the necessary precautions next time you're making a cuppa. More info>>

Workplace Law’s updated Risk Assessment Policy and Management Guide version 2.0 is now also available to download. The policy deals with the most common safety issues found at the majority of workplaces to help you ensure a safe working environment and comply with legislation

It covers topics including:

• conducting risk assessments;
• implementation of recommended controls;
• employee information and training;
• hazard identification; and
• recording and reviewing of risk assessments.

More info>>