Risk assessments

A risk assessment is a systematic process of evaluating the potential risks that may be involved in a projected activity or undertaking.
It is a legal requirement for employers to carry out risk assessments at work.
Risk assessments in forestry and arboriculture involve identifying potential hazards, who might be harmed, how they might be harmed, and what measures are in place to control the risks.

Step 1: Identify the hazards

Hazards could include things like machinery, work at height, manual handling, wood dust, or diseases from ticks.
Consider both obvious and non-obvious hazards.

Step 2: Decide who might be harmed and how

Consider employees, contractors, visitors, and members of the public.
Think about how they could be harmed - this might be through direct injury, exposure to harmful substances, or other means.

Step 3: Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions

Consider the likelihood and severity of harm from each hazard.
This means both ‘severity’ of harm (e.g. from minor injury to death) and ‘likelihood’ (e.g. from very unlikely to very likely).
Decide what measures are needed to eliminate or reduce risks to an acceptable level, using the hierarchy of control.

Step 4: Record your findings and implement them

Risk assessments should be written down if you have five or more employees.
Your risk assessment should show that you have identified the hazards, decided who could be harmed and how, and have a plan for controlling the risks.
Implement the control measures identified, and tell those affected what they are.

Step 5: Review your assessment and update if necessary

Risk assessments should be updated whenever there are significant changes in the work activity.
They should also be reviewed regularly to make sure the control measures are working and the assessment is still valid.

The hierarchy of control is a system used in industry to minimize or eliminate exposure to hazards.
It starts with the most effective control measures and works its way down to the least effective.
The most effective measure is to ‘eliminate’ the hazard, but this may not always be practicable. If not, measures should be put in place that ‘reduce’ the risk as far is as reasonably practicable.
Other measures include ‘substitution’ (replacing the hazardous thing), ‘engineering controls’ (e.g. guards on machinery), and ‘administrative controls’ (changing working methods or providing training).
The ‘last resort’ is providing personal protective equipment (PPE), which should always be used in conjunction with other control measures.

Everyone who might be affected by the activity should be informed about the risks and the control measures in place.
This often requires training to ensure that everyone knows how to work safely.
Records of training should be kept.

Risk assessments are not about creating paperwork, but about identifying sensible measures to control risks.
A common mistake is failing to involve workers in the process - those doing the job often know best what the risks are and how to control them.
Risk assessments must be ‘suitable and sufficient’ - don’t over-complicate the process, but make sure it addresses all significant risks.
Control measures must be ‘reasonably practicable’ - balancing the level of risk against the measures needed to control it.