A health and safety risk assessment is simply a careful examination of what could cause harm to people at your workplace. The assessment should allow health and safety practitioners to weigh up whether sufficient precautions have been taken or whether more action should be taken to prevent harm.
A risk assessment that is conducted well, allows companies to identify any hazard in the workplace as well as which people are likely to be harmed. It also helps to decide on what precautions are needed and how should be implemented.
The assessment of risk in the workplace is a legal requirement. Companies are expected to act upon the findings of the assessment, as accidents and ill health can affect business output or even result in a company being taken to court, as inspectors have the right to close down any department that isn't compliant. Accidents could also ruin lives and damage machinery or equipment.
The Occupational Health and Safety Act dictates that a risk assessment should be conducted at least once every 24 months. But the risk assessment must also be reviewed after an incident has occurred or when changes in the work process or equipment have taken place.
'The systematic identification of undesired events and their causes and analyzing their likelihood and potential consequences in order to make a valued judgment as to the acceptability or tolerability'
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