Look for the Hazards

Ways of spotting hazards at work include:

Have a walk-through inspection of the workplace, checking machinery, plant, substances and work procedures
Talk to employees about their safety concerns
Check records for previous accidents or 'near miss' incidents
Examples of hazards include: chemicals, slipping and tripping hazards, fumes and moving part of machinery (e.g. blades)

Decide Who Might Be Harmed and How

Don't forget:

Your workers, trainees, new and expectant mothers, etc. who may be at particular risk
Cleaners, visitors, contractors, maintenance workers, etc. who may not be in the workplace all the time
Members of the public, people sharing your workplace, if they could be hurt by your activities

Evaluate the risks and decide if more should be done

To assess risks related to hazards:

Consider if the hazard could cause harm. This determines determines if you need to do more to reduce the risk.
Apply the following principles:
Try a less risky option
Prevent access to hazard
Organise work to reduce exposure to the hazard
Issue protective equipment
Provide welfare facilities

Record your findings

You need to be able to show that:

A proper check was made
You asked who might be affected
You dealt with all the obvious significant hazards, taking into account the number of people who could be involved
The precautions are reasonable and the remaining risk is low

Review your assessment and revise it if necessary

Every organisation brings in new machines, substances and procedures that could lead to new hazards. If there is any significant change, add to the assessment to take account of the new hazard.

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