Preventive and protective measures

If possible, risks should be eliminated.  If this is not possible then either they should be mitigated/controlled or minimised or, if all else fails, then personal protection should be provided. 

The types of preventive and protection measures that need to be provided for a particular risk will be one of the most important outcomes of the risk assessment process.  In deciding upon those measures, the following principles may provide guidance:

• It is always best, if possible, to avoid a risk altogether. By using a different approach, or substance or method of work.
• Risks should be combated at source rather than by adopting secondary measures. For example, if steps are slippery, treating or replacing them is always better than providing a warning sign.
• Wherever possible, work should be adapted to the individual rather than the individual adapted to the work. This means that the design of the job and the workplace, including the choice of equipment and working methods, are important considerations.  Particular care should be taken to alleviate monotonous work and to set up a work rhythm.
• When treating risks, advantage should be taken of technological and technical progress. Just because the solutions attempted in the past failed, does not mean that we should not look for new opportunities for improving working methods and making them safer.
• The adoption of risk prevention measures must be part of a coherent policy and approach to safety management which acts to progressively reduce those risks which cannot be prevented or avoided altogether. This must take into account the way the work is organised, the working conditions, the working environment and, importantly, relevant social factors.  Risk reduction measures taken in isolation are likely to fail.  They must be part of an ongoing cycle of risk management that involves performance measurement, goal setting, feedback and analysis.
• Those measures which protect the whole work force should be given a priority to yield the greatest benefit. In other words, collective protection measures should be given priority in the interests of net benefit.
• Whatever the protection provided, employees and those affected need to understand what they need to do to make sure the protection works. All controls will fail unless they are backed up with adequate training and supervision;
• Of greatest importance is that measures to avoid, prevent and reduce risks need to be an accepted part of the approach and attitudes, at all levels of the organisation, applied to all its activities. Without an active health and safety culture supported by all levels of the organisation, single risk reduction initiatives will fail.

Legislation requires managers to review and, if necessary, modify their risk assessments since they should not be a one off activity.  Risk assessment is a continuous process and as work changes, the hazards and risks may change and therefore the risk assessment process must also change.  

If an incident occurs, or if we learn more about hazards in the workplace, then we may need to review or modify our risk assessments.  Hazards may exist which have not been anticipated in a risk assessment and which will require further, appropriate preventive and protective measures to be taken.  

After an incident occurs, it is important that we go back to our risk assessment to see:

• Whether we have predicted the incident which has occurred.
• Whether we decided to prevent that incident.
• If so, why our preventive measures did not work.
• If we did not predict the incident, do we need to revise our risk assessment process to ensure that it is suitable and sufficient.
• If we did predict the incident but decided to tolerate the risk, was this decision valid.
• Why the incident occurred, what should be done to prevent similar incidents occurring, as far as is reasonably practicable.

The manager will need to review the risk assessment if there are any changes or developments that suggest it may no longer be valid or that it can be improved.

It is good practice to plan to review risk assessment at regular intervals ‑ the time between reviews being dependent upon the nature of the risks and the degree of change likely to take place in the work activity.  Such reviews are part of good management/business practice.

The above guidance can be summarised in the following ten steps:

1. Make sure the risk assessment process is practical and realistic.
2. Involve as many people as possible in the process, especially those at risk and their representatives.
3. Use a systematic approach to ensure that all risks and hazards are adequately addressed.
4. Aim to identify the major risks, do not waste time on the minor, and do not obscure the process in too much detail.
5. Gather all the information you can and analyse it as best as possible, before starting the risk assessment.
6. Start by identifying the hazards.
7. Assess the risks arising from those hazards taking into account the effectiveness of the existing controls.
8. Look at what actually occurs and exists in the workplace and, in particular, include non‑routine operations.
9. Include all employees at risk, including visitors and contractors.
10. Always record the assessment in writing, including all assumptions you make, with the reasons why.