Good risk assessments, which have been carried out, communicated and (where necessary) had appropriate control measures put in place, save lives. Yet, the news is still full of stories of companies who failed to assess the risks to their workforce, contractors or members of the public.
The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) Prosecutions website is full of real life horror stories, including details of the injuries sustained by people and the level of fines (often £thousands) imposed on negligent companies. The sad thing is, that so many of them follow the same script in terms of lacking 'suitable and sufficient risk assessments' even though doing them needn't be a chore in the first place.
The HSE website has a whole section dedicated to Risk Assessments: It provides useful templates, guidance and even samples for people to refer to, all free of charge!
When planning your risk assessments remember to think beyond the obvious hazardous activities such as site work or fabrication and do remember to think about other areas such as:
Office actvities
Display Screen Equipment assessments for people working with computers
COSHH Assessments for hazardous substances
Driving
Fire
If you find the thought of doing your own risk assessments too overwhelming, or think it will be too time consuming, why not ask us to help? You can contact us at info@penarth.co.uk or on 029 2070 3328.