How do you perform a risk assessment?

The legislators grant those responsible considerable latitude when implementing the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The Act does not describe in detail how the risk assessment is to be conducted. It is important that you are made aware of the special dangers in your establishment and that you identify where there is a need for action – before something happens! There are principles which you should invariably observe:

• The scope of the risk assessment is geared to the operational requirements and circumstances. Take account of all foreseeable working sequences in your company. These also include events and tasks which take place outside "normal" operating conditions, such as maintenance work, start-ups and shut-downs, procedures to be adopted in the case of operational disturbances, cleaning, or secondary activities such as waste disposal.
• You should systematically form a picture of the hazards in your establishment. Structure the risk assessment in such a way that all identifiable dangers and hazards are investigated. The Occupational Safety and Health Act refers to the following hazard sources as an illustration: working processes, working sequences, working times, inadequate qualification and instruction on the part of workers.
• As soon as a hazard is discovered, clarify how it can be eliminated or reduced.
• A risk assessment is necessary for every activity performed or every workplace. Where there are identical establishments, identical working processes and identical workplaces, the assessment of one workplace or one activity is sufficient.
• If, in the case of non-stationary workplaces, specific hazards arise from the local conditions, a workplace-related risk assessment must be conducted. 

Documentation obligation

To ensure that the procedure is more transparent and binding in character the employer has the duty to document the entire process. You can use the documentation of the risk assessment as the basis for:

• the organisational implementation of the risk assessment;
• a check of the necessary occupational safety and health measures;
• the evidence to be provided to the supervisory authorities;
• revisions should the circumstances change.

In companies with more than ten workers there is an obligation to keep documentation!

Involvement of the workers in the process of the risk assessment

You should involve the workers in the whole procedure and involve them as early as the collection of facts. Note that works and staff council members have rights of co-determination in the risk assessment. This also applies with respect to the selection of the method. Workers and/or their representatives have the right/duty:

• to be questioned with respect to the precautions for the organisation of the risk assessment and the appointment of the individuals to be responsible for the its implementation;
• to participate in the risk assessment;
• to notify their superiors or employers of any dangers identified;
  • to report any changes at the workplace;
• to be informed about the dangers to their safety and health and the measures required to eliminate or reduce them;
• to call on the employer to take suitable measures and to make suggestions concerning the reduction of dangers or the elimination of danger at source;
• to co-operate to enable the employer to ensure a safe working environment;
• to be asked with regard to the drawing up of the documentation for the risk assessment.

When must a risk assessment be conducted?

The conduct of a risk assessment should not be a one-off action, but part of the ongoing safety work.

It must be performed

• prior to commencement of the activities - as first assessment at all existing workplaces prompted by a particular occasion,
• where there have been major changes in the establishment, such as a change in working procedures and/or the use of different working agents,
• where new machines, devices or equipment are purchased,
• at regular intervals, in particular where there is a change in the statutory regulations or modifications in the state of the art,
• after hazardous incidents and
• after the occurrence of work accidents, near-accidents, occupational illnesses or periods of absence due to work-related health impairments.

Who advises and supports?

Risk assessments require specialist knowledge of operational sequences, of the risk factors and of the protection measures. Internal and/or external experts may support you.

Internal

In your establishment you have the opportunity to engage skilled personnel in the risk assessment. For the planning and implementation of the risk assessment it is advisable to form a project team, consisting of

• the specialist for occupational safety and health,
• the company doctor,
• the relevant competent superior,
• the works council,
• the safety officer and the officer for quality/environmental management.
  This group can co-ordinate the planning, the drafting of the concept, the selection of method, the implementation and putting the measures into practice.

External

You can engage specialists from occupational healthcare services. These will advise you – or, as the case may be, your company's management personnel – by, for example

• putting forward proposals for a methodical approach,
• giving information on the criteria for the risk assessment,
• determining the causes of accidents and work-related health risks by means of on-site visits, checks and examinations,
• putting forward suggestions for protection measures.
  In this advisory work the medical aspects of occupational safety and health are of prime importance for the company doctor and as are the technical aspects for the occupational safety and health specialist. This means that the employer can only be assured of receiving comprehensive advice with the interaction of both. The requirements to which such individuals are subject are described in sections 4 and 7 of the Occupational Safety Act.

When using external specialists you should ensure that skilled company personnel and the workers affected are involved. Those affected are the best ones to assess what hazards arise at their workplace.

For questions on the implementation of the risk assessment the following are also available to you for advice:

• the government occupational safety and health authorities,
• the competent accident insurance institutions,
• the chambers of industry and commerce,
• the chambers of crafts,
• the technology advisory bodies of the DGB and
• the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Who must be involved, who should be involved?

Participation of employee representatives

If you have a works or staff council in your company, it must be involved in the process. Specialists for occupational safety and health and company doctors must notify the works council of important matters of occupational safety and health and of accident prevention. They must inform it of the content of their proposals to the employer and advise him on request on matters of occupational safety and health and accident prevention. Co-operation with the works council is laid down as mandatory in section 9 of the Occupational Safety Act.

Participation of workers

Only someone who knows the main hazards in his company can take effective protection measures. Use your workers' knowledge and their special workplace experience and involve them actively at an early stage in all phases of the risk assessment. By involving your workers in occupational safety and health you will create the conditions for their really fulfilling their duties according to section 15 Occupational Safety and Health Act and their special support obligations according to section 16 Occupational Safety and Health Act.

Create an open and constructive atmosphere for occupational safety and health problems in your establishment. Sensitise your workers by conducting employee surveys, group discussions or joint workplace visits.

By means of employee surveys it is possible for example, using anonymous questionnaires, to put questions on physical and mental workloads, on the work environment, on work organisation, on work satisfaction, on complaints, etc. Normally you will receive important indications as to how workers are being overstretched or not stretched enough, and similar hazards.

Five to twelve workers from a working area should be involved in a group meeting. Under the direction of a moderator they will determine the loads/exposures at their workplace and discuss the possible solutions for reducing them.

With the involvement of the workers you will create an understanding for safety-aware behaviour, create acceptance and ease the implementation of the measures.

Involvement of the Occupational Safety and Health Committee (ASA)

Involve the members of the Occupational Safety and Health Committee (ASA), if such a body exists, in the planning and implementation of the risk assessment. It will assist you in all matters of health protection and safety. The Occupational Safety and Health Committee is a body which comes under corporate occupational safety and health and is specified under section 11 of the Occupational Safety Act for companies with 20 employees or more.

The Occupational Safety and Health Committee should comprise the following members:

• company owner/employer or authorised representative
• specialists for occupational safety and health/safety engineers
• safety officers
• company doctor
• members of the works council/staff council
  The following may also be appointed:
• representative of disabled workers
• representative of young workers
• experts such as work psychologists, addiction officers, environmental officers or external consultants.

The ASA should meet at least four times a year.

In the study of the Specialist Committee for the Organisation of Occupational Safety and Health, you will find interesting indications as to under what conditions Occupational Safety and Health Committees work well. Here you will find numerous examples of "good practice" with respect to the work of Occupational Safety and Health Committees.

What is the role of company organisation?

Whether work systems are designed to be safe and healthy depends on the company organisation – on management. Often the causes of health risks are not to be found in the specific working conditions encountered on the spot, but in the company organisation and in-house communications. These deficiencies often have a far more serious effect than those in the specific work system.

Weak points in company management which may lead to accidents include:

• lack of supervision,
• lack of instruction,
• no delegation of duties,
• no personal protective equipment and
• unco-ordinated work.

The inclusion of safety and health in company organisation (company philosophy) is a major prerequisite for the success of your company

Inclusion means

• that occupational safety and health is known and accepted at all levels and is rooted in the management's area of responsibility,
• that the areas of competence, responsibilities and powers are regulated and are known in the company (e.g. who identifies and evaluates hazards, who plans and implements necessary measures, who supervises their implementation),
• that the workers and, where present, their representative bodies are involved and
• that preventive programmes of health promotion are put into practice.

Inclusion also mans that occupational safety and health should be firmly rooted in company management in a practical fashion. Bureaucracy and formalism do not help achieve the desired goals.

Every member of management staff, every worker must think about safety and health at every workplace and act accordingly.

In small companies the inclusion of safety and health will depend directly on the employer's commitment. If he goes along with it and considers his own safety (or that of his family, who are also actively involved, and his workers), occupational safety and health will play an important role in the company.

The following checklist^*) serves as a useful instrument for checking necessary regulations concerning the inclusion of safety and health in management.

^*) Source: Leitfaden für die Gefährdungsbeurteilung, Gruber, Kittelmann, Mierdel, Verlag Technik & Information, 9th reprint

Definitions

Danger

A danger can be anything which give rise to potential damage or health impairments
– agents, work equipment, working methods or working practices.

Hazard

A hazard describes the possibility of damage or of a health impairment without certain requirements regarding its extent or occurrence probability.¹⁾

¹⁾ Source: Section B of German government publication 13/3540: Begründung zum § 4 des ArbSchG).

Risk assessment

"The risk assessment is the procedure for evaluating the risk to the health and safety of workers resulting from dangers at the workplace. It is a systematic examination of all aspects of work in order to establish:

• what may cause injuries or damage,
• how the dangers can be eliminated and, if this is not possible,
• what preventive or protective measures are or should be available to limit the risks." ²⁾

²⁾ Source: European Commission Guidance on risk assessment at work

Risk factors

Risk factors are groups of hazards which are characterised by identical danger sources or effect qualities. The following list contains risk factors which can arise at work:

1. mechanical hazards
2. electrical hazards
3. hazardous substances
4. biological agents
5. fire and explosion hazards
6. thermal hazards
7. hazards due to special physical actions
8. hazards due to working environment conditions
9. physical loads/heaviness of work
10. mental factors
11. other hazards

Under our heading Expert knowledge you will find information on the effects and assessment of these risk factors and of suitable occupational safety and health measures, as well as references to regulations and further literature.

Risk

Risk is used to mean the probability and gravity of a possible damage due to a hazard.

Special groups of individuals

Special groups of individuals include, for example, young people, expectant or nursing mothers, workers who do not have adequate knowledge of German, disabled people, temporary agency workers, trainees and occupational beginners

Legal bases

The most important document in European legislation on the risk assessment is the Framework Directive 89/391. This Framework Directive contains "general principles concerning the prevention of occupational risks…as well as general guidelines for the implementation of the said principles" (Art. 1.2.). With respect to all aspects connected with work it assigns to employers the responsibility for the safety and health of workers, the risk assessment being a major aspect of compulsory occupational safety and health.

In Germany the Occupational Safety and Health Act is the statutory basis for the risk assessment.

Your obligation to conduct a risk assessment under the Occupational Safety and Health Act is specified more concretely in numerous other legal instruments governing occupational safety and health. You will find an extract here:

Ordinances

• Workplaces Ordinance (ArbStättV)
• Plant Safety Ordinance (BetrSichV)
• VDU Ordinance
• Biological Agents Ordinance
• Hazardous Substances Ordinance
• Noise and Vibration Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance
• Load Handling Ordinance
• Ordinance on Occupational Safety and Health for Young People
• Ordinance to Protect Mothers at the Workplace
• PPE Use Ordinance (PSA-BV)

Regulations of the Berufsgenossenschaften (institutions for statutory accident insurance and prevention)

• BGV A1: Principles of Prevention
• BGV A2: Company Doctors and Specialists for Occupational Safety and Health
• VSG regulations of the agricultural Berufsgenossenschaften

The legal basis for all preventive measures of the industrial Berufsgenossenschaften is provided by the Berufsgenossenschaft rules and regulations (BGVR). Here you will find all regulations (BGV), rules (BGR) and information (BGI) of the Berufsgenossenschaften.

The corresponding legal basis of the public accident insurance institutions is provided by the safety and health protection regulations "Regelwerk Sicherheit und Gesundheitsschutz". Here you will find all regulations (GUV-V), rules (GUV-R) and information (GUV-I).

Technical regulations relating to the occupational safety and health ordinances

• Workplaces Regulations ¹⁾
• Technical Rules for Workplaces (ASR)
• Technical Rules for Plant Safety (TRBS)
• Technical Rules for Biological Agents (TRBA)
• Technical Rules for Hazardous Substances (TRGS)
• Rules governing Occupational Safety and Health on Construction Sites

Details of legal references to the individual risk factors can be found under our heading Expert Knowledge, under the respective subheading Risk Factor / Regulations, Regulations, Literature.

¹⁾ The old Workplaces Directives (Arbeitsstätten-Richtlinien) continue to apply, but not more than six years after the ordinance comes into force (by August 2010), and they will in this period be superseded in non-mandatory sequence by the Workshop Regulations (Arbeitstättenregeln - ASR). Until then the old Workshop Directives can be referred to for orientation purposes to specify more concretely the general protection goals of the ordinance. Owing to the modified structure of the ordinance, however, there is no longer a direct relation between article and the old Workshop Directive. The references given in the individual Workshop Directives relate exclusively to the old Workplaces Ordinance. References to standards given therein reflect the status at the time of their publication.

There are at present still a total of 30 old Workshop Directives which can be referred to for orientation purposes. Major areas include, for example, the design of floors, doors, transport routes, equipment with fire extinguishers and facilities for First Aid, as well as the establishment of sanitary rooms and rooms for breaks. Requirements for lighting, ventilation and room temperature are also given. The social needs on construction sites are dealt with in provisions concerning daytime accommodation, washing facilities and toilets.

Under our heading "How should I proceed?" you will find how you should conduct your risk assessment specifically in your company.

Should you not yet be convinced of the benefit of a risk assessment, read our contributions under the heading "Why should I conduct a risk assessment?"