A European campaign

on Risk Assessment

Common errors in Risk Assessment

Prevention – the law

• By law, employers in the EU must prevent their workers from being harmed in the workplace.

• The EU Framework Directive 89/391:►Sets out basic provisions that must be followed by

every employer►Is transposed into law in every EU Member State 

• Some Member States go beyond the EU Framework Directive, with stricter provisions (you should seek clarification of the specific national legislation that may apply to you).

Risk Assessment

• By taking appropriate action, workers can be kept safe. The key to this is:

Risk Assessment (RA)

• Employers are legally obliged to carry out regular RAs in the workplace.

What is Risk Assessment?

• RA is the process of evaluating the risks to workers’ safety and health from workplace hazards. It is a systematic examination of all aspects of work that considers:►What could cause injury or harm

►Whether hazards can be eliminated and, if not,

►What preventive or protective measures should be in place to control the risks

• RA is the basis for successful safety and health management, and the key to reducing work-related accidents and occupational diseases.

A step-wise approach

For most organisations, a simple five-step approach to RA is all that they need:

1. Identify the hazards and those at risk2. Evaluate and prioritise the risks3. Decide on preventive actions4. Take action5. Monitor and review the situation

Reminder:►A hazard can be anything – whether work materials,

equipment, work methods or practices – that has the potential to cause harm.

►A risk is the chance, high or low, that somebody may be harmed by the hazard.

Most common errors

• When conducting the RA, common errors are made by all types of organisation.

• Some of the most common errors during the RA process are presented here, in the order in which they generally occur.

Planning the Risk Assessment

Common errors include: • Not appointing competent people to carry out the

RA.• Not providing the necessary information, training,

resources, time and support to assessors who are employed by the organisation.

• Not ensuring adequate coordination between assessors from different enterprises working in the same workplace.

• Not involving a team of people in the RA, and not including employees with practical knowledge of the process/activity to be assessed.

Step 1: Identify the hazards and those at risk (1)

Common errors include: • Overlooking certain categories of risk, e.g. psychosocial

risk factors as well as organisational factors (working hours, workload etc).

• Not thinking about long-term hazards to health, e.g. risks caused by long-term exposure to dangerous substances or high levels of noise.

• Consulting the works manual but not workers themselves: actual workplace practice may differ and workers know the problems

• Following a checklist too strictly. ►Taking account only of the various hazards mentioned in

the checklist.►Not considering how workers interact with hazards during

their work.

Step 1: Identify the hazards and those at risk (2)

Common errors also include: • Not recognising a significant hazard, thinking it

trivial. • Overlooking second jobs, such as maintenance or

cleaning work, that are carried out in the workplace. • Not considering the possible presence of employees

from other businesses, or other people (subcontractors, visitors etc) in the workplace.

• Not ensuring coordination between employers and subcontractors, e.g. not informing one another of any hazards and risks.

Step 1: Identify the hazards and those at risk (3)

Common errors also include: • Not considering groups of people who might be at

particular risk, e.g. pregnant women, young workers, people with disabilities etc.

• Not considering equipment that is rarely used. • Not consulting records on accidents or ill-health.

Step 2: Evaluate and prioritise risks

Common errors include: • Overlooking some of the consequences of risks, e.g.

not considering the long term effects of risks. • Creating a false feeling of safety: detecting a risk

does not mean that it is eliminated from the workplace or controlled.

• Not prioritizing risks, taking into account the evaluation. Work to prevent or protect risks has to be prioritised.

Step 3: Decide on preventive action

Common errors include: • Not taking into account the general principles of

prevention:►First considering whether the risks are preventable or

avoidable, and if they are not

►Considering how to reduce or control the risk, adopting measures such as: combating the risk at source, replacing the dangerous with the non-dangerous or less dangerous ...

• Transferring the risk, e.g. controlling one risk by creating others elsewhere

• Not consulting/ involving workers in decisions on preventive action.

Step 4: Take action

Common errors include: • Not prioritising the implementation of preventive

measures.• Not putting in place an action plan specifying, among

other things:►The measures to be implemented

►Who does what and when

►When it is to be completed

• Not properly supervising the implementation of the measures.

• Not consulting/involving workers.

Step 5: Monitor and review

Common errors include: • Not determining the arrangements to be made for

reviewing and revising the RA.• Not ensuring that the preventive and protective

measures take account of the results of the RA.• Not monitoring the measures taken to ensure that their

effectiveness is maintained.• Not informing workers and/or their representatives of

the results of the RA and of the measures introduced.• Considering the RA as a one-off obligation and not

reviewing it regularly to ensure that it remains up-to-date.

Record the Assessment

Common errors include: • Not documenting the RA.• Not providing an overview of hazards and risks, those

at risk, the preventive measures put in place, details of the introduction of measures etc.

• Not using documentation to inform the persons concerned (workers, managers) or to monitor the implementation of the preventive and protective measures.

Where to get help

There is plenty of information and guidance available to help you on the Agency website:

►An RA Web section including information about RA, examples of good practice from across Europe and tools and checklists:

http://osha.europa.eu/topics/riskassessment

►Information about the RA campaign: http://hw.osha.europa.eu

http://hw.osha.europa.eu

Good for you. Good for business.A European campaign on Risk Assessment