Risk assessment: A frontline issue

Gary Fallaize takes a look at where risk assessment is going wrong

The high profile health and safety
stories that have hit the headlines
– from banning sack races and
conker fights to the use of goggles in
swimming pools – are derided by health
and safety professionals as myths. These
and other incidents have arisen because
people on the ground don’t understand
how to assess risk. The end result is the
potential ’cause’ of risk gets banned as
this is seen as far simpler than putting a
health and safety strategy in place.

It’s not that risk assessment skills and
knowledge don’t reside in major
organisations. Major companies will of
course have health and safety experts who
know all about risk assessment. The
problem is that these organisations have a
disconnect. The staff on the ground – be
they head teachers, store managers, site
workers or production personnel – are
the ones having to make quick health and
safety decisions and they simply don’t
know how to assess risk.

The Danger in ‘Playing Safe’
It is easy to see how, if you have limited
knowledge, are operating in a high profile
environment and are nervous of the
perceived compensation culture, it may
seem easier just to say ‘no’ to something.

But having a ‘just in case’ mentality leads
organisations to lose touch with reality.

Confidence and respect for health and
safety becomes so undermined that its
ability to actually protect is diminished.

Remember, risk brings not only the
potential for harm or loss but also growth
opportunities for both individuals and
businesses. The challenge is to minimise
the negatives and maximise the positives
by good risk management.

Furthermore this ‘disconnects’ also
means that perversely actually dangerous
situations are missed. This is because the
health and safety professional at head
office, who is setting the wider strategy, is
out of touch with day to day frontline
challenges. Operational staff have a better
understanding of where the dangers are –
‘that awkward slippery floor, the temp
who comes in on a Wednesday, the tricky
entrance to the carpark where prangs
happen’ – they just lack the confidence of
‘applying’ what they know – or possibly
think risk assessment is much more
complicated than it is.

So how can health and safety personnel at
head office ensure front line staff grasp
this essential skill?

Here are some quick tips
Firstly, my advice to anyone
undertaking risk assessment is don’t over
complicate it; in most cases companies are
aware of the risks in their organisation,
such as, employees moving heavy loads
etc. They just need a plan and reasonable
precautions in place.

Secondly, don’t lose sight of its
purpose. Risk assessment is not a paper
chase – the findings need to be
implemented. So don’t over-engineer the
assessment and then either neglect
implementation altogether or do it
poorly. There is a well-known aphorism
“too many decisions are measured with a
micrometer, marked with chalk and cut
with an axe” i.e. lots of effort in planning,
poor execution. Sound familiar?
Also don’t forget the “human factor”.

The new recruit is very different from the
worker who has been with you for 20
years. Furthermore there are others who
come on to your site – cleaners, visitors,
contractors, maintenance workers, etc
who may not be in the workplace all the
time, may have a very different perception
of risk but may be impacted by or
involved in your activities.

Finally – do think about formal
training. It needn’t be that difficult to
drive through your organisation. Risk
assessment training will prevent
organisation from ‘falling’ into the many
health and safety traps that arise when
staff and suppliers are not properly
trained and courses such as our Rapid
Results course take less than 6 hours to
complete and take the user through the
principles of risk assessment in five simple
steps.

Gary Fallaize is managing director of RRC Training

The tragic cost of ignoring risk assessment
Every day we read about compelling cases that highlight why risk
assessment is so important. For instance only a few weeks ago
Hamilton Farmers from East Lothian were hit with a five-figure fine
after an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found
that they had not conducted a suitable risk assessment for the work
carried out – sadly one of their employees had been crushed to death
when a one-tonne pre-cast concrete panel fell on him.

A Buckinghamshire-based waste disposal company was fined after a
member of the public was crushed to death. The company pleaded
guilty to failing to carry out adequate risk assessment of the garden
waste tipping area to ensure people other than employees were suitably
protected.