Risk assessment is the core of HMS work. You find out what can go wrong, how serious it could be and what you will do about it. The requirement follows from section 3-1 of the Working Environment Act (arbeidsmiljøloven) and section 5 of the Internal Control Regulations (internkontrollforskriften).
The four steps
- Identify dangers and problems. Go through the workplace and the tasks. Look at machines, chemicals, lifting, working hours, stress, violence and threats, and lone working. Ask the employees and the safety representative (verneombud). They often know best where things go wrong.
- Assess the risk. Take each danger and ask: How likely is it to happen? How serious would the consequences be? Many people use a risk matrix with likelihood on one axis and consequence on the other. High likelihood and serious consequence give high risk.
- Make an action plan. Describe the measures, who is responsible and when they must be done.
- Follow up. Check that the measures have been carried out and that they work. Make a new assessment when things change.
Who should take part?
The risk assessment must be done in cooperation with the employees, the safety representative and employee representatives. If the business is linked to an occupational health service (bedriftshelsetjeneste), it can help you. The employer still has the responsibility.
Choose the right measures
When you have found a risk, you should think in this order:
- Remove the danger completely, for example by no longer using a hazardous substance.
- Replace it with something less dangerous.
- Shield or secure with technical measures, for example guards on machines or extraction.
- Organise the work better, for example with breaks, training and routines.
- Personal protective equipment comes last. It is the last resort, because it only protects the person who uses it, and only when it is used correctly.
Example
A warehouse has heavy manual lifting of pallet goods. The danger is strain injuries. The likelihood is high because the lifting happens daily, and the consequence is serious because injuries can lead to long-term sickness absence. Measures: buying a lifting aid (technical measure), training in lifting technique (organisational measure), and a deadline and a responsible person in the action plan.
When should you update?
- Regularly, so that the assessment does not become old.
- When things change: new machines, new working methods, new substances, reorganisation, new premises.
- After accidents and near misses.
- When employees or the safety representative report new conditions.
Documentation
The survey, the risk assessment and the action plan must be in writing (Internal Control Regulations section 5). Then you can show what you have done, you do not forget measures, and the Labour Inspection Authority (Arbeidstilsynet) can see that you work systematically. The document does not need to be long, but it must be concrete.
Common mistakes
- The risk assessment is done once and put in a drawer.
- It only mentions that a risk exists, with no measures.
- Measures have no responsible person or deadline.
- The employees are not involved.
- Psychosocial conditions, such as workload and conflicts, are forgotten.
Remember
- Identify, assess, make a plan, follow up.
- The employees and the safety representative must take part.
- Remove the danger first. Personal protective equipment comes last.
- Update after changes and incidents.