Tolley's Practical Risk Assessment Handbook

Mike Bateman

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2006
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• eBook ISBN:
  9781136355028
• Subtopic: Industrial Engineering
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Risk assessment has become the backbone of health and safety management in the UK and elsewhere. Employers have a legal duty to prove that risk assessments have been carried out and to ensure that appropriate precautions have been implemented.

Mike Bateman demystifies the risk assessment process and how it relates to UK legislation. He covers both the general techniques and the assessment of specific risks, such as hazardous substances (COSHH), noise, manual handling, Display Screen Equipment (DSE) workstations, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), fire, asbestos and work at height. The book is practical in its approach to risk assessment rather than being overly legalistic or academic and tells the reader how to go about risk assessment, not just what the legislation requires. It contains numerous checklists, forms and worked examples for a variety of hazards and industries.

This edition has been fully updated to take into account the impact of the following requirements on risk assessments:

• Work at Height Regulations 2005 – full new chapter


• Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005


• Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order (RRFSO) 2006

Mike Bateman runs his own health and safety consultancy and specialises in risk assessments. He is a corporate member of IOSH and a registered health and safety practitioner.

1 Introduction

In this chapter:

The background to risk assessment	1.1
Key requirements of HSWA 1974	1.2
What is ‘reasonably practicable’?	1.3
Practicable and absolute requirements	1.4
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (SI 1999 No 3242)	1.5
Regulations requiring risk assessment	1.6
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (SI 2002 No 2677) (COSHH 2002)	1.7
Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 (SI 2005 No 1643)	1.8
Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 (SI 1992 No 2793)	1.9
Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 (SI 1992 No 2792)	1.10
Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (SI 1992 No 2966)	1.11
Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005	1.12
Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (SI 2002 No 2776) (DSEAR)	1.13
Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 (SI 2002 No 2675)	1.14
Work at Height Regulations 2005 (SI 2005 No 735)	1.15
Control of Lead at Work Regulations 2002 (SI 2002 No 2676)	1.16
Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 (SI 2002 No 2675)	1.17
Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 1992 (SI 1992 No 3073)	1.18
Control of Major Accident Hazard Regulations 1999 (SI 1999 No 743) (COMAH 1999)	1.19
Ionising Radiations Regulations 1999 (SI 1999 No 3232)	1.20
Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 (SI 2005 No 1093)	1.21
Related health and safety management concepts	1.22
Safe systems of work	1.23
Dynamic risk assessment	1.24
Permits to work	1.25
CDM health and safety plans	1.26
Method statements	1.27
References	1.28

The background to risk assessment

1.1 The term ‘risk assessment’ probably first came into common use as a result of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1988 (commonly known as the ‘ COSHH Regulations’ and revised several times since) which required employers to make a ‘suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks created’ by work liable to expose any employees to any substance hazardous to health. Similar requirements had actually previously been contained in both the Control of Lead at Work Regulations 1980 and the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 1987.

In practice a type of risk assessment had already been necessary for some years particularly as a result of the use of the qualifying clause ‘so far as is reasonably practicable’ in a number of sections within the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA 1974).

Key requirements of HSWA 1974

1.2 Previously most Acts and Regulations dealing with health and safety had been extremely prescriptive in their requirements and narrow in their scope. The report of the Robens Committee (published in 1972) recommended major changes including:

• the replacement of specific legal requirements by general obligations;
• legislation to cover everyone at work, including the self-employed (rather than just those in factories, offices, etc. as was previously the case);
• introduction of requirements for employers (and the self-employed) to take account not just of employees but also of others, including the public.

These recommendations were implemented through the passing of HSWA in 1974. The Act applies to everyone ‘at work’ — employers, self-employed and employees (with the exception of domestic servants in private households).

Section 2 sets out general duties of employers to their employees, with the most general contained in Section 2(1):

It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees.

This ‘catch-all’ requirement is all-embracing in its scope, although it is qualified by the term ‘reasonably practicable’. Section 2(2) goes on to detail more specific requirements relating to:

• provision and maintenance of plant and systems of work;
• use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances;
• provision of information, instruction, training and supervision;
• places of work and means of access and egress;
• the working environment, facilities and welfare arrangements.

These are also qualified by the term ‘reasonably practicable’.

Section 2(3) requires employers with five or more employees to prepare a written health and safety policy statement, together with the organisation and arrangements for carrying it out, and to bring this to the notice of employees.

Section 3 places general duties on both employers and the self-employed in respect of persons other than their employees. Section 3(1) states:

It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not exposed to risks to their health or safety.

Employers thus have duties to contractors (and their employees), visitors, customers, members of the emergency services, neighbours, passers-by and the public at large. This may (up to a point) extend to include trespassers. Once again these duties are subject to the ‘reasonably practicable’ qualification.

Self-employed persons are put under a similar duty by Section 3(2) and must also take care of themselves. (If they have employees then Section 2 will also apply to them.)

Section 4 of the Act places duties on each person who has to any extent control of non-domestic premises used for work purposes in respect of those who are not their employees. Such persons may include landlords or managing agents. Each such person is required by Section 4(2):

to take such measures as it is reasonable for a person in his position to take to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the premises, all means of access thereto or egress therefrom available for use by persons using the premises, and any plant or substance in the premises or, as the case may be, provided for use there, is or are safe and without risks to health.

This requirement also is subject to the qualification of ‘so far as is reasonably practicable’.

Section 6 places a number of duties on those who design, manufacture, import or supply articles for use at work, or articles of fairground equipment and those who manufacture, import or supply substances. Many of these obligations also contain the ‘reasonably practicable’ qualification. (It is not the intention of this handbook to develop further upon the duties contained in Section 6.)

What is ‘reasonably practicable’?

1.3 The phrase ‘reasonably practicable’ is not just included in the key sections of HSWA 1974 but is contained in many requirements of a wide variety of Regulations. Lord Justice Asquith provided a definition in his judgment on the case of Edwards v. National Coal Board (1949) in which he stated:

‘Reasonably practicable’ is a narrower term than ‘physically possible’ and seems to me to imply that a computation must be made by the owner in which the quantum of risk placed on one scale and the sacrifice involved in the measures necessary for averting risk (whether in money, time or trouble) is placed in...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Foreword
• 1 Introduction
• 2 What the Management Regulations require
• 3 Special cases
• 4 Carrying out risk assessments
• 5 Assessment records
• 6 Model risk assessments
• 7 Specialised risk assessment techniques
• 8 Implementation of precautions
• 9 COSHH Assessments
• 10 Noise assessment
• 11 Assessment of manual handling
• 12 Assessment of DSE workstations
• 13 Assessment of Personal Protective Equipment ( PPE ) requirements
• 14 Fire and DSEAR assessments
• 15 Assessment of risks from asbestos in premises
• 16 Assessment of work at height
• 17 Risk assessment related concepts
• 18 Assessing and managing risk — can you afford not to?
• 19 Looking ahead
• Index