Risk measurement

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Risk measurement

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Introduction

Once hazards have been identified, it is necessary to prioritise them so that action can be programmed and so that they can be dealt with in a way which will satisfy the REASONABLY PRACTICABLE requirement of legislation.

      Aim of risk assessment

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      NOTE

      The aim of risk assessment is to enable management to make better decisions.

      Risk assessment itself does not make decisions – it only provides the basis for the decision making.  

      The setting of priorities is an important way to change employee understanding and to build hazard awareness.  It also sets the direction for management.

            Approach to risk assessment

            The approach to risk measurement does not have to be complex or sophisticated.  It should be sufficient to allow good decisions to be made, with confidence, and in a form that can be communicated to employees, inspectors and to other stakeholders to demonstrate competent and responsible management.  

            There are several approaches which can be used for the measurement of risk.  These include risk matrix type approaches, whereby those who are carrying out the risk assessment categorise the consequences of the hazard and its likelihood separately and then combine them on a matrix to produce a priority. 

            A simple example is illustrated in Figure 1 below. 

                  Figure 1 Example risk matrix

                  The numbers on the matrix indicate priority.  

                  Figure 1: Example risk matrix

                        The above has been provided to show what a risk matrix looks like.  It is essential that organisations generate their own.  

                        Such approaches have to be supported by clear explanations and descriptions so that the risk assessment team can all agree and can use the tool consistently.  

                        Alternatives include nomograms’ or risk ranking tables and equations and many of the hazard identification techniques such as FMECA and Structured What-If already include their own approach.  

                        These all achieve the same objective, they provide the risk assessment team with a means of deciding on consequence and LIKELIHOOD and then help them arrive at a decision on priority.

                              System components

                              Whatever system is used it should have the following basic components:  

                              • Consequence Assessment

                              Here the degree of harm from the identified hazard is assessed in terms of the potential severity of the injuries or ill health and/or the number of people potentially affected. 

                              • Likelihood

                               This is normally a compound of two separate factors.

                              • Firstly, EXPOSURE which is an analysis of how often and for how long the employees involved is exposed to the hazard.
                              • Secondly, it includes an analysis of PROBABILITY. That is the chance that a person or persons will be harmed during the exposure period.