With LamaPoll, you get a survey tool that makes assessing hazards in your organisation much easier. But first: what is a risk assessment, when is it required and how is it carried out?
Table of Contents
What is a risk assessment?
The term “risk assessment” does not tell the whole story, as the process involves much more than “just” assessing sources of danger. Put as simply as possible, a risk assessment is:
- A process ... (not a single action)
- for systematically ... (methodically and according to a defined system)
- identifying and evaluating relevant hazards.
However, the process does not end with this assessment. It also involves:
- determining the necessary measures (to protect the workforce’s health and safety)
- implementing these measures
- monitoring and reviewing the effectiveness of these measures.
In short, you identify where hazards to your workforce may arise, determine how they can be reduced or prevented, and implement the appropriate measures.
Important: a hazard is not the same as a danger
Risk assessments are based primarily on Section 5 of the German Occupational Safety and Health Act. This section explicitly refers to “hazards”, not “dangers”. In a 2008 ruling, the German Federal Labour Court also stated that Section 5 is not primarily intended to prevent immediate health dangers, but serves a preventive purpose: identifying hazards and counteracting them at an early stage.
But what is the difference between a danger and a hazard?
A danger is almost certain to cause harm: you are face to face with a tiger.
A hazard, on the other hand, could potentially become a danger: you work in the jungle.
A risk assessment should therefore identify the jungle workplace as a hazard, evaluate it (how likely are you to encounter a tiger, and how serious would the consequences be?), introduce measures (tiger repellent, shooting practice) and regularly review those measures (keep a record of workers eaten by tigers each year, test the tiger repellent and so on).
Tigers are relatively rare in our part of the world. When people talk about dangers, skilled trades, from construction workers to carpenters, are naturally among the first occupations that come to mind. In fact, however, potential problems can arise even in a seemingly harmless office or retail setting. Poor, non-ergonomic posture at work or incorrect movements when placing heavy goods on shop shelves can contribute to physical wear and tear. A risk assessment also identifies issues such as these so that appropriate occupational health and safety measures can be provided.
When is a risk assessment required?
Under the German Occupational Safety and Health Act, every employer is obliged to protect employees’ health and safety at work. The risk assessment is the most important tool for meeting this obligation. Every organisation should therefore conduct such an assessment at regular intervals or when circumstances require it. There are many reasons for doing so.
Reasons
- An increase in complaints about physical health problems
- A decline in employees’ performance, whether physical or mental
- Frequent illness and absence
- High staff turnover
- Dissatisfaction (see also measuring employee satisfaction)
Objectives
- Preventing staff losses or frequent absences
- Preventing accidents
- Creating a positive working environment
- Increasing motivation
- Complying with applicable occupational health and safety legislation
- Deploying staff and allocating working hours efficiently
Ultimately, risk assessment is one of the most important elements in maximising profitability and improving quality within your organisation. Satisfied, healthy employees provide the foundation for customer satisfaction. By giving your team the opportunity to work well together, you can use available resources, both material and time, efficiently. This also makes it essential to prevent frequent staff turnover wherever possible.
How to carry out a risk assessment
The assessment follows a systematic process that takes every area into account:
- The premises (building and location) and workplace
- Individual tasks and entire workflows
- Substances with which employees may come into contact
- Equipment required to perform the work and how it is used
- The duration of individual projects and their intended commercial feasibility
- Employees’ qualifications and instruction
- Potential psychological strain
The initial analysis is not limited to a single aspect. It should document the full scope of the work. The starting and finishing point is always the place where the work or activity is performed. The analysis must also cover the individual workstation so that every necessary step can be completed.
You may also find our tips for carrying out a successful risk assessment useful.
The next step is to assess which hazards require serious attention and which are simply part of normal everyday life. Injuries can occur in almost any area. Ideally, every department should have easy access to a first-aid kit containing everything required for minor incidents.
Solutions and possible alternatives are then developed. It is particularly helpful to devise several options and select the most effective and useful one. Setting objectives ensures that nothing is overlooked. For larger projects, interim objectives should be established so that progress can be reviewed and the feasibility of the project confirmed at those points.
Once all steps have been completed and the proposed solutions are being actively implemented to reduce or, where possible, prevent hazards, a review should be carried out at a previously defined time.
- Have the chosen methods proved effective?
- Have any new dangers arisen instead?
- Have the defined objectives (see above, such as increasing motivation) been achieved?
Categorising hazards systematically
As is so often the case, risk assessments require clear prioritisation. The most dangerous issues must be addressed first. However, hazards are categorised here not by severity, but by how frequently they occur.
- Rare: The danger occurs no more than once or twice a year (for example, unexpected faults or a fire alarm).
- Occasional: The fault or danger can be expected once a month and therefore occurs regularly (for example, an overloaded power supply causing equipment to fail).
- Frequent: Employees are exposed to the danger regularly and more than once a month (for example, cleaning products containing harmful substances, or faults that must be rectified regularly).
A practical example of the risk assessment process
Every morning, a project management assistant at a construction company enters the company building and walks up to the second floor to reach her office. She does not have to pass through security doors or similar barriers and can go directly to her workstation. Before checking how she can support the project managers, she deals with the daily post, opens envelopes, stamps each document as received and then distributes the documents as appropriate. Most of her work is carried out on a desktop computer or a laptop provided by the company. She also frequently copies and prints plans or important documents and handles various telephone calls on behalf of others.
The office where the assistant works is cleaned once a week using various cleaning products.
Potential hazards identified: stairs and letter openers (possible risk of injury); screens (are regular screen breaks taken to protect the eyes?); chemicals (cleaning products: what substances do they contain, and does the assistant need to ventilate the room to avoid feeling dizzy?); lighting (are all the lights working, or do some flicker?).
This completes the analysis of potential hazards. The subsequent assessment determines the extent to which these could become problems that must be addressed to ensure a safe workplace. Objectives are set and solutions developed. These can be tailored to the organisation:
- During periodic safety briefings, employees are instructed not to run in corridors.
- Carpets are fitted in corridors and anti-slip metal strips are installed on stairs to minimise accidents.
- Regular screen breaks are prescribed, with a break room available for this purpose.
- These breaks must be taken separately from the lunch break.
- If there is good reason to believe that employees are not taking regular breaks, an internal reminder system can prompt them separately.
- Work processes must not be scheduled too tightly if employees are to take these breaks. Sufficient flexibility must always be allowed to avoid excessive pressure.
- If implementing the solution shows that this level of flexibility is not possible, recruiting additional staff should be considered.
- After the assessment, employees can also be invited to suggest their own solutions. No one knows the required tasks and the time they involve better.
- Concerns raised by employees should be taken seriously.
A first-aid course is also highly advisable, regardless of the industry. Statistics show that the number of people who know even the most important basics has fallen sharply in recent years. From placing someone in the recovery position to providing rescue breaths, a wrong move can cost a life.
Works council, fire safety officer and others: consultation is always required
The relevant employees must always be involved in the risk assessment and all associated steps. Giving employees a say can help new measures to be implemented effectively. However, fire safety officers, the works council, the company doctor and people in similar roles must be involved in all cases.
For example, under Section 87(1)(7) of the German Works Constitution Act (BetrVG), the works council is not only entitled to participate but is also obliged to do so.
Who is covered by occupational health and safety legislation?
People employed in private households are not covered by occupational health and safety legislation. A risk assessment does not have to be conducted for this type of employee. Which groups, then, count as employees to whom occupational health and safety legislation applies in full?
- Employees
- People in training (interns and apprentices)
- Civil servants
- Judges
- Members of the armed forces
- People working in sheltered workshops
Useful links
- https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/arbschg/index.html
- https://www.dguv.de/iag/qualifizierung/index.jsp
- https://www.gda-portal.de/DE/Downloads/pdf/Leitlinie-Gefaehrdungsbeurteilung.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=1
Our experience with LamaPoll so far has been very good. In the autumn, we carried out a satisfaction survey in our fire brigade. We also conducted a hybrid training session where those who could not attend in person were able to complete the training online from home and receive an online certificate as a PDF at the end. Another training session is already planned. The support was excellent. Thank you very much.
