Improving your Workplace Risk Assessment

When it comes to improving your workplace’s health and safety, there are few things more important than getting your risk assessments right. After all, if you don’t know where your potential safety issues are, how can you tackle them with the appropriate control measures?

Every risk assessment will be different because every workplace’s needs are different. There are a core group of health and safety topics that need to be covered by almost any organisation (e.g. fire risk assessment) and some specialist topics that vary depending on the company and its context (e.g. hazardous substances or legionella risk assessment). When it comes to the office risk assessment, one size certainly doesn’t fit all.

What is a Risk Assessment?

On the surface, “what is a risk assessment” seems like an easy question to answer: it’s a record of the possible risks and hazards in a working environment and the control measures in place to tackle them.

A quick internet search can reveal the technical basics of how to write a risk assessment. But all too often, they are seen as a box-ticking exercise, performed in isolation by one member of the management team purely to comply with legal requirements. The resulting document is sometimes then left to gather dust, with little relevance to the day-to-day work it refers to. This is a shame: effective risk assessments are a powerful tool to keep your staff safe and your accident rate down.

People responsible for writing them should begin by asking themselves: what is the purpose of a risk assessment? First and foremost, it exists to have real-world consequences – namely, the prevention of injury and accidents. If your risk assessment isn’t a living document that is regularly updated and has a clear relationship to how work is being performed on the ground, it isn’t doing its job.

Communication

The key to a good workplace or office risk assessment is the same as achieving good health and safety in general: communication with staff at all levels.

It’s fine to use a risk assessment template as a guide. There are many good quality versions available online. However, it’s vital to make sure yours is tailored to your specific circumstances.

The importance of communication flows both ways. Just as the suggested control measures are much more likely to be effective if they are the result of collaboration rather than dreamt up in isolation, workers are more likely to abide by health and safety rules if they know why they are in place. Like so much of successful health and safety culture, it must be an ongoing conversation. It must be a joint effort from everyone rather than something passed down from above with no explanation.

Risk Assessment Training

Writing a good risk assessment is a skill like any other. It can be improved with quality training and practice.

Any employee can learn how to write a risk assessment, though it is essentially a collaborative effort between everyone in the workplace. Employees should be empowered to speak up about the health and safety challenges they face in their workplace, from fire safety to stress levels, and the writing and updating of risk assessments are the perfect times for these discussions to be encouraged.

Sick in the Workplace: 1.4 Million Suffering from Work-Related Ill Health

The latest statistics on workplace ill health from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) make for interesting reading. 1.4 million of us suffered from work-related ill health in 2018/19, with nearly half a million new cases appearing. Collectively, 23.5 million working days were lost to work-related ill health over this period.

The figures hint at the scale of the human cost of poor health and safety in the workplace. For each of these cases there’s someone who has suffered hardship because of work, often long-term, and in some cases fatal.

What are the Causes?

A staggering 44% of work-related ill health is caused by stress, depression and anxiety. The majority of days off sick have this cause. In many cases, due to the weakening but sadly still present stigma around mental health, workers may attribute their absence to a physical illness to avoid telling their managers. Taking mental health seriously is a huge priority for all organisations.

Musculoskeletal disorders were another prominent issue. Unsurprisingly, industries such as agriculture and construction have a higher than average rate, but all companies need to make sure they’re offering proper trained in manual handling. In offices, spending too long at the keyboard in the wrong position can lead to musculoskeletal problems later on. These can often be long-term and cause severe pain; in some cases, people will be unable to work due to their symptoms.

It’s important not to dismiss the early signs of these conditions as “just a sign of ageing”. Most people have room for improvement in their posture or working conditions and should see a doctor if they feel they might be developing a disorder.

The causes of workplace injuries are relatively familiar. Slips, trips and falls were the most common cause once again, with manual handling close behind. Shockingly, 8% of workplace injuries were caused by acts of violence. It’s unacceptable that anyone should face violence or aggression at their workplace. Some jobs, such as healthcare, security and retail, have a higher than average risk of encountering this poor conduct and employers should take every step necessary to make sure their workers are protected. Anyone can be a victim of workplace violence or aggression, so even in industries that don’t suffer from a higher risk, managers need to take this very seriously.

Occupational lung disease affects thousands of people. In fact, an estimated 12,000 people die each year from past exposures at work. Asbestos damage is sadly common. This highlights how inadequate health and safety can have an impact on employees years after the problem occurred.

Will Things Improve?

Work-related ill health declined for a number of years but has been broadly flat in recent times. With the right training, legislation and commitment from people in all industries, there’s no reason why we won’t see further improvements.

For employers, the most important thing to do immediately is to listen to their staff. The people doing the work on a daily basis are the ones with the most valuable insights into potential hazards and what they need to mitigate them. This is especially valuable during the risk assessment process.

Overall, the UK’s health and safety culture compares favourably with many others around the world. It is one of the safest places to work in Europe. There’s no reason why the trend towards improvement in recent decades shouldn’t continue, as long as the right conditions are maintained and it remains a top priority for businesses and employees alike.

Are Conkers, Daffodils and Ladders Banned? Health and Safety Myths

Hardly a week goes by without the term “health and safety gone mad” appearing in the news or, more frequently, in the comments sections of news stories. Health and safety legislation is used as the bad guy to explain away event cancellations, petty rules or the end of long-held traditions.

The truth is that health and safety laws have given the UK one of the world’s lowest workplace fatality rates. Though there’s clear room for improvement, having strong protection in the law allows the UK workforce to have a reasonable expectation that they’ll come home safe from work every single day. It’s a record to be proud of, and one that other countries are trying to match.

So why is something so positive often derided as being too tightly imposed? Why is it often the excuse brought out to explain why everything from beloved childhood games to standard workplace equipment are “no longer allowed”? More often than not, “health and safety” is being used as a convenient excuse to cut costs or to obscure poor customer service. In other cases, poor training or management concerns about being sued have led to the rules being interpreted in a much too strict manner.

This attitude has given rise to some entertaining myths:

1. Health and Safety Forced Children to Wear Goggles to Play Conkers

A myth that refuses to die, this story has been repeated in many different ways over the years. The truth is that no health and safety legislation requires it, and it may in fact have originated from a wrong interpretation of a one-off event.

Conkers can be played without goggles, but eye protection for children is often a good precaution to take when they’re doing any activity where eye injuries are a possibility.

2. Daffodils are Dangerous

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) ran a project looking at health and safety myths until 2015. The public sent in many cases of “health and safety” being used as an excuse, from paperclips supposedly banned in offices to selfie sticks barred from nightclubs. Perhaps the most entertaining was daffodils being taken away from a village green. It remains to be seen what danger the daffodils – generally seen as innocent early spring decoration – were allegedly causing!

Needless to say, no health and safety legislation prohibits the use of flowers in a floral display.

3. Ladders are Banned

Repeated in different forms for many years, there is a common misconception that ladders are now banned.

Falls from height were the leading cause of fatal workplace accidents in 2018/19, so working at height remains one of the most dangerous things someone can do at work. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 were introduced with the aim of reducing the amount of deaths and injuries resulting from falls.

However, if a ladder is in good working order, properly secured, is the most sensible tool for the job at hand and is being used by someone who’s properly trained and prepared, there’s nothing to stop their use in any UK or EU legislation.

Though many of the Health and Safety myths are amusing, there can be serious consequences to the trivialisation of the term.

If “health and safety” is seen as a list of silly, impractical rules, people will be less likely to take the legislation seriously. Genuine recommendations might be at risk of being lumped in with “conker bans” and other myths, leading to confusion as to what is actually permitted in the workplace.

The UK’s health and safety legislation has led to one of the lowest workplace accident rates in the world. Myths that might make a good headline but undermine the good work that’s been done over recent decades to build this record risk putting UK workers in danger.

Why are Workers Still Dying?

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recently released its annual casualty figures, reporting 147 people died at work in 2018/19. A slight rise since the previous year, this number is nevertheless within normal variation. Workplace death rates have declined when compared to prior decades.

However, with world-leading health and safety legislation in place, why are workers in the UK still dying at work?

Louise Taggart’s brother Michael, an electrician, was killed in 2005 after cutting a live wire marked “not in use”. Later investigations found there was inadequate supervision and training at his company. Michael had not been supplied with the correct safety equipment.

It’s impossible to tell what process he followed when cutting the wire. Safety inspectors suggested that if he’d been holding his equipment by the insulated grips, he would have been safe from the electric shock. Despite this safety feature, many electricians grip them by the metal ends to get the necessary purchase on them.

Louise set up Michael’s Story, dedicated to preventing accidents like the one that killed her brother. Her speeches often focus on the impact on friends and families when somebody is killed or injured at work. Often, their loved ones pay the price for the rest of their lives. In 2018/19, 92 members of the public were killed due to work-related activities.

Louise was named the SHP’s Most Influential Person in Health and Safety in 2018 in recognition of her work.

Despite the important campaigning done by Michael’s Story, the HSE, RoSPA and other organisations, there continue to be far too many stories similar to Michael’s every year.

Cutting Corners

Although the legislation is in place, that doesn’t always guarantee it will be followed to the letter.

Often, HSE investigations find that the companies involved had updated risk assessments. If these were followed, they might have prevented the fatal accident. Risk assessments can be written and not followed, or forgotten about. Employers are responsible for communicating their risk assessments to their staff. They must also ensure the control measures laid out in them are put in place correctly. The appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) must be given to all staff.

There are multiple examples of badly designed work processes that put workers at risk of serious injuries or deaths. In May 2019, a waste management company was heavily fined after a labourer was killed by a loader reversing over him. The company had received a notice to improve from the HSE months before the incident, but there were still no effective traffic management systems in place. Nothing was preventing vehicles and pedestrians colliding in the area where the worker was killed. Unfortunately, as those who follow health and safety developments will know, this is far from an isolated incident.

Pressure on Workers and Managers

Workers, and their managers, are often working to tight deadlines. Whether it’s a building job that needs to be done by the end of the day or a shipment that needs to be delivered, time pressures can mean otherwise safe workers flout the rules.

In June 2018, an experienced cruise ship worker was crushed to death by a machine designed for washing windows. The coroner suggested that his death could have been prevented by asking his colleague to operate the machine remotely, but speculated he worked it manually to save time. It wasn’t suggested in this case that his employer had put undue pressure on him to complete the work quickly.

Often, the pressure to work unsafely can be unspoken. RoSPA’s website has a case study about Jason, a former construction worker paralysed after falling from a ladder. He knew at the time that he shouldn’t climb the ladder – the ground condition wasn’t right and it didn’t look secure. However, his boss had been up before him and they were under pressure to please their customer, so he climbed it anyway. This had devastating long-term effects on him and his family.

It takes courage to fight back against unrealistic pressure that compromises health and safety, but it’s vital for workers to speak up about anything that puts them at risk.

Not Enough Training

Both good quality formal training and decent on the job learning are important in producing a rounded, well-prepared worker. Amazingly, people are more likely to have a workplace accident during the first six months in the workplace as they are during the rest of their career. This can be due to inexperience, lack of familiarity with the workplace, or hesitancy to raise potential issues with new co-workers.

It’s not just inexperienced workers who need thorough training. It should be a prominent and ongoing project for everyone in the workplace. By making people aware of best practice, we can work to lower the annual fatality and accident figures. Hopefully, no more families will have to go through the pain of the preventable loss of a loved one at work.

NEW RELEASE: Avoiding Slips and Trips Toolbox Talk

Both inside and out of the workplace, the most common cause of major injuries is the same: slips, trip and falls.

Avoiding Slips and Trips, our newly released Manager’s Toolbox Talk, is designed to facilitate group training. It includes detailed notes and resources to encourage discussion.

Users will learn how to recognise the risk factors associated with slips and trips, the relevant control measures to combat each one and the steps to take to avoid incidents like these in the first place.

Avoiding Slips and Trips Toolbox Talk joins our range of Slips and Trips eLearning solutions.

Read more about our NEW Avoiding Slips and Trips Toolbox Talk here.