Tips For Risk Assessment In Small Businesses - Third Part

As a small business owner you need to be concerned about hazards and the risk assessment requirements, within your workplace. This is now required by US law.

Record any findings, period.

If you are operating only a small-scale business with less than five staff members, there is no need for written documents. But it is still best advised to put any findings in writing once you make these checks.

If you are currently in charge of more than five people, then the findings of your risk assessment must be put into paper. This would cover any risk-related findings and the conclusions you have drawn.

Consider the following examples in brief.

Electrical installations, check. Insulation and earthing check out perfectly.

or

Welding-related fumes. Local exhaust ventilation provided and regularly checked.

You must also tell your employees about your findings.

Suitable and sufficient, not perfect.

Create a risk assessment that is feasible and fastidious. There must be proof that the following have been achieved:

A thorough check of potential hazards.
you asked who might be affected (at risk),
All things considered, take note of the people who may have been affected and what you did to deal with the latent hazards you may have uncovered.
Evidence that you took the proper precautions and mitigated the risks at hand.

To ensure you have it handy in the future, keep any and all written records. Most Health and Safety Inspectors are like thieves in the night – no, not because they are unscrupulous and dastardly, but rather because they come when you least expect them to. Or if you become involved in any legal action for civil liability.

It can also act as a reminder for you to keep an eye on any particular hazards and precautions.

Everybody, including and especially new employees, must read the documentation for a heightened sense of awareness.

For a quick and easy way to go about this process, you can use other documents as reference, including safety manuals, the terms and conditions in your company regarding health and safety, basic company statutes on safety, instructional procedures on health and safety and general fire safety procedures.

You may already have had a way to list these procedures. You do not need to repeat all of them, but it is up to you how you wish to present the documents. You could keep them separately or combine them all into one document.

Again, make revisions to your assessment if needed, after reviewing it.

There will always be an opportunity in the near future for you to acquire new machinery or substances or implement new procedures, and these will invariably beget new risks. Your assessment would need to be amended once this happens and you uncover potential new risks. However, it is not necessary to update your assessment for the most trivial of changes or for every new hire.

But if any change, or new job, brings in significant new hazards, then you should consider them in their own right and do whatever is necessary to keep the risks down.

And finally, it is a good working practice to review your assessment from time to time, to ensure that the precautions are still working effectively.

Learn about employee training and development methods that can help your staff clearly understand your expectations and develop skills. Choose human resource management courses that will help you secure a steady job with companies that require the services of professionals knowledgeable in employee relations.