Unit 3: The Risk Assessment Process in Practice
The risk assessment process identifies hazards present in a work undertaking, analyses the level of risk, considers those in danger and evaluates whether hazards are adequately controlled, taking into account any measures already in place.
Effective risk assessments:
correctly and accurately identify all hazards;
identify who may be harmed and how;
determine the likelihood of harm arising;
quantify the severity of the harm;
identify and disregard inconsequential risks;
record the significant findings;
provide the basis for implementing or improving control measures; and
provide a basis for regular review and updating.
Potential language difficulties should be taken into account. Temporary staff or those new to the ship or the Company who are not fully familiar with the safety management system or other operational details should be considered where relevant. Other seafarers who should be given special consideration include young persons and pregnant seafarers (MGN 1838(M) and MGN 522(M+F)).
Any assessment must address risks to the occupational health and safety of seafarers as well as to property and environment. Advice on assessment in relation to using personal protective equipment, manual-handling operations and using work equipment is given in Chapters 8, 10 and 18. In addition, specific areas of work involving significant risk, and recommended measures to address that risk, are covered in more detail in later chapters of the Code.
The assessment of risks must be ‘suitable and sufficient’ but the process need not be overcomplicated. This means that the amount of effort that is put into an assessment should depend on the level of risks identified and whether those risks are already controlled by satisfactory precautions or procedures to ensure that they are as low as reasonably practicable.
The assessment is not expected to cover risks that are not reasonably foreseeable.
There are no fixed rules about how risk assessment should be undertaken. The assessment will depend on the type of ship, the nature of the operation, and the type and extent of the hazards and risks. The intention is that the process should be simple, but meaningful. The relevant legislation regarding risk assessments should be referred to when deciding on what methodology will be employed. There is a requirement that seafarers must be informed of any significant findings of the assessment and measures for their protection, and of any subsequent revisions made. It is a requirement to retain copies on board each vessel and that there is a process for regular revisions to be carried out. In particular, the risk assessment must be reviewed and updated as necessary, to ensure that it reflects any significant changes of equipment or procedure or the particular circumstances at the time, e.g., the weather or level of expertise of those carrying out the task.
Risk assessment should be seen as a continuous process. In practice, the risks in the workplace should be assessed before work begins on any task for which no valid risk assessment exists.
A very effective approach that is employed by some companies is to use a four-level process, as outlined below.
4. 3.4 Risk assessment stage 4: personal assessment of risk
This is an informal assessment of day-to-day risks carried out as you are going about your work and life in general. It is a technique used to ensure that we perform even the most mundane of tasks without getting hurt. It is used to maintain awareness of our environment at all times and aid in the identification and control of immediate hazards as we go about our work. Use of personal assessment of risk should be developed and encouraged.
This is about taking a few minutes to step back, look at the job to be done, consider what could go wrong and how it may occur, and what steps you can personally take to avoid any incident occurring. As the work is proceeding, you should also monitor the worksite for any change in conditions that might alter the hazards and controls in place. If there is any concern, stop the work, re-assess the controls and, if necessary, re-plan and re-assess the task. This approach may also be called a ‘dynamic risk assessment’. If the person does not believe that the dynamic risk assessment is sufficient move back to stage 2. Every task carried out on board the vessel should be subject to risk assessment. This does not mean that a risk assessment needs to be written every time a simple task is carried out, but the existing risk assessment must be referred to as part of a toolbox talk (stage 3) before the task can commence to ensure that the hazards and controls are fully understood, still relevant and appropriate. Once the task commences, it is important to monitor the work site for any changes in conditions that might alter the hazards and controls in place. If there is any concern, stop work authority should be used. In all cases, on completion of the task, it is important to record or feedback any lessons learned and make improvements for next time including, where appropriate, reviewing and updating existing risk assessments. Everyone should be encouraged to contribute. It is recommended that a proactive hazard-reporting system with empowerment and expectation for immediate corrective action is also in place and that information on hazards and risks is shared as widely as possible.