PETER AKLAMANU WILLIAMS WRITES ON RISK ASSESSMENT PT1

In our organizations we are faced with risk. These red light keep starring at our faces but we just ignore them until an issue occurs then we all either apportion blames or better still the devil or sing the popular Ghanaian dirge “ had I known”. But these situation could have been avoided if proper steps were taken to avert these situations. Risk in simple parlance is anything that prevents you from achieving your objectives

Risk assessment is the process where you: Identify hazards, Analyze or evaluate the risk associated with that hazard and Determine appropriate ways to eliminate or control the hazard.

In everyday expressions, a risk assessment is a comprehensive look at your place of work to identify those things, events, activities, situations, processes, etc that may cause harm, injury or danger particularly to people. After identification is made, you evaluate how level of impact or likely and severe the risk is, and then decide what measures should be in place to effectively prevent or control the harm from happening.
Why Risk Assessment.

The importance of Risk assessments can never be ignored as they form an integral part of a good occupational health and safety management plan. This most organizations in Ghana do not do. They help to:

    Create consciousness of hazards and risks.
    Identify who may be at risk (employees, outsources workers, visitors, contractors, the public, etc). Who may come into contact with the organization.
    Determine if existing control measures are adequate or if more should be done.
    Prevent injuries or illnesses when done at the design or planning stage.
    Prioritize hazards and control measures.

The purpose of the risk assessment process is to remove a hazard, reduce or eliminate the level of its risk by adding precautions or control measures, as necessary. By doing so, you have created a safer and healthier workplace.

Performing a risk assessment program.

Assessments initiative should be initiated by top management and be done by a competent team of individuals who have a good working knowledge of the workplace. Staff should be involved always include supervisors and workers who work with the process under review as they are the most familiar with the operation. To do an assessment, one must:

    Identify hazards.
    Evaluate the likelihood of an injury or illness occurring, and its severity.
    Consider normal operational situations as well as non-standard events such as shutdowns, power outages, emergencies, etc.
    Review all available health and safety information about the hazard such as MSDSs, manufacturer’s literature, and information from reputable organizations, results of testing, etc.
    Identify actions necessary to eliminate or control the risk.
    Monitor and evaluate to confirm the risk is controlled.
    Keep any documentation or records that may be necessary. Documentation may include detailing the process used to assess the risk, outlining any evaluations, or detailing how conclusions were made.

When doing an assessment, you must take into account:

    The methods and procedures used in the processing, use, handling or storage of the substance, etc.
    The actual and the potential exposure of workers.
    The measures and procedures necessary to control such exposure by means of engineering controls, work practices, and hygiene practices and facilities.
By determining the level of risk associated with the hazard, the employer and the joint health and safety committee can decide whether a control program is required.

It is important to remember that the assessment must take into account not only the current state of the workplace but any potential situations as well.

Identification of Hazards.

Overall, the goal is to find and record possible hazards that may be present in your workplace. As mentioned, it may help to work as a team and include both people familiar with the work area, as well as people who are not – this way you have both the “experienced” and “fresh” eye to conduct the inspection.

To be sure that all hazards are found:

    Look at all aspects of the work.
    Include non-routine activities such as maintenance, repair, or cleaning.
    Look at accident / incident / near-miss records.
    Include people who work “offsite” either at home, on other job sites, drivers, teleworkers, with clients, etc.
    Look at the way the work is organized or “done” (include experience and age of people doing the work, systems being used, etc).
    Look at foreseeable unusual conditions (for example: possible impact on hazard control procedures that may be unavailable in an emergency situation, power outage, etc.).
    Examine risks to visitors or the public.
    Include an assessment of groups that may have a different level of risk such as young or inexperienced workers, persons with disabilities, or new or expectant mothers.

It may help to create a chart or table like below:

Table 1
Example of Risk Assessment

Author: Peter A. Williams is a Tax consultant, a Chartered Accountant and Certified Business Process Outsourcing Master Trainer and an SME finance coach. He blogs on issues on Finance, Management, Fraud, risk, Tax and business process re-engineering. He currently works with Pentecost University College as a Deputy Account Manager and was part-time Lecture in Quantitative Methods and Advance Taxation. He consults for Gospelgh.com pro bono. He may be contacted via aklamationpet@gmail.com or you can read more articles via: aklamanuwilliams.wordpress.com