By law, employers and those who control workplaces to any extent, must identify hazards in the workplaces under their control and assess the risk presented by the hazards.
Employers must write down the risks and what to do about them. This is known as Risk Assessment. The aim of Risk Assessment is to reduce the risk of injury and illness associated with work. The Risk Assessment(s) will form part of your Safety Statement.
There are three steps to carrying out a Risk Assessment:
- Identify the hazards.
- Assess the risks.
- Put control measures in place.
A hazard is anything with the potential to cause harm in terms of human injury or ill health, such as work materials, equipment, work methods or practices, poor work design or exposure to harmful agents such as chemicals, noise or vibration.
A risk is the likelihood that somebody will be harmed by the hazard and how serious the harm might be. When considering risk, you should also consider the number of people at risk from the hazard.
Control measures (or controls) are the precautions taken to ensure that a hazard will not injure anyone. When putting a control measure in place ensure that is does not create an additional hazard.