Hi, we normally had a RA slide show which explained what one was but we went down the route of pictorial safe systems of work, as this was what they followed inorder to do the job safe.
If you want to have a look at them, pm me your email address and I will send you an example.

Agree with Bob. Workers need to understand SSoW, and need never see R/A. Depending on safety-critical nature of the work you may need services of translators.

I agree with the management tool but I also disagree.
Once the RA is carried out, as part of an employees training, we always "briefly" discuss the basic elements of the risk assessment.
I have just gone to a new job and a recommendation from an HSE inspector was the above.

I've worked overseas quite a bit and often I've had to deal with workers from many different nationalities who have only a very basic grasp of English. I found that sometimes the best way to get my point accross is to get someone to translate. I've stood on the deck of a ship and given a toolbox talk which was then translated into, French, Portugese and Italian. You will usually find one person amongst a group who will be able to translate. Especially if they are living and working in the UK

Safety signs are also good as they use very little wording and the pictures are easy to understand. Again, I had to have them translated into several languages to make sure they were understood.

I also don't agree that risk assessments are a management tool only. In my line of work, every Permit to Work has to be issued with a risk assessment or job safety anlysis. The work party sign the permit and toolbox talk to confirm their understanding of the risk assessment/JSA. They have to review the risk assessment before the start of every task to make sure it is suitable and sufficient, and if not they have to complete another one. Again, on projects with people from all over the world I would provide RAs/JSAs translated into several different languages.

I also like to include the workforce in the risk assessment process. We usually conduct a HAZID, HAZOP and HIRA before we mobilise for a project. During the mobilisation we will run through it with all personnel involved, from the captain of the ship to the divers and the riggers and always they will come up with valid points that we, the engineers, had not even considered.

Anyway I'm digressing a bit, but good luck with it

Am I seriously reading "Risk Assessments are a management tool"?? No wonder people have no respect for 'safety professionals'! People who conduct tasks are the ones with the knowledge and should be involved wherever possible. Like Seabee, I also work offshore, although not on boats, and I always get a hold of one of the guys to assist in writing risk assessments for the jobs they are involved in, then they complete their own JSA at worksite prior to commencing task, having reviewed the RA. Any lessons learned are incorporated into the procedure after the RA is reviewed. This is enshrined in our SMS and well it should be. Glad I don't work for any organisation who can't see why workers should have input into RAs.

Thank you for all the feedback. Some comments more useful that others.

I am being sent some ideas so should be able to complete this risk assessment.

Thank you once again.

Emsie

Hi all,

If anyone would like a copy of a document that I have a PDF of, in relation to pictograms for use to assist in the communication of a Safe System of Work, please contact me via the PM facility with your email address and I will send it to you.

Regards,

Ciarán

IOSH Council

Risk assessment is clearly a managerial tool, but that is totally different from is being a managers' tool, which I think is what people are referring to. After all, risk assessment is an integral part of your safety management system, which clearly applies to everyone.

I would suggest that a number of the comments here are not really talking about communicating risk assessments, but communicating hazards and controls. This is a different matter, and I can see where pictorial presentation could have a role.

Sorry guys risk assessment is a management tool to be used to identify methods of controlling risk of injury. How they are conducted is a matter for those who understand the process to be used in doing the task by involving those with the required level of knowledge relating to the specific task. Management have a legal duty to ensure the risks that present themselves are both understood and controlled to a level that is as far as reasonably practicable. If this involves getting employees involved in the RA process then that is what is required but it may not be required in all RAs. The person or persons undertaking the RA must take into account such things a language, work practices and past understanding/risk taking. However, RA is firstly a management tool and duty to be made before any work is undertaken to ensure the level of risk is both understood and minimised and followed by ensuring the method required is both understood and applied thereby reducing the likelihood of the risk being realised. Basically RA is a management tool to ensure each task is conducted as safely as possible and complies with the duty under the H&S at Work Act and the management regs.

Many years ago I watched a film (made by a French company) that demonstrated very effectively the controls and how important they were. The situation was a gang of railway maintenance people were working without the correct lookout arrangements being put in place simply to have more men working thus gaining an earlier finish. The gang were run down by a train and several were killed. The picture changed to show a mother and child running from the house whilst the roof tiles were being blown off indication the impact of the loss of the father. It was so impressive it has stuck in my mind ever since. Is there nothing similar that you can obtain to demonstrate the correct way to undertake specific tasks. Just wondering.

Ken, why do you say the manager would be the wrong person to do the RA? I was a manager for many years before becoming the head of safety and I understood almost all the jobs I managed simply because I did them before. The role of the manager is to get jobs done by others to a schedule no more. That role involves using other peoples skills to get the job done. In RA it is the manager who initiates the process and uses all resources at his disposal. RA's are generally generic at the outset simple because you know the task involved. There are some variations that require modification to the RA and more importantly the controls that are required, and perhaps that is where dynamic RAs come into place. But, given the knowledge of the organisation that should in a perfect world be very rare, but as we don't live in perfect world you have to have processes that cover the odd ball situation. In short the starting point is RA is a management tool (because that is where the responsibility rests) but using those involved in the work is usefull but the buck stops with the manager or employer, as he carries all the legal responsibility.

There seems to be a belief that risk assessment should be done as low down an organisation as possible because that is where the actual activity is done. This practice has some very real risks, firstly most employees do not have the basic knowledge to undertake a valid RA and some very important factors can be missed or even ignored simply because they would, in the view of the operators, make the task either harder or longer than they are used to. Secondly there has to be a leading mind to decide what is really needed to prevent the risk and not everyone is in a position to implement what is really needed in all cases. Management has to lead in risk control by being able to step back and consider all factors and instruct on what risk mitigation measures will be implemented, that is a management function as is using the best tools at his/her disposal in reaching a position where the term so far as is reasonably practicable is met.

Indeed Mr Flibble, however it does what it says on the tin - discussion forum. :-)