Pro Safety and Training deliver high quality training around Australia. One common theme we cover in all of our training is the risk management process.
The risk management process is a simple process that workers around the country complete everyday- both formally and informally. This news post describes the 4 stages of the risk management process in detail.
What exactly is the risk management process?
The risk management process is a consistent method of identifying, controlling and managing risks. This process is conducted daily by workers and businesses around Australia- whether or not they realize they are undertaking this process.
What steps are involved in the risk management process?
To ensure a safe and efficient workplace, workers and businesses need to actively consult about hazards in the workplace. Hazards need to be eliminated or minimized so far as is reasonably practicable. To do this we implement the Risk Management Process which is:
Step 1: Identify Hazards
Step 2 Assess Risks
Step 3: Control Risks
Step 4: Review Control Measures
Step 1: Identify Hazards
A hazard is anything with the potential to cause harm- this could be fatigued workers, asbestos present in workplaces or spaces that could potentially become confined spaces. To identify hazards you could complete the following:
- Chat and consult with workers and supervisors about hazards present in the workplace
- Complete workplace inspections to find hazards
- Review available information- this could be safety alerts, information from industry associations or manufacturers and suppliers. You could even analyse near miss and incident reports. Review all information relevant to the workplace to assist in identifying hazards.
- Brainstorm with workers and talk about near misses and what workers perceive as currently dangerous in the workplace.
Always write down and document your findings- this will make the other steps easier.
Step 2 Assess Risks
Complete a risk assessment on the hazards you identified. This will be done by determining:
- the consequence of the hazards
- the likelihood of the hazards causing harm
A risk assessment can be done through a wide variety of tools including SWMS (Safe Work Method Statements), JSA (Job Safety Analysis), or can be done as a discussion with workers.
Step 3: Control Risks
Controlling risks is done through the hierarchy of Controls- that is Elimination, Substitution, Isolation, Engineering, Administration and PPE. Hazards and Risks needs to be either eliminated or minimized so far as is reasonably practicable.
The hierarchy of control should be used alongside the Work Health and Safety Regulations, Model Codes of Practice, Australian Standards, Manufacturer Specifications and other industry guidance.
Step 4: Review Control Measures
Once control measures are implemented they are reviewed and revised. During this step we need to ask ourselves the following:
- have the control measures have either minimized or eliminated the risk so far as is reasonably practicable?
- have the control measures introduced any new risks?
- have these controls actually made the job safer?
- is there a way we can improve these control measures?
- do staff need gap or skill training to ensure the controls are implemented effectively?
Once step 4 has been completed the cycle continues and Step 1 is visited again. The risk management process is a continuous cycle that ensures workplace safety and efficiency improve over the life cycle of the business.
Guidance on the 4 stages of the risk management can be found in the Model Code of Practice-How to manage work health and safety risks Code of Practice 2011
Pro Safety and Training deliver high quality and relevant safety training around Australia. All of our training incorporates the risk management process.
To speak with one of the Pro’s call our friendly team on 1300 336 003.
