Managing Risk

What is a risk?

Definition: the likelihood of a hazard causing injury or harm.

How does risk management work?

These five basic principles will help you to manage risks:

1. Identify hazards (find or see)
2. Assess the risks involved (think about and check)
3. Consult and report ensuring the involvement of relevant people (talk and tell)
4. Control the hazard (stop or prevent it)
5. Review to identify change or improvements (check and reflect).

What is risk assessment?

You will need to be able to assess risks (or potential risks) when hazards are found. This is part of the risk management process. It means gathering information so that you can make a clear and educated decision about what needs to be done to lower the risk as far as

possible.

Risk assessment is based on these three factors:

• The “likelihood” that it will do harm (probability)
• The “severity” of the harm it could do (consequence)
• The “number” of times people could be affected by it (frequency).

It is important to think about and check:

1. Whether a hazard is likely to cause harm to a person or property
2. How severe the harm could be, or what the consequences would be
3. How often people or property could be affected by the hazard

Once you have done this, you will be able to make an accurate decision about which controls (if any) will be needed. This is an important part of risk management.