Posted By M Bastone
Hi,
My safety group have been reviewing the issues around reducing bureaucracy in safety. specifically around the subject of risk assessment documentation. we feel that although the HSE attempts to do this are laudable, there are sufficient caveats to make the process just as complex as before the attempt!
Going back to the original intentions of the HASWA, we are trying to define areas/circumstances where 'overall' or 'Generic' assessments would be appropriate and allow for the use of unrecorded dynamic assessments (that is: assessments that can be easily verbally explained).

We hope that by the end of the process to have established groups of workers who could be covered by this basic concept and to then see how far it can be extended. Obviously groups like the emergency services would greatly benefit from simpler systems, without the need for political intervention as is currently suggested in some quarters. (But maybe that is what will be required?)

So:

If a person is competent (by current definition) in the eyes of the law and is carrying on work which has limited changes of process, can the production of an overall risk assessment (one covering all the hazards in a given area/process and ignoring 'trivial risks') be an acceptable process, where any process change triggers a dynamic risk assessment. Dynamic assessment here means one that is not required to be written down unless judged by the competent person to be 'significant'?

Would this satisfy the requirements of current legislation (and hold up in court)?

What are the parameters to this approach in your view?

what alternative systems might be used to reduce the bureaucratic burden and still satisfy the legal requirements?

Posted By Robert K Lewis
The dynamic process should come into effect from the point of the task specific assessment and not necessarily the standard assessment. If the task always occurrs in the same place with a constant environment and tools then the two may merge and the standard is task specific.

Once the assessment is defined it is as you idemntify a process of identifying and reacting to dynamic changes. Given that you train persons in the process and they do feed back information where required then it can indeed be useful. I would argue that the process is in reality ultimately essential for safe working on an ongoing basis.

Bob