Risk Assessment 031110

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Guide for Risk Assessment

in Small and Medium Enterprises

10Risk Assessment General GuideIdentication and Evaluation of Hazards; Specication of Measures

Section forElectricitySection forIron and MetalSection forMachine and System Safety


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Risk Assessment

General Guide10

Guide forRisk Assessment inSmall and Medium Enterprises

Identication and Evaluation

of Hazards;Specication of Measures

Section forElectricity

Section forIron and MetalSection forMachine and System Safety


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Imprint

Authors: KarolinaGwczyska-WoelkeM.Sc.Eng.,GrzegorzyjakPh.D.,NLI,Poland

Dr.HaraldGruber,ISSASectionMetal

Dipl.-Ing.rkaVlkov,Mag.DagmarMroziewicz,VUBP,CzechRepublic

KrolyNagy,MD,OMFI-NLI,Hungary

Ing.Mag.ChristianSchenk,ISSASectionMetal,AUVAAustria MUDr.Zdenkmerhovsk,Ph.D.,SZU,CzechRepublic

Reference: Theusedillustrationsarefromthebooklet:

Gruber,Kittelmann,MierdelGuidelinesforRiskAssessmentandRiskReduktion, VerlagTechnik&Informatione.K.,Bochum,Germany,2009

Production: VerlagTechnik&Informatione.K.,Wohlfahrtstrasse153,44799Bochum,GermanyPhone+49(0)234-94349-0,Fax+49(0)234-94349-21

PrintedinGermanyOctober2010

ISBN978-3-941441-69-9


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Thisbrochureisaddressedtomicro-,small and medium-sized enterpri-sesasasimpletoolforhazardidenti- ficationandriskassessmentintheirworkplaces.OccupationalsafetyandhealthanditsdevelopmentiscloselyconnectedwithsocialendeconomicaldevelopmentofoursocietyandisrankedamongprioritiesinEUmemberstates.

TheEUregulationsrequiretosecureandtoimprovehealthandsafetypro-tectionoftheworkersattheworkplacethroughoccupationalsafetymeasures.Healthandsafetyprotectionshouldbeconductedinananticipatoryandpre-cautionarymanner,beforeanyspecicrisksarise.

Thereforeriskassessmentpresents,togetherwithaneedofrationalandoptimaluseofthethresholdresources,thecardinalissueofimportance.There-fore,riskassessmentisbothalegalobligationforenterprisesandabasicprocesstoensureanecessarylevelofsafetyandhealthprotectionofworkers

atwork.OneofthemostimportantEU-Direc-tivesistheFrameworkDirective89/391/ECConSafetyandHealthofWorkersatWork.TheFrameworkDirectivemustbeimplementedbytheEUmemberstates.ThemostessentialdemandofthisDirectiveisforemployerstocarryoutariskassessment.

Risk assessment is the key instru-

ment in occupational safety and

health. The employer must considerthe state of the art of protective

measures in line with the result of

the risk assessment.

Thebrochureisdividedintothefollow-ingchapters:

1. Risk assessment

a legal obligation

2. Terminology3. Methodology

4. Hazard identication

5. Risk estimation and

risk evaluation

6. Risk reduction

(selecting and taking measures)

Annex: Examples of risk assessment

Forspecificnationalaspects,pleaselookuptherespectivelegaltransposi-tions(seeNationalAspects).

Basedonthisbrochurethefollowingspecifictopicsweretreatedinthisseries:

mNoise

mHazards arising from machineryand other work equipment

mChemical hazards

mSlipping and falling from

a height

mHazards arising from explosions

mHazards arising from

whole-body/hand-arm vibrations

mManual handling of loads

mMental workload

Introductory Note


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1. Risk Assessment A legal Obligation

Riskassessmentisaseriesoflogicalstepstoenable,inasystematicway,ananalysisandevaluationofrisks.Therearemanywaysandmethodsusedforhazardidenticationandriskquantica-tion,eachofthemhavingsomebenetsanddeciencies.Thatiswhyselectionofthesuitablemethodisveryimpor-tant.Inchoosinganadequatemethodsomeinformationshouldbetakenintoaccount.Itincludesthepurposeoftheassessment,currentstateoftheenter-prise,dataavailableornancialpossi-bilitiesandpersonaldispositionsofanassessor.

Eachmethodrequiressufcienttrans-parencyofparticularstepsbothforus-ersoftheriskassessmentresultsand

allemployeeswhocanbeaffectedbyrisk.

Proposition 1

Thewayofriskassessment,whichisprovidedinthisbrochureisunderstoodastheoverallprocesscomprisingriskanalysisandriskevaluation.

Proposition 2Thewayofriskassessment,whichisprovidedinthisbrochureisbasedonageneraldenitionofriskunderstoodasacombinationofprobabilityofharmoccurrenceandseverityofitspotentialconsequences.

Theresultsarendingsusableforhaz-ardoussituationsoccurrencepreven-tion,preparednessforanadequatere-actionandrealaction.Asystematicriskassessmentenablestodeterminetheprioritiesintakingmeasures,optionas-sessment,allocationofresourcesetc.,whichleadstocontinuousimprovementandincreaseofthelevelofoccupationalsafetyandhealth.

Thisgeneralguideusesthemostcon-ciseandeasywayfortheemployerinordertobeeasilyunderstood.Theaimistoprovidehelptothemtobeabletodecide,whetherahazardissigni-cant,andwhetheritiscoveredbysat-isfactoryprecautionssothattheriskisacceptable.


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Thefollowingdenitionsareusedinthebrochure:

Harmaphysicalinjuryorhealthdamage

Hazardapotentialsourceofharm.Itshouldbenoticedthatthetermharmcanbequalifiedinordertodefineitsorigin(e.g.mechanicalhazard,electri-calhazard)orthenatureofthepotential

harm(e.g.electricsetshockhazard,cuttinghazard)

Protective MeasureAmeasurein-tendedtoachieveriskreduction,whichcomprisesmeasuresimplementedbythedesigner(inherentlysafedesign,safeguardingandcomplementarypro-tectivemeasures,informationforuse)andmeasuresbytheuser(e.g.safe

workingprocedures,supervision,useofadditionalsafeguards,useofpersonalprotectiveequipment,training)

Riskcombinationoftheprobabilityofoccurrenceofhazardouseventandtheseverityofharm

Risk Assessmenttheoverallproc-esscomprisingriskanalysisandriskevaluation

Working MannerAsourceofhaz-ardsdeterminedmainlybytechnicalparametersofobjectsworkingtoolsandmeasures(interaliathroughtheirdesignandsizes)aswellasorganiza-tionandmethodsofworkandworkers

behaviour.

WorkstationTheworkingspace,equippedwithworkingtoolsandmeas-ures,inwhichaworkeroragroupofworkersperformtheirtasks.

Working environmentTheconditionsofthematerialenvironment(character-izedbyphysical,chemicalandbiologi-

calfactors)inwhichworkingprocessestakeplace.

Task The speci fic act iv ity per-formedbyoneormorepersonsonorinthevicinityofthemachineduringitslifecycle.

2. Terminology


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Inthischaptertheprinciplemethodolo-gyofriskassessmentisdescribed.ThebasisforthischapteristheEuropeanstandardENISO14121-1aboutriskas-sessment.Figure1showsthemethod-ologyofriskassessment(analysisandevaluationoftasks)andriskreduction.

Theaimofthecompleteoccupationalriskassessmentprocessandapplica-tionofpreventativeactionsistoreducetherisktoanacceptablelevel,thatisthelevelatwhichthegravityoflossesconnectedwithtriggeringagivenhaz-ardcanbeaccepted.

3. Methodology

Thefirststepofoccupationalriskas-sessmentconsistsincollectingcom-plete and up-to-date in format ion

concerningthetypeoftasksperformedbyaworkerandthemanneroftheirexecution,workingconditions,aswellasoperatedmachinesandtoolsandtheprotectivemeasureswhicharealreadyinuse.Inthecourseofcollect-ingtheaboveinformationitisessential

totakeaccountofalltypesoftasks,

includingtheonesperformedbeyond

theusualworkingarea,whichrequirestakingaccountoftheplacewherework

isperformed(stationaryandmobile

workstations).

Waysofobtaininginformationabouthazardsinclude:

observationoftaskscarriedoutatagivenworkstationandbeyonditincludingthemannerofwork,

operatedmachinesandtoolsaswellasorganizationofwork

observationofthesurroundings,e.g.thepresenceofworkersengagedbyothercompanieswho

mayaffectworksafety,weatherconditions

interviewswithworkers

analysisofavailabledocumentstechnicalspecicationsofmachinesandtoolsoperatedatagivenwork-station(aim:comparisonwiththefactualstateattheworkstation)workstation-specicinstructions,resultsoftestsandsampleana-lysesofhazardousfactorsandagents(dusts,noise),factsheetsofchemicalsubstances,documentsonworkplaceaccidents,occupationalillnesses

informationoncausesofshutdowns

informationonrecurringhumanmistakes.

Specication of task

Step 1:


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Figure 1: Methodology of risk assessment and risk reduction


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Riskestimationconsistsindetermining

theeffectoftriggeredhazardsandthe

probability.

Consequently,intheriskevaluation

ithastobedecidedwhetherornot

andhowfastactionsneedtobetakeninordertoeliminateorminimizethe

risk.

AccordingtoENISO14121-1the fol-

lowingshouldbeconsideredintherisk

evaluation:

allpersonspossiblyexposed

tothehazard

type,frequencyandduration

ofexposurerationbetweenhazardexposure

andeffects

Themostimportantphaseintheoccu-pationalriskassessmentprocesscon-

sistsinidentifyingallhazardswhich,

whentriggered,maycauseundesir-

ableeffects(injuriesandotheradverse

healtheffects,materiallossesand

otherkindsoflosses,forinstancelost

capabilities).

Whileimplementingthisphaseonehavetoanswerthefollowingquestions:

WHAT

constitutes the hazard?

WHO

is exposed to the hazard?

Inthisregardthefollowinginstruments

canbeofassistance:

checklists,e.g.preparedfor

individualtechnologicalprocesses

andproductionconditionsorfor

differenttypesofhazard

methodssuchasworksafety

analysiswhichconsistsindening

theaimsoftasksperformedby

aworker,drawingupalistofactions

anddetermininghazardsconnec-

tedwithcarryingouteachofthe

actions.

The above mentioned instruments

canalsobedevelopedbyacompany

itself.Itisessentialtotakeaccount

ofallareaswherehazardscanbe

expected.

Hazard identication

Step 2:

Risk estimation and risk evaluation

Step 3:


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Dependingontheleveloftheassessed

occupationalriskitisnecessarytoplan

andimplementeffectivepreventativemeasures.

Theiraimistoeliminateorminimize

theexistingriskwhilenotgenerating

newhazardsatthesametime.

Thegeneralrulesoforganizingthe

preventativeactionscoverthefollow-

ing:

technicalmeasureswhicheliminateorreducehazardsattheirsource(themeasuresappliedinordertoelimi-natehazardsaremosteffectiveandtheymainlyconsistinautomationandmechanizationofworkprocesses)

collective protectiveequipment

proceduralandorganizational

measures

personalprotectiveequipment.

Theplanningphaseshouldprovidean-

swerstotwoquestions:

Will the undertaken actions

lead to expected lowering of

occupational risk level?

Will the applied solutions not

generate new hazards?

Attheimplementationphaseaperson

(orvariouspersons)shouldbedesig-

natedbeingresponsibleforthesuper-visionof:

implementingproperlyselectedmeasures

providingtrainingontheirappropriateuse

maintainingthemeasuresinapropertechnicalstatetoguaranteethatallpropertiesofthemeasuresareretained.

humanfactors(interaction

betweenpersons,psychological

pointsofview,etc.)

suitabilityofprotective

measures

thepossibilityofdefeatingor

circumventingprotectivemeasures

theabilitytomaintainprotective

measures.

Inthisstepithastobeassessedif

theriskisacceptable.Ifworkingcondi-

tionsareconsideredtobesafefurther

actionsneednottobetaken.

Ontheotherhand,iftheriskconnec-

tedwithperformingagiventaskcannot

beaccepted,itisnecessarytoun-

dertakeactionsaimedatreducingtherisk.

Risk reduction (selecting and taking measures)

Step 4:


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Preventativemeasuresshouldbein-tegratedandcoordinatedatthewholecompanylevel.

Thisapproachwillprovidethebasisforthedevelopmentofanefficientriskmanagementsystembasedontheflowofinformationandharmonizedactions.

Anadditionalbenetoforganizingpre-ventativeactionsinthiswayisthattheyaresubjecttoasystemicinspectionregarding:

takingappropriateactions

achievementofthepresetaim(eliminationorreductionofrisk)

effectivefunctioningofimplementedsolutionswithinacertainperiodoftime.

Hence,itwillbenecessarytocarryoutperiodicinspectionsinordertoensurethatnewhazardsdonotappearorarerapidlydetected.

Fixingtheperiodsatwhichthein-spec-tionoffunctionalityofappliedmeasureswillbecarriedoutisnotverypractical.Thereasonforthisisthatworkingcon-ditionsaredynamicallychanging.

Thisprocessincludese.g.introduc-tionofnewmachinery,replacementofsubstancesormaterialsinusewithnew

ones,implementationofnewtechnolo-gies,changesinworkorganizationandworkingmethods.

Itwouldbeadvisabletomakesub- sequentinspectionsconditionalontheexistenceoftheabovesituations.

Similartodocumentingindividualphas-esoftheprocess,thisphaseshouldalso

beconcludedwithadocumentstatingthatcertainpredenedrequirementsandeffectshavebeenachieved.

Informationcontainedinsuchadocu-mentisofparticularimportancetotheworkerwhomitdirectlyconcerns.Therefore,itshouldbedisclosedtothisworker.

Controlling

Step 5:


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Riskscanbedetectedanddeterminedprospectivelybydirectmethods(e.g.inspectionrounds,interviews)orretrospectivelythroughindirectmeth-ods(e.g.accidentinvestigations,in-vestigationofwork-relateddiseases).

Topreventaccidentsatworkandworkrelateddiseaseshastoppriority.Theanticipatorydeterminationofhazardsis

carriedoutinthefollowingsteps:

1. Determination of the relevant

hazard factors (injuries-causative

and disease-causative factors)

which prevail at the workplace or

with the concrete activity.

All hazards and strains towhich theworkerscouldbesubjectedatthework-

placemustbedetermined.Figure2showstheprincipalandbasichazardfactors.

2. Determination of the hazard

sources

Itistheobjectivetodeterminethecauseforpossiblehazards.

3. Determination of thedanger-causing conditions

Danger-causingconditionsarethosecir-cumstanceswhichmakeacoincidence

4. Hazard Identication

ofthehazardfactorwithapersonpos-sible(Cananinjuries-causativeordis-easecausativefactoractuallycoincidewithaperson?).Alsopossiblesourcesforhumanfailure(omission,overseeorforgetsafetydevices,etc.)havetobeconsidered.

4. Consideration of

workers special performance

requisites

Individualperformancerequisitesoftheworkersneedtobeconsiderede.g.youngworkersortrainees,olderwork-ers,expectantmothers,handicappedpersons,foreignworkersnotfullyuentinthelocallanguage.

5. Gathering information

Thiscanbeforexamplenationalrules,standardsandregulations(laws,or-dinances,accidentpreventionregula-tions,technicalrules,etc.)bythestateorbystatutoryaccidentinsurancesex-istforthedeterminedhazardfactors,whichneedtobecompliedwith(e.g.workplacethresholdsincaseofhazard-

oussubstances).In case such guidelines exist, they

must be complied with (see National

Aspects).


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Figure 2: Classication of hazard factors

1. 1.1 1.2 1.3

Mechanical hazards unprotected moving ma-chine parts

parts with dangeroussurfaces

movable transportationequipment, movablework equipment

2. 2.1 2.2 2.3

Electrical hazards electric shock electric arcs electrostatic charge

3. 3.1 3.2 3.3

Hazardous substances gasses vapours aerosols

4. 4.1 4.2

Biological hazards Infection hazard throughpathogenic microorga-nisms (e.g. bacteria,

viruses, fungi)

allergenic and toxicsubstances from micro-organisms

5. 5.1 5.2 5.3

Fire and explosionhazards

fire hazard throughsolids, liquids, gasses

explosive atmosphere explosive substances

6. 6.1 6.2

Thermal hazards hot materials/surfaces cold materials/surfaces

7. 7.1 7.2 7.3Hazard throughspecial physicalimpact

noise ultrasound, subsonicnoise

whole-body vibrations

8. 8.1 8.2 8.3

Hazards throughwork environment con-ditions

climate lighting, light drowning

9. 9.1 9.2 9.3

Physical strain heavy dynamic work one-sided dynamic work static work

10. 10.1 10.2 10.3

Mental factors insufficiently designedwork tasks

insufficiently designedwork organisation

insufficiently designedsocial conditions

11. 11.1 11.2 11.3

Other hazards through humans through animals through plants andvegetable products


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1.4 1.5 1.6

uncontrolled movingparts

falling, slipping, trip-ping, twisting ones

foot

falling from height

3.4 3.5

liquids solids

7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8hand-arm vibrations non ionising

radiationionising radiation electromagnetic fields negative pressure,

overpressure

9.4

combination of staticand dynamic work

10.4

insufficiently desi-gned conditions ofworkplace and workenvironment


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5. Risk Estimation and Risk Evaluation

Riskestimationisaprocesswherethecombinationoftheprobabilityofoccur-renceofharmandtheseverityofthatharmisestimated.

Riskestimationinvolvesthefollwoingparameters:

establishingascalethatreectstheperceivedlikelihoodofarisk(thescalemaybequalitativeorquantitative)delineatingtheconsequencesofariskestablishingtheimpactoftheriskappreciatingtheoverallaccuracyofriskestimation.

Risksareweightedbyperceivedimpactandthenprioritised.Therearethreefactorsthataffectperceivedimpact:

natureoftherisk(whichinturnindicateswhethertheproblemsarelikelytooccur)scopeoftherisk,combiningitsseverityitsoveralldistributiontimingofarisk(whenandforhow

longtheimpactwillbefelt).Whilewecanappreciatethatriskesti-mationisasubjectivescience,itisstillpossibletomeasurethelevelorrangeofrisk.Riskestimationcanbeper-formedquantitativelyorqualitatively(aspecic,measurableamount).

Quantitative attributes of riskarefor

example:measuredexposuredataquantityofasubstance

incidenceofmortalityormorbiditymodellingoffrequencyofexposure.

Qualitative attributes of riskmightbe:

thetypesofhealtheffectsfromexpo-suretheestimatedfrequencyofexposurelocationofahazard.

Both,quantitativeandqualitativecom-ponentsofriskshouldbebroadenoughtoclearlydescribetheentireevent.Incasetheexposure(toaphysicalagent,asubstance,workingtimeonama-chine,etc.)isquantifiable,itmustbequantied!

Quantitative risk estimation

Quanticationofoccupationalhygienerisksdependontheirnature,abilitytobemeasuredandappropriatebench-marksorstandards.Thethreecompo-nentstoriskare:

1.Frequency

2.Probability

3.Consequences.

Inmanycasesthesefactorscanbemathematicallyexpressedtoprovideaquantitativeandreliableriskestimation.Therespectivefactorscanbefor

1.Frequency:Canbedeterminedbyusingdatasuchashistoricalexpo-sureinformationorincidentrecords.

2.Probability:Whichisthechancethataneventwilloccur.Itcanberated

5.1 Risk estimation


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e.g.onascaleof0to1,where0re-presentsnochanceand1isanab-solutecertaintythattheeventwilloccur.

3.Consequences:Theconsequences

ofexposuretoagivenhazardcanbe:

numberofliveslostorinjuriescaused

severenceofdamage(minoraccident,occupationaldisease,permanentinvalidity,etc.)

costofdamage.

Alimitationofquantitativeriskestima-tionis,thatitdoesnotconsiderourincividualandsubjectiveperceptionofagivenhazard.Quantitativeriskesti-mationisalsothebasisforarankingofmeasures.

Qualitative risk estimation

Asthenamesuggests,qualitativeriskestimationusingqualitativemethodsissubjectiveandoftenopenpronetomul-tipleinterpretationsanddebates.Therearevariousmethodsofriskestima-tionusedatworkplaces.Hereonetoolwhichcanbeusedisshown.

Consequence

Probability of occurance of harm

practically

impossibleunlikely possible

almost

certain

minorcuts,bruises,bumps(rstaidinjurynotimelost)

disablinginjury(losttime


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After riskestimation, riskevaluationshallbecarriedouttodetermineifriskreductionisrequiredorwhetheran

acceptablesafetystandardisalreadygiven.

5.2 Risk evaluation

Figure 3: Connection between safety and risk

low high

Risk

DangerRisk is greater than thehighest acceptable risk

Risk without healthand safety measures

residual risk

SafetyRemaining risk is lower

than the highest acceptable

residual risk

Necessaryrisk reduction

Actual risk reduction

Threshold risk(Highest acceptable

risk)

Incasetheriskisunacceptable,riskreductionhastobeperformed(seeFigure3).


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6. Risk Reduction

(Selecting and Taking Measures)

Theaimofriskreductionistode-signorndmethodsthatwillminimiseexposure,whetherthehazardisphy-sical,chemical,biological,ergonomicorpsychosocial.Riskstrategiesmightincluderiskavoidance,optimization,retentionandrisktransfer.

Therearefundamentalreasonsforim-

plementingoccupationalrisktreat-ment:

protectionofexposedworkerssafetyandhealth

protectionofotherworkersandpeoplewhomaybeaffectedbytheriskscreatedbyaprocessorworkplaceensuringworkerscomfortandsafety

compliancewithlegislation

reductioninenvironmentalpollution

minimisationofeconomiclossfromrawmaterials,products.

Whateverthereason,controlsneedtoberealisticandcost-efcient.Inmanycases,thereareseveraloptionsavai- lableandhavetobetakenintoaccountinordertoreducetherisktoanaccept-ablelevel.

Hierarchy of risk treatment

Regardingthehierarchyofmeasuresthefollowingbasicruleshavetobe

considered:Removal or minimisationof a risk must be the rst option, that

means technical and organizational

measures must be preferred before

behaviour-related measures (see

Figure 4 on page 18).

Sothehierarchyofcontroloptionsis

basically:1. Elimination

2. Substitution

3. Technical solution(safetydevice,ventilation,isolation,etc.)

4. Personalsolution(teaching,training,Personalprotectiveequipment)

1. Elimination: Thebestoption,butinmanycasesagivenriskcannotbe(totally)eliminated.

2. Substitution: E.g.incaseofhaz-ardoussubstancesasubstitutingagentmusthavelowertoxicity.Theproblemcanbe,thatasubsti-tutehasnotthesameeffectand

ourcomeastheformer(moredan-gerous)substance.

3. Technical solution: Probablythemostcommonlyused.Itsadvan-tageslieintheabilitytophysicallyalterthepathoftransmissionofthehazardorisolatetheworkerfromtheagent.

4. Personal solution: Theyrelyon

humanbehaviourandcomplianceforsuccess.Furthermorethecon-


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1. Avoid/eliminate/reduce source of hazard;change properties of source

2. Safety-related measures(spatial separation at source)

3. Organisational measures(spatial/time-wise separation of factor andhuman being)

4. Use of personal protective equipment

(spatial separation on man)

5. Behaviour-related measures(e.g. training)

sequentandcorrectuseofPersonalProtectiveEquipment(PPE)likerespirators,gloves,boots,goggles,shieldsorhearingprotectiondevicesisapersonalsulution.

Personalsolutionsmeasuresarecoveringtheremainigrisksaftercarryingoutstep1,2and3.

Note:

Organizational measures like seldom

exposure, worker rotation and job

placement, good housekeeping and

hygiene, maintenance, monitoring

and health surveillance, schedulingof work are important supplementary

measures.

Figure 4:

Hierarchy ofrisk

treatment


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Introduction, Approach of the twoexamples

Thefollowingexamplesshallgiveageneralideahowriskassessmentcanbecarriedout.Itgivesasteptostepintroduction,showingtheowoftheprocess.Sotheessentialaspectisnotthetechnicalcontentbuttheprocedureoftheprocess.

There are given two examples, astationary off ice workplace and aworkingprocess(nonstationary)exam-ple:maintenanceworkonaladder(e.g.changinganelectricbulb).

Example 1:

Risk assessment of an ofce

workplace

Shortdescription:Ofceroomwiththreeworkstations,threepersonsworking8hperday.

Step 1 Specication of task

Intherststepthespecicworkingcon-ditionshavetobefoundout.Thiscan

bedoneinthegivencaseforexampleby

talkingwiththeemployees

observationbyWorkplaceHygienistandSafetyTechnician

usingagivenjobdescription.

Step 2 Hazard identication

Basedonthegivenworkingsituation(step1)thegivenhazardshavetobeidentified.Supportcanbegivenby

Annex 1 Examples of Risk Assessment

checklists(e.g.fromtheISSAbrochur-

es,seechapterIntroductoryNote),standards(e.g.ENstandards)orlawsanddirectives.

Inthegivenexamplethehazardidenti-cationdealsespeciallywiththefollow-ingtopics:

arrayandpositioningoftheworkstations

climaticalroomfactors(temperature,humidity,speedofair)

roomlightningandworkplacelightning

reextinguisher,emergencyexit

Thehazardidenticationinourexamplebroughtupthefollowingdecitsresp.

hazards:1.twomonitorsareplacedwrong

(infrontofthewindow),oneofthescreensispositionedtoohigh

2.ononeworkplacethelightnigis toolow(lessthan300Lux)

3.thegeneralarrayofthe workplacesshouldbeimprovedand

adaptedtoergonomicneeds

Step 3 Risk estimation and risk

evaluation

Riskestimation:Toquantifytheconse-quenceandprobabilityandtoperformtheircombination

Riskevaluation:Toevaluatetheaccep-tabilityoftheriskandthenitispossibletodetermine,i fthereisaneedtoreducethisrisk.


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Inthegivencaseaquantiedandde-tailedhazard evaluationisnotneces-sary,asthereisnoimminentdanger.Furthermorepracticablestepstowardsriskreductioncanbeeasilycarriedout.Sothetwobasicquestionsofhazardevaluation

Howprobablearewhichconsequenc-es(accident,sickness)?

Whicheffortsandinvestmentshaveto be undertaken for a satisfactoryriskreduction?

canbesatisfactorilyansweredwithoutadetailedanalysis.

Step 4 Risk reduction

Consideringtheexaminedhazards(step2)thefollowingmeasuresforriskreductioncanbecarriedout:

1.replacingthetwomonitorssothattheyarestandingnowparalleltothewin-dows,awoodenbox,onwhichone

ofthemonitorsstandsisremovedsothatthescreenispositionedinacorrectheight,whichisnotovertheheightpositionoftheeyes

2.adesklightisboughtforthework-placewithlightningtoolow

3.provisionsaremadethatergonomicaspectswillbeconsideredinthenextrearrangementoftheofcewhichis

plannedtotakeplaceinfourmonthsFurthermoretrainingaboutergonomicsandergonomicworkingpostureandbe-haviourisperformedonaregularbasis,twiceayear.

Step 5 Controlling (Monitoring the

effectiveness)

Onemonthafteraccomplishingthe measurestheSafetyTechnicianandWorkplace Hygienist check, if the

takenmeasuresandchangesmadearestillinplaceandasktheaffectedemployeesiftheycurrentsituationisokforthem.Aftertherearrangementoftheofcethereisconductedanoth-ercheck.Talkswiththeemployeesand feedback about the workplacesituationarecarriedoutonaregularbasis.

Example 2:

Maintenance Work on a Ladder

Shortdescription:Companytechnician,performingmaintenanceworkona

ladder,e.g.changingofelectricbulbs,smallerrepairworks.Workingplace:Thewholecompany.

Step 1 Specication of task

Thedifferentworkingtasksaredeter-minedespeciallybythegivenjobde-scriptionandtheadditionalstatementsoftheworkerandhissuperior.Forthis

exampleonlytheactivityworkingonaladderisconsidered.Furthermorethemeanworkingtimeperdayontheladderisexaminedinthegivencaseroughly2hours.

Step 2 Hazard identication

ByusingthechecklistfromtheISSAbrochureSlippingandFallingfroma

height(seechapter2inthisbrochure),byexaminingtheworkequipmentandobservingtheworkerthefollowingriskyaspectscouldbedetected:

1.atsomeworkstheladderisstandingintrafcroutes

2.longlastingworksonaladder,fur-thermorehardwork(drilling)isdoneontheladder

3.shoesnotspeciallyadequateforworkingonaladder


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4.insomeplacesofthecompanywithhighceilingsthegivenladderisnotlongenough,whichissolvedbytheworkerbysteppinguptoofar.

Step 3 Risk estimation and risk

evaluation

Inthiscasedetailedriskestimationandevaluationareperformedinordertofindoutwhichprioritieshavetobesetandwhichqualityofmeasuresisnecessaryconsideringthegivenrisk.Threebasicquestionshavetobeanswered:

Howprobableisanaccident?(one

factorisalsothetimespentontheladder)

Whatwouldbethepossibleaccidentseverity?(inthecasefallingfromaladdertheaccidentseverityisgen-eralhigh)

Whicheffortsandinvestmentshaveto be undertaken for a satisfactory

riskreduction?ByusingtheriskestimationmethodfromthebrochureSlippingandFall-ingfromaheight(seetherechapter3)theriskgroup3wasdetected,whichmeans,thatmeasuresareimmediatelynecessary.

Step 4 Risk reduction

Forthefourunderstep2detectedandunderstep3evaluatedhazardsthefollowingmeasureswereplannedandcarriedout:

1.restrictedaccesstothetrafcroutesbywarningtapes,additionalorgani-zationalmeasure:Workinginsuchzonesonlyintimesofgenerallowtrafcfrequency

2.usingamobilescaffoldforlongerworksinsteadofaladder

3.specialantiskidworkingshoesare

boughtfortheworker

4.another(longer)ladderisbought

Step 5 Controlling

(Monitoring the effectiveness)

Forthersttwoweeksafterthemeas-ureshavebeentakentheworkeris

underspecialobservanceofhissupe-rior,whichalsoasksaboutthesubjec-tiveimprovementsandtheacceptanceofthemeasuresbytheworker.

Furthermoreregularinstructions(twiceayear)andtalksaredonebythesafetytechnicianandsuperior.


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22

NationalAspects


24/25

23

Contactpersons


25/25

The following ISSA International Sections on Prevention elaborated the brochure.

They are also available for further information:

www.issa.int

Click on Prevention Sections under Quick Links

ISSA Section for

Iron and Metal

c/o Allgemeine

Unfallversicherungsanstalt

Ofce for International

RelationsAdalbert-Stifter-Strasse 65

1200 Vienna Austria

Fon: +43 (0) 1-33 111-558

Fax: +43 (0) 1-33 111-469

E-Mail: [email protected]

ISSA Section for

Electricity

c/o Berufsgenossenschaft

Energie Textil Elektro

Medienerzeugnisse

Gustav-Heinemann-Ufer 13050968 Kln Germany

Fon: +49 (0) 221 - 3778 - 6007

Fax: +49 (0) 221 - 3778 - 196007

E-Mail: [email protected]

ISSA Section for

Machine and System Safety

Dynamostrasse 7-11

68165 Mannheim Germany

Fon: +49 (0) 621-4456-2213

Fax: +49 (0) 621-4456-2190E-Mail: [email protected]

Documents

Risk Assessment 031110