Posted By Claire C
Dear All,

I am looking for some advice. I work for a large construction company and have put forward a proposal that we introduce site specific risk assessments which would be completed on site by the operatives.

The current procedure is that a generic risk assessment is produced by our head office, it is then forwarded to site, and it is up to the site manager to review and make site specific.

It was my intention that the site specific risk assessment is used in addition to the generic risk assessment; my thoughts were that it would put the onus back on to the operative to carry out the risk assessment rather than rely on head office or the site manager to do the work.

However i have been informed by senior management that this will cause confusion and, again, that any site specific issues should be included into the generic.

What i would like to know is - has anyone introduced anything similar, and if so, what are your views on this; did you find it beneficial?

I would like to introduce this system but need more evidence to convince my employer.

Your assistance is appreciated.


Claire

Posted By Malcolm Fryer
Claire

I think that you are currently on the right track as a risk assessment should be suitable and sufficient and would be looked at in the case of a prosecution or an action for damages. Your senior management may have a different opinion about the suitablility of a generic assessment in these cases.

How could you carry out a S&S RA sat in a remote office? Unless you have physic skills you would have to visit the site and then ask those in control about what happens etc. Even then your assessment is quite likely to have holes in it as you will not have asked the right people the right questions. Without visiting how could you judge which principle of prevention to apply?

Those managing the site (SHOULD) understand what is going on, be competent and therefore should be able to identify the hazards, who the employees are together with the persons not in his employment. From this assess the risks to the health and safety of persons in his employment and not in his employment arising out of or in connection with the conduct by him of his undertaking.

What to do?

Do a guidance risk assessment with blank areas ready to indicate which site it relates to. Provide a list of typical hazards for them to consider whilst stressing that it does not cover every eventuality. Train those conducting the risk assessments so that they are able to do the job.

I can understand senior managers wanting to avoid confusion but I would imagine that a catch all assessment of all the possibilities that you could dream up certainly would cause confusion. Remember suitable and sufficient – not perfect. It is also worth remembering that only the significant findings of the assessment; and any group of his employees identified by it as being especially at risk needs to be recorded. There is a need to transmit this information to those concerned but often his could be accomplished in a few lines.

Are “Senior Management” reacting to other managers reluctance to do this and finding justification for this?

A bit of the Regs below

I hope that this assists.

Malcolm

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Risk assessment
3. - (1) Every employer shall make a suitable and sufficient assessment of -
(a) the risks to the health and safety of his employees to which they are exposed whilst they are at work; and

(b) the risks to the health and safety of persons not in his employment arising out of or in connection with the conduct by him of his undertaking,
for the purpose of identifying the measures he needs to take to comply with the requirements and prohibitions imposed upon him by or under the relevant statutory provisions and by Part II of the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997.

(2) Every self-employed person shall make a suitable and sufficient assessment of -
(a) the risks to his own health and safety to which he is exposed whilst he is at work; and

(b) the risks to the health and safety of persons not in his employment arising out of or in connection with the conduct by him of his undertaking,
for the purpose of identifying the measures he needs to take to comply with the requirements and prohibitions imposed upon him by or under the relevant statutory provisions.

(3) Any assessment such as is referred to in paragraph (1) or (2) shall be reviewed by the employer or self-employed person who made it if -
(a) there is reason to suspect that it is no longer valid; or

(b) there has been a significant change in the matters to which it relates; and where as a result of any such review changes to an assessment are required, the employer or self-employed person concerned shall make them.
(4) An employer shall not employ a young person unless he has, in relation to risks to the health and safety of young persons, made or reviewed an assessment in accordance with paragraphs (1) and (5).

(5) In making or reviewing the assessment, an employer who employs or is to employ a young person shall take particular account of -
(a) the inexperience, lack of awareness of risks and immaturity of young persons;

(b) the fitting-out and layout of the workplace and the workstation;

(c) the nature, degree and duration of exposure to physical, biological and chemical agents;

(d) the form, range, and use of work equipment and the way in which it is handled;

(e) the organisation of processes and activities;

(f) the extent of the health and safety training provided or to be provided to young persons; and

(g) risks from agents, processes and work listed in the Annex to Council Directive 94/33/EC on the protection of young people at work.
(6) Where the employer employs five or more employees, he shall record -
(a) the significant findings of the assessment; and

(b) any group of his employees identified by it as being especially at risk.
Principles of prevention to be applied
4. Where an employer implements any preventive and protective measures he shall do so on the basis of the principles specified in Schedule 1 to these Regulations.

SCHEDULE 1
Regulation 4

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF PREVENTION


(This Schedule specifies the general principles of prevention set out in Article 6(2) of Council Directive 89/391/EEC)
(a) avoiding risks;

(b) evaluating the risks which cannot be avoided;

(c) combating the risks at source;

(d) adapting the work to the individual, especially as regards the design of workplaces, the choice of work equipment and the choice of working and production methods, with a view, in particular, to alleviating monotonous work and work at a predetermined work-rate and to reducing their effect on health;

(e) adapting to technical progress;

(f) replacing the dangerous by the non-dangerous or the less dangerous;

(g) developing a coherent overall prevention policy which covers technology, organisation of work, working conditions, social relationships and the influence of factors relating to the working environment;

(h) giving collective protective measures priority over individual protective measures; and

(i) giving appropriate instructions to employees.

Posted By Martyn Hendrie
Clair,

I agree with the sentiment that the risk assessment should be completed as close to the site/activity as possible thereby making it specific to the task; the environment and people doing the job.

However, I disagree with the concept of the operative doing "the Risk Assessment" They should have some part in the process but the "Employer" has the legal duty to do the assessment.

Line managers/ supervisors can and should have a responsibility for the RA being adequate it how you make that work that is normally the issue.

I can imagine an HSE inspectors reaction after an incident if the employer said the operative did the risk assessment.

Posted By Michael Hosking
I am not in the construction area, but as HS adviosr to large finance company have "managed" the construction safety aspects of many of our office premises/refurbushments in conjunction with contractors both large and small.
I respect the benefit for generic risk assessments but so many times I receive generic assesments that do not even mention the site and I reject themm as not suitable, one principla contractor even put the wrong address on the F10 and another site I padi monitoring visit to had a lovely noticeboard showing many of the usual notices, including 3 different fire action notices not one of which displayed the right assembly area for that site.

I strongly believe in site specific which can be an expansion/amendment to the genric assessments and thee are a few similar comments here.

I do bot claim to be a felow or hold degree but that just seems common sense and my understanding is that the new CDM regs want to improve safety management as well as redcue the number of assessments that contractors seem obliged to send.
If local site supervisory managment staff do not know how to cary out/follow assessments as far as I am concerned they are not competent and should be replaced by some one who is or get them trained.

Sorry to get passionate but if we as IOSH members cannot agree on common methodoly what hope is there for the rest.

make the stand Claire yours is the right way forward.
MIke