How To Do a Risk Assessment: A Health & Safety guide

As an employer running a small or medium-sized enterprise means juggling many responsibilities. However, keeping your team safe and protected must always be a top priority. Risk assessments help you spot potential hazards in your workplace before they become harmful to your employees and your business.

In this article, Croner will cover why risk assessments are essential for keeping your business compliant with UK health and safety laws. We'll also cover the basics of how to undertake risk assessments, how to write them, and what you always need to include in them.

Croner has more than 80 years’ experience in supporting businesses across the UK with their health and safety. So, if you need guidance on anything to do with Health and Safety, simply call one of our team of specialists for FREE same-day, expert support on 01455 858 132.

• What are risk assessments?
• What is the purpose of a risk assessment?
• What do Health and Safety risk assessments evaluate?
• How to do a Health and Safety risk assessment
• 5 steps of a risk assessment (Health & Safety)
• Hierarchy of risk control
• In summary: Risk assessments are key in business risk management

What are risk assessments?

A risk assessment is simply a careful examination of how existing elements in your workplace could cause harm to people under your care.

Risk assessments allow you to weigh up:

• Identify hazards that could cause harm before they lead to incidents.
• Prioritise risks based on their likelihood and potential severity.
• Demonstrate that you have taken reasonable precautions to protect people.
• If you have taken sufficient precautions to prevent occupational health and safety risks.
• If there are serious issues with how risks are currently being managed.

In plain terms, it's about evaluating your workplace, its processes/procedures, equipment, and activities to identify hazards.

For many small-medium enterprises, the risk assessment process does not need to be overly time consuming or complicated. Its fact, if undertaken correctly, health and safety hazard assessments can be quick and easy, helping you focus on real risks present in your workplace.

What is the purpose of a risk assessment?

As we've highlighted, the primary purpose of a risk assessment, when it comes to Health and Safety, is to protect your team’s wellbeing and ensure your business is protected by:

• Identifying and controlling hazards before they lead to any harm.
• Demonstrating that you are abiding by your duty of care and other compliance obligations as set out by UK health and safety laws (Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999).
• Reducing the likelihood of costly incidents, criminal prosecutions, business downtime, hefty claims, and/or enforcement action by the HSE or other governing bodies.
• Creating a safer, more productive working environment to increase staff morale and protect your business's reputation.
  
  

What do Health and Safety risk assessments evaluate?

Usually, a risk assessment is undertaken on-site, and they evaluate aspects of a business's premises and ways of working such as:

Building and premises (site & infrastructure)

• Manufacturing processes and manual handling.
• The safety of entrances, exits, and emergency routes (including accessibility for disabled persons).
• Fire safety (means of escape, fire door functioning, fire alarm functioning, extinguishers, emergency lighting, etc).
• Slip, trip, and fall hazards (floors, stairs, ramps, uneven surfaces, wet areas, trailing cables).
• Falling object risks or overhead hazards such as storage at height, ceiling fixtures, scaffolding).
• Structural integrity of buildings, floors, roofs, and mezzanines.
• Confined spaces (tanks, silos, pits, sewers).
• Working at height (roofs, ladders, scaffolds, MEWPs, fragile surfaces).
• Lighting levels (natural and artificial) and emergency lighting.
• Ventilation and air quality (including extraction systems).
• Temperature extremes (hot/cold environments).
• Noise levels and vibration.
• Asbestos-containing materials (ACM) and other hazardous building material (lead, silica, etc).

Work equipment and machinery

• Machinery guarding and safety devices (interlocks, light curtains, two-handed controls).
• Suitability, maintenance, and inspection of plant and equipment (PUWER requirements).
• Hand tools and portable power tools.
• Lifting equipment and accessories (cranes, hoists slings, forklifts - Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER).
• Pressure systems and vessels.
• Electrical equipment and installations (fixed and portable -- (Portable Appliance Testing).
• Display screen equipment (DSE) and workstations set-up assessments.
• Vehicles and mobile plant (including on-site traffic management).

Hazardous substances & chemicals (COSHH)

• Identification, storage, handling, and use of hazardous.
• Exposure to dust, fumes, vapours, gases, or aerosols.
• Chemical reactions and incompatibilities.
• Biological agents (bacteria, viruses, fungi, mould, etc).
• Radiation (ionising and non-ionising).
• Legionella risks in water systems.
• Asbestos and other respirable crystalline silica (RCS).

Manual handling and ergonomics

• Manual handling operations (lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling, carrying).
• Repetitive strain injuries (RSI) and upper limb disorders.
• Awkward postures, repetitive movements, and static postures.
• Workstation ergonomics, (seating, desk, reach distances).
• Use of mechanical aids for handling.

Work processes & activities

• Manufacturing processes and production lines.
• Hot work (welding, cutting, grinding).
• Work involving electricity or live services.
• Excavation and groundworks.
• Demolition and dismantling.
• Cleaning and maintenance activities.
• Lone working/remote working.
• Shift work, night work, and fatigue-related risks.
• New and expectant mothers (specific risk assessments).
• Young persons and inexperienced workers.

People and behavioural factors

• Vulnerable groups (young persons, pregnant workers, disabled persons, older workers).
• Training, competence, and supervision levels.
• Error potential (fatigue, stress, distraction).
• Contractor and visitor management.
• Communication of risks and safety information.
• Emergency response and first aid provision.

Environmental & external hazards

• Weather-related risks (wind, rain, ice, sleet, heat, cold).
• Flood risks.
• Traffic and vehicle movements and parking.

Fire & explosions risks

• Flammable liquids, gases, and dust (ATEX/DSEAR).
• Sources of ignition.
• Fire load and combustible materials.

Health hazards (longer-term)

• Noise-induced hearing loss.
• Hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS).
• Occupational asthma or dermatitis.
• Stress, mental health, and other psychosocial hazards.
• Work-related musculoskeletal disorders.
• Exposure to carcinogens, mutagens, and/or reproductive toxins.
• Infectious disease control (including pandemics or outbreaks).

Emergency preparedness & response

• Evacuation procedures and muster points.
• Spill response and containment.
• First aid arrangements and equipment.
• Business continuity and major incident plans.
• Rescue procedures (confined space, height, etc).

Specific industry or activity risks

These vary greatly by sector but often include:

• Food safety cross-over risks (where they affect worker health).
• Radiation sources (if applicable).
• Diving or underwater work.
• Work on or near railways or overhead lines.
• Offshore or marine-specific risks.
• Construction-specific risks (CDM regulations).
• Laboratory or research hazards.
• Healthcare or clinical waste.
• Agricultural or forestry risks (machinery, animals, chemicals).

Remember, this is a non-exhaustive list of business/premises related risks. Your risk assessments should always be tailored to your business and its unique aspects.

If you’re in need of professional Health and Safety support. Croner has spent more than 80 years supporting businesses across the UK with their Health and Safety objectives.

For free, same-day initial health and safety support, give us a call on 01455 858 132.

How to do a Health and Safety risk assessment

When it comes to undertaking a risk assessment, there are two primary components of the process: writing the risk assessment and then implementing the findings. In its most basic form, undertaking a risk assessment looks like:

1. Looking around your workplace: Walk through your premises and think about what could cause harm.
   
   
2. Talking to your team: Your workers would often spot issues that your management team might miss. It's important that, when looking to evaluate the risks of your workplace, you involve your team early in the process.
   
   
3. Considering all activities that occur in your workplace: Take a keen look at routine tasks, occasional jobs, maintenance work, and even non-routine situations such as cleaning or emergency response procedures.

Once you or your appointed responsible person has competently undertaken some form of the above, the risk management process will typically commence.

This, is where you go in to:

1. Systematically identify hazards to help you mitigate risk later.
2. Evaluate how likely they are to cause harm.
3. Decide what needs to be done to mitigate the identified risk to an acceptable level.

Important note: Many businesses find it helpful to follow the Health and Safety Executive's recommended 5 steps to a risk assessment.

Don’t worry if you’re not a Health and Safety expert, the goal of the risk management process isn’t to create a perfect document on your first attempt.

The most important thing is that your risk assessment is suitable and sufficient for your business. It should be proportionate to the hazards you face and easy for your team to understand and follow, making managing risk easy and straightforward.

5 steps of a risk assessment (Health & Safety)

When it comes to undertaking Health and Safety risk assessments, the Health and Safety (HSE) recommend a simple, structured approach. Typically, in going further than the above, there are five specific steps to follow when writing and then undertaking health and safety risk assessments. These steps keep the process simple straightforward, effective, and compliant with UK law.

The five steps are:

1. Hazard identification: Take a walk around your workplace and look very carefully for anything in the environment that could potentially cause harm. This includes evaluating equipment, substances, working procedures, movement routes, and, more broadly, how people behave or move around your site. As we've said, it's very important that you talk to your workers / employees, as they more often know exactly where risky elements are due to their day-to-day experience of your premises.
   
   
2. Understand who is at risk and why: Once you have a general idea of where the most significant risks are located, it is essential to understand who in your business are most at risk. You also need to understand why they are at risk. For instance, try to think of vulnerable groups such as young workers / apprentices, pregnant workers / expectant mothers, or individuals with disabilities.
   
   
3. Risk evaluation and precaution identification: For all the hazards you've identified, you need to assess how likely it is to cause harm, who might be harmed, and how serious the harm could be. Listing out risks this way will help you later when you start to formulate your hierarchy of risk control system.
   
   
4. Document findings and then implement then: It is imperative that you or the responsible person document, preferably in writing, the hazards that you discover, how they are harmful, who they might harm, and how serious (typically on a rating scale) the identified risk is. You must also document the control measures you're putting into place. It can also help to ensure to keep your records simple and clear cut so that anybody who views or inspects them will be able to understand what is documented. Try to ensure your set actions / control measures are carried out effectively and competently.
   
   
5. Periodically review and update your risk assessments: This five-step approach will help you or your designated person to dial-in on the real risks present in your business. It helps you ensure you are taking reasonable steps toward protecting your business and your people.

Hierarchy of risk control

When it comes to occupational Health and Safety, a Hierarchy of Control is an essential component. It is a system designed to help organisations identify and control health and safety risks by organising risk priorities in order of importance.

It’s very simple: always try to control the risk using the most effective methods first, rather than relying on lower-level solutions. Here's how it works, ordered from most effective to least effective:

Elimination:

In this stage, you must completely/physically remove the hazard so it can no longer cause harm. This is the most effective control -- for example, stopping the use of a dangerous chemical or changing a process so that working at height is no longer needed, for example.

Substitution:

Replace the hazard with something less dangerous. Examples include swapping a harmful solvent for a safer alternative or using a less noisy machine.

Engineering controls:

Isolate people from the hazard through physical changes. This could involve installing guards on machinery, improving ventilation to extract fumes, or adding barriers to prevent falls.

Administrative controls:

Change the way people work to reduce exposure. This include providing training, introducing safe working procedures, limited exposure time through job rotation, or putting up warning signs (if applicable).

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE):

Protect your workers with equipment such as safety helmets, gloves, eye protection, or respirators. PPE is the least effective control because it relies on people wearing and using it correctly alongside proper maintenance.  

In summary: Risk assessments are key in business risk management

Understanding how to undertake a risk assessment correctly, both generally and specifically for the industry your business occupies, is the first step to creating an environment that is compliant with the latest Health and Safety legislation.

Failure to comply with the latest Health and Safety laws can result in costly tribunal claims and severe reputational damage to your business.

For expert Health and Safety guidance, simply call one of our team of specialists for FREE same-day, support on 01455 858 132.