Risk Assessment Reports
PURPOSE
A risk assessment acts as guidance for the requirements for the identification, assessment and management of Health and Safety Hazards and Risk Assessment and Management Risk Management Plans will be applicable to all CSA Fire & Safety SHE personnel, Risk Assessors and Site Management.
Types of Risk Assessments
Baseline Risk Assessment
The purpose of conducting a baseline HIRA is to establish a risk profile or set a risk profile. It is used to prioritise action programmes for issue-based risk assessments with Baseline Risk Assessments the major and significant risks are identified and prioritized. A baseline risk assessment focuses on the identification of risk that applies to the whole organisation or project. Baseline risk assessments – Methodology and risk matrix:
Step 1 IDENTIFY TASK
Step 2 IDENTIFY POTENTIAL HAZARD
Step 3 IDENTIFY UNDER WHICH CONDITIONS THE HAZARD WILL OCCUR
Step 4 IDENTIFY EXISTING CONTROLS
Step 5 EVALUATE CONSEQUENCES
Step 6 EVALUATE PROBABILITIES
Step 7 EVALUATE RISK
Important details to note on the above steps
Step 4 EVALUATE CONSEQUENCES
How serious is the identified risk, and the consequences thereof, to safety, health, environment or financial?
Consequence rating factors
CONSEQUENCES | Safety | Health | Environmental | Financial loss and damages | Probability | ||
| 1 | Negligible | First aid, moderate, bruising, abrasion | Minor health impact, no lost time, complete recovery. | Limited short-term impact, resulting in immediate or no clean up. | Less than R10 000 | Very low – Rare, very unlikely: Less than once a year. | |
| 2 | Minor | Lost time injury, medical referral, stitches, serious sprains | Temporary illness, with recovery after exposure ceases. | Medium impact on environment, short term recovery, clean up. | R10 000 – R50 000 | Low – Not likely to occur, but not impossible. Few times a year. | |
| 3 | Moderate | Fracture, amputation, second degree burns | Possible medium-term incapacity/illness, with likely recovery. | Measurable/serious damage to flora/fauna, medium term recovery. | R500 000 – R1MIL | Moderate – Possible. Isolated incidents could happen. Few times a week. | |
| 4 | Serious | Single fatality, permanent disability, Para/quadriplegic, third degree burns. | Exposure resulting in permanent illness/long term incapacity, but not death | Major impact on environment, long term recovery, damage claims, fines. | R1MIL – R10MIL | High – likely, Possible of regular occurrences have occurred, few times a week. | |
| 5 | Major | Multiple fatalities, permanent disability. | Exposure which could result in deaths, permanent/total incapacities. | Catastrophic eco system/environmental damage/pollution, closure of plant, withdrawal of permits. | More than R10mil | Very high – Most likely. Common regular occurrences, certain to occur. Continuously, every day. | |
Step 5 EVALUATE PROBABILITIES
Probability rating factors.
1. Very low – Rare, very unlikely: Less than once a year.
2. Low – Not likely to occur, but not impossible. Few times a year.
3. Moderate – Possible. Isolated incidents could happen. Few times a week.
4. High – likely, Possible of regular occurrences have occurred, few times a week.
5. Very high – Most likely. Common regular occurrences, certain to occur. Continuously, every day.
Step 6 EVALUATE RISK
RAW RISK = SEVERITY x PROBABILITY
Risk ratings
| 1 TO 8 | = | Tolerable – no actions required |
| 9 TO 16 | = | Avoid Hazard – review and improve work requirements or control measures as soon as possible |
| 17 TO 25 | = | Intolerable – immediate improvement to work requirements or to control measures required |
The output of a baseline risk assessment
it is a risk profile or set of risk profiles; andit is a clear description of the methodology, system, terminology etc. used in the scoping exercise, and what may be required for the improvement of the baseline HIRA in the future.
Examples of baseline risk assessments
Hygiene and Health Surveys (Noise, Lighting, Ventilation, Temperature Extremes)Environmental Impact and Aspect RegistersFire Risk Assessments
Issue base risk assessment
The purpose of conducting an issue-based HIRA is to assist in the development of action plans for the treatment of significant and other risks.
This type of risk assessment is normally focused on at operational activities, processes and systems-based functions. It focuses the identification of the risks within a certain task, process or activity.
Risk profiles from the baseline HIRA form the basis for establishing issue-based HIRA programmes.
Issue-based risk assessments: Methodology and Risk Matrix
Methodology
The methodology of the Issue-based risk assessments will correspond with the Baseline risk assessments.
Step 1 INDENTIFY TASK
Step 2 IDENTIFY POTENTIAL HAZARD
Step 3 IDENTIFY UNDER WHICH CONDITIONS THE HAZARD WILL OCCUR
Step 4 IDENTIFY EXISTING CONTROLS
Step 5 EVALUATE CONSEQUENCES
Step 6 EVALUATE PROBABILITIES
Step 7 EVALUATE RISK
The output of an issue-based risk assessment
The output of an issue-based HIRA is clear recommendations to management for further action in terms of Section 11(2) of the MHSA.
Examples of issues based risk assessments
A new machine is introduced at the site A system of work or an operations is changed After an accident or a ‘near-miss’ has occurred new designs, layouts, equipment, or processes, etc Task risk assessments findings that come to the fore during continuous HIRA requests from employees a change in the risk profile new knowledge and information becoming available on the level of risk to employees Process hazard analysis Environmental impact assessments Major hazardous installations risk assessments HAZOP (Hazard And Operability Study
Daily risk assessment
The purpose of conducting continuous HIRA is to:
identify hazards with the purpose of immediately treating significant risks. gather information to feed back to issue-based HIRA; and gather information to feed back to baseline HIRA.
Continuous risk assessments are done prior to each task done. It is done by the team conducting the work on site. The whole team will partake and sign the risk assessment before commencing.
Output of a continuous risk assessment
A continuous risk assessment should be conducted on a continuous basis in the work environment. It is a powerful and important form of assessment and should take place continually, as an integral part of day-to-day management. In continuous HIRA, the emphasis is on day to day hazard awareness, through HIRA, and immediate risk treatment.
In developing hazard awareness, memory joggers such as inspection checklists, pre-use checklists, and critical part and paths checklists, can be produced from management controls that are a product of issue-based HIRA. Planned Task Observations could also be conducted on an ongoing basis.
It is performed at an operational level, where the system, process and activities are monitored on a continuous basis by the operational floor management and first line supervisors.
It must not be sophisticated and should mainly be conducted by first line supervisors.
Formal training in this regard is essential. The main emphasis is on “hazard awareness through hazard identification”.
Examples of continuous risk assessment
Hazardous activities need to undergo this type of risk assessment prior to the conducting of the activity and can include:
Inspections Critical task observations OHS audits Work permits Toolbox talks Medical surveillance Occupational hygiene measurements Planned maintenance systems
Business risk analysis
The purpose of conducting a business risk analysis is to identify and mitigate the impact and financial loss of the organisation.
Business risk analysis- methodology and risk matrix:
Step 1 IDENTIFY NEEDS AND EXPECTATIONS OF INTERESTED AND AFFECTED PARTIES
Step 2 IDENTIFY POSSIBLE THREATS AND WEAKNESSES
Step 3 IDENTIFY EXISTING CONTROLS
Step 4 EVALUATE CONSEQUENCES
Step 5 EVALUATE PROBABILITIES/FREQUENCY
Step 6 EVALUATE RISK / RISK RATING
Step 7 MITIGATING/OPPORTUNITIES
