In every industry, sector, or sphere of human endeavour, there are associated risks that abound and health and safety equally has its fair share.
Risk management in health and safety aims at minimising or outrightly eliminating potential risks and hazards at the workplace. Doing this helps to prevent accidents, injuries, and illnesses at the workplace and ensures the safety of employees and stakeholders.
Risk management in health and safety is typically a combination of six major steps which are:
1. Hazard Identification: Here, sources of harm (i.e. potential hazards at the workplace) are identified. Examples are stressful work conditions, poor lighting, slippery floors, and hazardous chemicals.
2. Risk Idenitification and Rating: After identifying the underlying hazards, a risk rating is conducted through evaluation of these two things: the likelihood and severity of harm. Risk assessment determines the probability or otherwise of an incident occurring and the potential outcome when it does happen.
3. Risk Control: After the safety officer is done with assessing the risks, he/she implements certain control measures aimed at eliminating or reducing the identified risks. Examples of control measures are personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect workers and administrative control which has to do with implementing policies or procedures. PPE is however the last resort and should never come first.
4. Monitoring and Review: Being a continuous process, safety professionals regularly continue to monitor and review the effectiveness of control measures put in place. This process can involve feedback from workers, inspections, and incident investigations among others.
5. Communication and Training: Communication and training have a pride of place in risk management. Regular training sessions where workers are trained on potential hazards and how to use safety equipment properly should be carried out frequently. Doing this is a great way to promote a culture of safety in the organisation.
6. The final step has to do with documentation and record keeping. It is important to document records of risk assessments, control measures, incidents, and training. Doing this facilitates continuous improvement, provides a reference for future risk management, and most importantly, makes your organisation compliant with regulatory requirements.
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