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What is a risk assessment?

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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.