Implementing Your Risk Assessment: Best Practices

1. Introduction

Translating Risk Assessment into Effective Action

Putting your risk assessment results into practice is crucial for safeguarding people and your business. This involves documenting your findings and sharing them with your team to encourage action.

2. Recording Your Results

Why Documenting Your Risk Assessment Matters

If your workforce has fewer than five employees, writing your results down isn't mandatory, but it's a valuable practice for future reference and adaptability to changing circumstances. Keep your documentation simple and concise, avoiding unnecessary complexity.

3. Ensuring Suitable and Sufficient Assessments

Criteria for Effective Risk Assessments

Risk assessments need not be perfect, but they must be suitable and sufficient. Demonstrating that you've carried out a thorough check, identified potential impact on individuals, addressed significant hazards, adopted reasonable precautions, reduced remaining risks, and involved staff or their representatives is essential.

4. Utilizing HSE Templates

Accessing HSE Risk Assessment Templates

The HSE provides a risk assessment template on their website, accessible from the student downloads section of this course, to streamline your risk assessment process.

5. Prioritizing Actions

Effective Action Planning

Upon completing your risk assessment, you might identify a variety of potential improvements, both large and small. It's not necessary to address everything simultaneously unless there's a high-risk issue. Developing a strategic action plan focusing on the most critical aspects is the best approach.

6. Acknowledgment and Proof of Effort

Recognition by Health and Safety Inspectors

Health and safety inspectors acknowledge businesses that actively seek improvements. By documenting your risk assessments and following an action plan, you provide evidence that you're proactively addressing issues. In some cases, a temporary plan may precede more permanent controls.

7. Progress Tracking and Accountability

Monitoring and Record-Keeping

As you work through your action plan, prioritize and tackle the most critical tasks first. Each completed action can be checked off your plan, creating a record of your proactive approach.