UUH&SM 31 Risk Assessment.

UUH&SM 31 Risk Assessment. 1. Objective All work activities involving University of Ulster which present a significant risk of injury, must, under criminal law, be adequately risk assessed. New work must not commence until a suitable and sufficient risk assessment has been carried out. The primary objective of health and safety risk assessment is to ensure that effective precautions are in place to prevent accidents and/or ill health arising from work. The formal process of risk assessment described in this document offers: i) A structured examination of all potentially hazardous activities carried out by the University. ii) Guidance on selecting the most appropriate control measures for each risk identified. iii) A means of prioritising risks to ensure resources are targeted in the most cost effective and appropriate manner. iv) A system which meets the requirement for the recording of assessment. 2. Planning The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations place a legal duty on the Council of the University of Ulster to ensure that effective procedures are in place to manage health and safety risks. Under the University's Health and Safety Policy the duty to manage health and safety risks has been delegated, through Deans and Senior Officers to Heads of Schools, Research Institutes and Directors and Heads of Administrative Departments. It is therefore their responsibility to ensure that risk assessments have been carried out in each functional area under their control. Each Head of School/Research Institute/Administrative Department must begin by a) examining the organisational structure within the functional area, and b) drawing up a programme of the work activities to be assessed c) drawing up a Health and Safety Management Plan The Health and Safety Management Plan for each School/Research Institute/Administrative Department must include details of how the risk assessment process is to be managed within that School/Research Institute/Administrative Department. This will include how controls are to be 1

implemented. Health and Safety Services will provide support/training on the development and use of a risk assessment management plan. Based on this plan decisions will be made to determine that adequate numbers of risk assessors are trained and given time to assess the required areas. Training for risk assessors will be based on this procedure and will be provided by Health and Safety Services in consultation with Staff Development. A Risk Assessment package has been developed centrally which includes A general risk assessment pro forma on which to record findings (Appendix A) and www.ulster.ac.uk/hr/healthandsafety/services/forms/index.html A bank of generic risk assessments for general work activities. These have been developed to aid risk assessors in hazard identification and the types of control measures which may be considered in order to reduce risk. www.ulster.ac.uk/hr/healthandsafety/services/forms/index.html It may be useful for Faculties to develop generic risk assessments within their own functional areas Assessment of manual handling activities or use of hazardous substances may be recorded on the general risk assessment pro forma; alternatively for large ranges and quantities of high risk chemicals or complex manual handling activities the Health and Safety Executive web-based risk assessment packages are recommended. Further information on these and how general risk assessment links with specialist risk assessments and services such as Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Assessment Manual Handling Assessment Display Screen Equipment (computer workstations) Assessment Stress Assessment Fire Risk Assessment can be found at Appendix B of this procedure. Health and Safety Services will provide specialist support where necessary. 2

3. Risk assessors Having determined the Health and Safety Risk Assessment Management Plan it will be necessary to nominate individuals as risk assessors. It is important that those nominated to carry out risk assessments are familiar with the work and how it is actually done are in a position to decide what (if any) risk reduction measures are necessary can observe that risk reduction measures are used have been trained in the University Of Ulster risk assessment process within the last 3 years are clear about which work activities they are required to assess before they are nominated for risk assessor training have adequate time made available to complete the assessments and follow up work on any control measures know their limitations and where to access more specialist advice where necessary can effectively communicate the content of risk assessments to all those who need to know e.g. stored electronically in own faculty/centrally held copies etc have access to electronic risk assessment forms and procedures through the Health and Safety Services homepage 4. When the risk assessment needs to be done Risk assessments must be done BEFORE the task or work activity commences. In addition to risk assessment for day to day work activities documented risk assessments are required for student projects, overseas visits, fieldwork trips, research projects etc. The risk assessment must be completed before the project, trip or visit commences. 3

5. The Risk Assessment process The main terms used within the process can be defined as follows Hazard Risk Risk Assessment Individual tasks is anything which can cause harm is the likelihood that someone will be harmed to some extent by the hazard is finding out what in your work could cause harm to people and deciding if you have done enough or need to do more to protect them are the components that make up a work activity, project etc. (see generic risk assessments for detailed examples) Risk assessment is basically a 5 step process as follows 1. Look for the hazards associated with the work activities 2. Decide who might be harmed 3. Evaluate the risks and decide on the controls 4. Record the findings and implement them 5. Review your assessment and update if necessary Each step in the process will now be considered in turn 4

Step 1. Look for the hazards associated with the work activities HAZARDS things which can cause harm. Listed below are common hazards classified into 3 groups. These lists are for reference only and are not exhaustive. Any other hazards specific to the work activity you are assessing must be added to your risk assessment. General hazards Electric shock/burns Needles Explosions air, pressure, steam etc Sharp edges/scalpels/blades Falls of people from a height Glass Falls of objects from a height Poor housekeeping Slips/trips/falls on the level Lone working Unsuitable/inappropriate use of hand tools Violence/aggression Poorly maintained tools Inadequate lighting Inherently dangerous tools e.g.knives Inadequate ventilation Dangerous machinery entrapment, entanglement Field trips communication, sunburn, weather, cliffs, boats Refrigeration plant Restricted access and egress Vehicles on premises and public roads Poor maintenance Fork lift trucks Lack of supervision Use of access equipment Lack of information/training Inadequate space Unsafe systems Gas/gas cylinders Provision of unsuitable equipment Drowning Welding electric, oxyacetelyne Manual handling Unsafe behaviour of individual Hazards associated with Excessive heat/cold pregnancy/disability/young workers Fire Ovens/furnaces Burns Display Screen Equipment (computer use) Hazards associated with travelling abroad Foreign language barriers Hazardous substances Asphyxiants Toxic Corrosive Harmful or irritant Cancer causing Sensitising Contact with animals Substantial quantity of any dust Contact with poisonous plants Human blood/body fluids Cells human/animal Micro-organisms e.g. legionaella, hepatitis Clinical waste/hazardous waste Flammable materials Highly flammable materials Specialist hazards Ionising radiation Non-ionising e.g. ultra violet, infra red, microwave lasers Radioactive waste Lab/process waste Entry to confined spaces Excessive noise Vibration Lead Flammable/highly flammable material Work on live electrical equipment Asbestos Occupational Stress 5

When assessing a work activity there may be a mixture of general hazards, COSHH hazards and manual handling hazards. These can be assessed together using the one assessment process and assessment form or if the risks relate predominately to COSHH, Display Screen Equipment, Occupational Stress or manual handling the packages listed at Appendix B can be used. Specialist hazards are, as the name suggests, much more complex and often require separate specific risk assessment. Use the pick lists in Step 1 to help you complete the hazard column of the risk assessment form. This will help you identify the best way of managing the hazards. Step 2. Decide who might be harmed This involves identifying groups of people as opposed to naming individuals. In each assessment identify who might be harmed i.e. what type of injury or ill health might occur. This will help you identify the best way of managing the risk and involves identifying groups of people as opposed to naming individuals. Remember new and young workers, new or expectant mothers and disabled persons. Cleaners, maintenance workers, visitors, contractors etc who may not be in the workplace all the time must also be included where appropriate. Tick the appropriate box or boxes on the form. Step 3. Evaluate the Risks and decide on the controls (i) Evaluating the risks (a) General risks associated with work activities The law requires health and safety risk assessments to be suitable and sufficient. Achieving this involves the risk assessor talking to the people doing the work, physically looking at the work area and work practices using available information on accidents/ill health within the functional area, referring to safety guidance where appropriate and considering the effectiveness of existing safety measures consulting with local union safety representatives as appropriate 6

The risk assessor then needs to assess the risk by considering severity and likelihood as follows: Severity This refers to the consequences of an accident or incident happening as a result of the work activity Trivial Significant Severe There may be no injury or a minor injury for which local first aid attention will be sufficient An accident would result in time off work, broken bones, chemical burns, poisoning or hospitalisation Death, loss of limb, loss of sight in one or both eyes, permanent severe disability etc Likelihood This refers to the likelihood of an accident or incident happening as a result of the work activity Rarely Unlikely to happen Sometimes Could happen Frequently Will probably happen frequently Medium High High Likelihood sometimes Low Medium High rarely Low Low Medium trivial significant severe Severity Use the matrix to find the overall risk rating associated with each hazard i.e. high, medium or low. The risk rating must be done by the risk assessor using knowledge of the controls already in place. If the risk from a particular hazard is rated as high the work must not be undertaken until more safety controls are in place to reduce the risk to at least medium. Medium risks are acceptable but must be given priority for action to introduce additional controls that reduce the risks as far as is reasonably practicable. 7

(b) Risks associated with the use of substances This section covers Substances that are used directly in work activities (e.g. adhesives, paints, cleaning agents etc) Substances generated during work activities (e.g. fumes from soldering and welding, wood dust) Naturally occurring substances (e.g. grain dust) The general assessment methodology and form is only suitable for low toxicity substances. They would most commonly be bought in substances classified as corrosive, irritant, harmful, highly flammable and flammable. Possible/occasional exposure to blood and body fluids e.g. a cleaner cleaning toilets can also be assessed using the general form. COSHH assessments of work for example in science laboratories where staff continually create and/or handle toxic substances, carcinogens, pathogens etc must be assessed using either COSHH Essentials (Appendix 3) or using another form agreed by both the risk assessors own Faculty/Department/Research Institute and the Head of Health and Safety Services. If the risk from a particular hazard is rated as high the work must not be undertaken until more safety controls are in place to reduce the risk to at least medium. Medium risks are acceptable but must be given priority for action to introduce additional controls that reduce the risks to as low as reasonably practicable. (c) Specialist hazards Risk assessment of more complex specialist hazards may require advice from the following: Specialist hazards If necessary contact Ionising radiation University Radiation Protection Advisers Radioactive waste Lab/process waste Physical Resources Asbestos Entry to confined spaces Health and Safety Services Lasers Vibration Flammable/highly flammable material Excessive noise Lead Non-ionising e.g. ultra violet, infra red, microwave Workplace stress 8

(ii) Deciding on controls This is a crucial part of the process. You need to decide on the best risk reduction measures in order of preference/effectiveness known as the hierarchy of control a) Elimination the most successful means of reducing risk but it means that a particular task or part of it is no longer done. b) Substitution is also effective as it involves a safer element of a process is used rather than the current one e.g. can a lower toxicity chemical be used in chemical cleaners, can plastic bottles be used instead of glass etc c) Physical controls these are good provided checks are in place to make sure they are used, maintained and effective. Examples include extra ventilation to remove dust at source, guarding on dangerous machinery, fume cupboards, cable covers etc d) Administrative controls these are only effective if they are enforced at all times and well documented. Examples include limiting access to an area, safety signs, training of staff etc e) Personal Protective Equipment this option should always be treated as the last resort in providing long term protection from hazards. This equipment protects only the wearer and no one else in the vicinity. The right supervision of the use of the equipment, training in its use, maintenance and storage is vital. Items at the bottom of this list require greater management commitment to ensure they are effective at all times e.g. ensuring the correct gloves are ordered and worn when required. More than one control may be necessary for any one particular hazard. The table below suggests some controls for common hazards. The controls chosen are used to complete column 3 of the form. When deciding which controls to use you must balance the cost of implementing them (in terms of time, effort and money) and the benefits (in terms of reduced accidents and ill health). All reasonably practicable control measures must be implemented. 9

The table below sets out examples of some of the controls that may be appropriate for 3 general hazards. This is the level of information that should be recorded on the assessment form. Electric shock/burns General hazards Slips/trips/falls on the level Dangerous machinery entrapment, entanglement Possible controls may include Portable equipment must be portable appliance tested (PAT) Users must do visual checks and report any faults prior to each use Consider planned preventative maintenance programme for larger pieces of equipment If equipment is used outdoors, in wet areas or where there is a risk of cable cut residual current devices must be fitted Re-arrange or re-site equipment to avoid trailing leads Ensure adequate rubber edged barrier mats are in place inside external doorways Ensure adequate cleaning arrangements are in place at all times An effective policy for cleaning accidental spills Arrangements for checking artificial lighting levels and reporting faults Encourage the use of suitable footwear Trained operators only with refresher training carried out and recorded Before operating all safety aspects of the machine must be checked e.g. guard secure, break in place, blade secure. Local exhaust ventilation system should be attached where dust needs to be extracted Effective maintenance programme The law does not expect everything to happen at once it allows for the planning and prioritisation of remedial work (as long as the risk is tolerable) but the risk must not be ignored. Each safety control must therefore have a person responsible for implementing it within a reasonable timescale. For more complex controls requiring budgetary approval a reasonable timescale may be up to 2 years. This would be the exception rather than the rule. This information is used to complete the last 3 columns of the form. 10

Step 4 Record the findings and implement them After the risk assessor has signed a written risk assessment it must also be signed by the line manager who has overall authority to implement the control measures that are listed. At this stage the manager is signing that they agree with the content of the risk assessment and will arrange for action to be taken regarding outstanding controls. Signing by management cannot be left until all controls are in place. There is space for the risk assessor to make comments they feel are relevant e.g. which training records the risk assessor checked when doing the assessment. Managing risk Each Head of School/Department/Research Institute must have written and operational plans in place detailing how safety and specifically health and safety risks are to be managed on an ongoing basis. This involves clearly communicating individual responsibilities in terms of the implementation of control measures identified through risk assessment (see point 2 on page 1 of this procedure). Each Head of School/Department/Research Institute must have a system in place for him/her to be made aware of the managed risks within their area of responsibility Communicating the content of risk assessments For the risk assessment process to succeed it is essential that each employee is informed of the results of the risk assessments for the activities associated with their role. Time should be allowed for this consultation and comments and feedback on the risk assessment taken into account. Each member of staff should have access to the risk assessments for their job and copies should be readily accessible. Where staff from other departments may be affected by the activities, those departments should be made aware of the relevant risk assessments (maintenance staff, cleaning staff etc) For student and research projects it is essential that the risk assessment Is undertaken BEFORE the project commences Forms a separate appendix to the research or project report. Is communicated to all the staff and other students who are involved with project or research work 11

Any conflicting opinions between the risk assessor and the line manager should be resolved. This may require the involvement of the Head of School/Department/Research Institute or Health and Safety Services for resolution. Recording and retention of risk assessments Attached at Appendix A are sample forms on which to record risk assessment findings. It is up to each Head of School/Research Institute/Admin Department to decide which format to use. Documentation may be stored in electronic format and/or paper format. A Head of School/Research Institute/Admin Department may choose to devise risk assessment documentation specifically for their own functional areas. Such documentation must not be used until formally approved by the Head of health and Safety Services. Initially the Head of School/Research Institute/Admin Department must prove their case to the Head of Health and Safety Services that the work/risks are so specialised in their area of responsibility that they cannot adequately be assessed using the methodology and documentation contained in this procedure. A risk assessment must be held for at least 3 years and be available for inspection by HSE(NI), Health and Safety Services, trade union safety representatives, health and safety co-ordinators and anyone else who has reasonable grounds for seeing them. Step 5 Reviewing the risk assessments and updating if necessary A risk assessment is a living document. Risk assessors should monitor the work activities they have assessed to ensure that the controls are being implemented and amend the risk assessment if any significant changes occur. Significant changes include Changes in the way the work is done Changes in personnel Changes in equipment used Changes in location The risk assessment should be reviewed after an accident or incident has occurred. The absolute minimum review frequency is once per year for each risk assessment. The date of each review should be entered on the form. Review of this procedure This procedure will reviewed as required by Health and Safety Services. 12

Risk Assessment Control Documentation Where ever possible a risk assessment must be accompanied by supporting documentation. The purpose of this documentation is primarily to confirm that the controls are operating effectively. Examples include Training records e.g. risk assessment, first aid etc Maintenance records e.g. extraction systems, equipment maintenance carried out by outside contractor etc Documentation to prove that staff requiring health surveillance did attend Health Surveillance In the course of the risk assessment process you should have found out the health hazards in your work area, identified who is at risk and taken measures to do something to control the risk. Where risks remain, you will need to take further steps, one of which is to consider health surveillance. But remember that health surveillance is not a substitute for controlling health risks at work. What is Health Surveillance Health surveillance can be defined in various ways. Classically it has been understood to comprise those strategies and methods to detect and assess systematically the adverse effects of work on the health of the workers. Health surveillance is a personal health assessment required under various Health and Safety Regulations. Purpose of Health Surveillance Protection of health of the individual employee Detection at an early stage any adverse health effects Assisting in the evaluation of control measures Data gathering for detection of hazards and assessment of risk When is Health Surveillance necessary? Employers have a duty to carry out health surveillance where any employee is at risk from: Hazardous substances covered by the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) 2005. This includes: 13

Substances known to cause dermatitis and occupational asthma. A wide variety of solvents, chemicals, fumes, dust and biological agents hazardous to health. Asbestos and lead. Ionising Radiation Working in a noisy environment Working with vibration tools or equipment Nightshift Work Introducing Health Surveillance On each new appointment to a post the line manager is required to undertake an Occupational Health Risk Assessment of that post and return it immediately to their nearest Occupational Health office Coleraine J209 or Jordanstown 2H11. Appointments will not be confirmed until such an assessment has been returned. If you require more information or wish to request health surveillance for your employees please contact: - Occupational Health Department Telephone: Jordanstown Campus 02890368375 Coleraine Campus 02870324335 14