Risk assessment is a key process in identifying and controlling workplace hazards. This section explains how to conduct risk assessments, evaluate risks, and implement control measures. Learn practical techniques to reduce risks and ensure a safer working environment.
A risk assessment can be legally compliant on paper and still be almost invisible in the way work is carried out. That usually happens when the document becomes the end product rather than part of the decision-making process. It is written, saved, signed and reviewed on a calendar date, while the workplace continues to change … Read more
By Waheed Riaz — an experienced Safety Supervisor in the chemical industry. Risk analysis is important because it turns evidence about hazards and uncertainty into a clear basis for action. It shows what needs attention, which controls may fit, who owns the action, and how the team will test them. Analysis informs a decision. It … Read more
TL;DR Weil’s disease is the severe form of leptospirosis, a bacterial infection spread mainly through the urine of infected rats and contaminated fresh water. Water and sewage workers are exposed when Leptospira enter cuts, grazes, or the eyes, nose and mouth. Early flu-like symptoms can progress to organ failure without prompt antibiotic treatment. A flu-like … Read more
TL;DR A laser risk assessment systematically identifies every hazard a laser creates across all operating modes — beam and non-beam — works out who could be exposed, then sets controls that keep exposure below the maximum permissible level. Conducting one means confirming the classification, mapping the beam path, quantifying the controlled area, and documenting controls … Read more
TL;DR: I was three days into a turnaround at a gas processing facility in the Gulf when the scaffolding crew started erecting a platform over a live process line. The permit was in place. The method statement was signed. But nobody — not the scaffold supervisor, not the area authority, not the issuing authority — … Read more
TL;DR A new and expectant mothers risk assessment identifies and controls workplace hazards affecting pregnant workers, those who have given birth within six months, or breastfeeding workers. UK employers must conduct an individual assessment once written notification is received and follow a legal hierarchy: adjust conditions, offer alternative work on equal terms, or suspend on … Read more
TL;DR A DSE risk assessment checklist should cover six core areas defined by the HSE’s CK1 template (UK): display screen position and clarity, keyboard and mouse placement, software suitability and break planning, furniture adjustability and desk space, work environment factors including lighting and temperature, and individual user considerations such as existing health conditions and training … Read more
TL;DR — Legionella Risk Assessment in Six Steps A Legionella risk assessment is a systematic evaluation of a building’s water systems to identify whether conditions allow Legionella bacteria to grow and spread, posing a risk of Legionnaires’ disease. The assessment identifies hazards, evaluates who is at risk, and determines what control measures are needed. It … Read more
Regulation 5(1) of DSEAR 2002 reads that the employer “shall make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks… which arise from” a dangerous substance. Three phrases in that clause — suitable and sufficient, before work is carried out, and arise from that substance — have carried more weight in HSE enforcement than most duty … Read more
TL;DR I was reviewing a contractor’s risk assessment package on a refinery turnaround in the Gulf when I pulled out their risk matrix — a clean, color-coded 5×5 grid laminated and clipped to the front of every work pack. It looked professional. Every hazard was neatly scored. Every cell was filled in. And every single … Read more