Risk Assessment

What is a health and safety risk assessment?

A health and safety risk assessment is a safety procedure which identifies potential hazards in your workplace, as well as giving you actionable steps to improve safety practices.

There are two compelling reasons to conduct regular workplace risk assessments:

Risk assessments are essential tools for managing the safety standards of your premises, used to maintain the health and safety of all employees and visitors.
Every employer with five or more employees has a legal duty to conduct risk assessments under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations.

These aren't the only reasons though, regular risk assessments can help strengthen your plan's identity. This is because reduced risk leads to fewer accident and injuries, which shows employees, stakeholders and the public that your organisation values the safety of it's members.

Who should conduct a health and safety risk assessment?

The law requires employers to have health and safety assistance from a competent person. This is defined as someone with sufficient training and knowledge of evaluating hazards.

You can determine whether an individual is suitable to be a ‘competent person’ by answering these questions:

Have they had relevant training such as a NEBOSH General Certificate or IOSH Managing Safely?
Do they have practical knowledge and experience in managing workplace health and safety?
Do they have the appropriate skills and technical ability to develop solutions to problems?

People with the right level of experience, training and skills are rare, especially in smaller organisations. So, what if you don’t have the in-house resources to manage health and safety internally? The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recommends appointing an external specialist instead.

At Phoenix Health and Safety, we can fulfil the role of your 'competent person'. This involves giving you access to specialists across the UK who can do all the above and more. They'll carry out risk assessments on a consultancy basis, as well as audits and inspections, giving your business the tools to fulfil legal requirements and keep your employees safe.

Specific risk assessments explained

Manual Handling Risk Assessment

Manual Handling Risk Assessment

Manual handling is defined as the transporting or supporting of a load, "by hand or bodily force". If manual handling activities cannot be eliminated, there is a legal requirement (Manual Handling Operations Regulations) to carry out specific manual handling risk assessments.

The manual handling risk assessment should cover:

The TASK being carried out – for example stooping, twisting, pushing, pulling etc.
The INDIVIDUAL carrying out the task – for example age, health, strength etc.
The LOAD being carried – for example heavy, bulky, sharp, hot etc.
The ENVIRONMENT the task is being carried out in – for example stairs, noise, lighting etc.
Any other relevant factors

At Phoenix Health & Safety we can assist with your moving and handling risk assessment requirements. We carry out manual handling risk assessments on your behalf, or we can assist you to carry them out by providing forms, examples and support. Our moving and handling risk assessments can ensure that delegates understand the importance of manual handling and lifting safety, and will therefore ensure they can operate carefully within the workplace.

We also provide Manual Handling Awareness and Manual Handling Instructors/Assessors training courses.

COSHH Risk Assessments

Under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations, organisations in the UK are required to conduct specific risk assessments for activities that involve the use of hazardous substances. These include:

Any chemical that has an orange warning label denoting that it is toxic or harmful
Biological agents, such as Legionella and HIV
Plants, flowers and vegetables (they can cause dermatitis)
Fumes or dust

COSHH Risk Assessments must consider:

Any hazards that are presented by the substance
The safety data sheet that is provided by the supplier or manufacturer
The likely route of exposure (for example, might the substance be inhaled, swallowed, injected)
The duration of exposure
The severity of any likely ill-effects on health, and any required first aid interventions
The methods used to dispose of the substance
Storage methods and any special fire fighting requirements

We can help with these analyses. We can do this either by conducting the assessments on your behalf or by assisting you to do them yourself by providing you with the relevant forms, examples and support.

We can also provide COSHH risk assessment training.

If you would like further information, don’t hesitate to contact us for an informal chat.

DSE (Display Screen Equipment) Risk Assessment

Under the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) regulations (1992), organisations are legally required to conduct a specific display screen risk assessment for personnel who are classed as being users of this equipment. Employees fall into this category if they meet the following criteria:

They use the display screen equipment (DSE) on a daily basis
They use this equipment for an hour or more at a time
They could not do their job without the DSE.

These risk assessments must cover the:

Screen
Keyboard
Mouse
Software
Workstation furniture
Working environment (this includes variables like lighting and heating)

We are experts in DSE risk assessments and can help you in either of the following ways:

We can conduct the analyses on your behalf. During this process, one of our fully qualified experts will sit down with each of your workers who uses DSE and interview them about their workstations, discussing any specific issues or problems that they may have. Following these discussions, a report is produced detailing the findings and recommendations for each user.
Alternatively, we can provide you with DSE risk assessment forms to help you complete these assessments yourself. Note that clients on our health and safety support contracts are provided with access to DSE risk assessment forms. Any questions or problems can be followed up by our safety experts and support staff.

We also provide Display Screen Equipment and Display Screen Equipment Assessors training courses.

How to conduct a health and safety risk assessment

HSE guidance details the following five-step approach to workplace risk assessment:

Identify all hazards present in the workplace.
Identify those at risk from the hazards, including employees, contractors and visitors. Particularly vulnerable workers should also be considered, such as young people, new staff members, and new or expectant mothers.
Evaluate the level of danger, the likelihood of accidents, and the measures currently in place to reduce risks.
Record the findings in a suitable form.
Review the assessment regularly. This is particularly important after an accident, or when something changes, such as when new equipment is introduced.

Your health and safety risk assessment support options

We are experts in every type of health and safety risk assessment, and offer a range of services. Here are our two main options:

We carry out the risk assessments for you. In this case, we take on liability for the evaluation. Please bear in mind that many other companies offering risk assessment services will not do this.
You carry out your own assessment, and we support you through the process — training your staff, providing the appropriate forms, and checking the completed assessments.

We can also assist construction and contracting companies with generic risk assessments and method statements. These can be modified to suit unique jobs, site-specific risk assessments, and procedures.

Additional health and safety experts support

If your organisation needs support with risk assessments, you are likely to need a health and safety policy and health and safety manual. Why not find out more about how our annual support contracts can help you with all aspects of your health and safety responsibilities?

For an informal chat, or to arrange a free initial consultation, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Call us now on 0345 5008811 to discuss.

Extra support

If you are in need of risk assessment services, you might also require a health and safety policy and a health and safety manual. Bear in mind that our annual support contracts can cover these services.

For an informal chat or to arrange a free initial consultation, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Why choose Consultancy with Phoenix?

Expertise

Phoenix's risk assessments are performed by highly trained professionals, providing you with thorough assessments to keep safety standards high.

Assessments to Meet Your Needs

With Phoenix you can select a specific type of risk assessment based on your business's needs. These include fire, COSHH, DSE and Manual Handling risk assessments.

Liability for Evaluations

When carrying out risk assessments for your business, Phoenix takes on liability for the evaluation.

Your 'Competent Person'

We fulfil the role of a competent person for your business, performing the necessary risk assessments to keep employees safe.

A selection of some of the great companies we work with