River Restoration
Staying Safe January 2007
Risk Assessment Form
|
Activity |
Date of activity |
|
Assessors |
Date of risk assessment |
|
Location |
Note: if appropriate control measures cannot reduce any single risk below a score of 6, the event should not be held |
|
Hazard |
Who is at risk? |
Risk level Probability score multiplied by severity score |
Control measures to reduce risks |
Equipment needed for control measures |
|
Example: Steep, slippery river bank |
Example: All volunteers |
Without control measures Example: 4 x 3 = 12 With control measures Example: 2 x 1 = 2 On the day Example: 2 x 1 = 2 |
Example: Warning of risk Knotted rope, fixed round tree, extending down to water |
Example: Warning of risk in H&S briefing notes 1 x 20-foot rope with pre-tied knots at 2-foot intervals |
|
Without control measures With control measures On the day |
||||
|
Without control measures With control measures On the day |
How to use this form
As we've seen, risk assessment is all about taking a careful, objective look at threats to your safety, and working out how to negate those threats.
Risk assessment and its formulae apply to the wet-work of river cleanups just as they apply to any other activity. It's generally accepted that any risk level depends upon the twin factors of probability and severity, so that:
Risk of harm = probability of harm x severity of harm
Probability is a subjective concept, but for the purpose of risk assessments, Thames 21 suggest these working definitions:
Improbable Physically possible, but rarely if ever known to happen
Possible Occasionally known to happen - so not necessarily a surprise
Likely Known to happen with some frequency - so not a surprise
Very likely A common occurrence - surprising if it didn't happen
Using these definitions, we can generate a sliding scale of scores to use for calculating risks in the table above:
|
Probability of harm |
Probability score for risk calculation |
Severity of harm |
Severity score for risk calculation |
|
Improbable |
1 |
Minor injury to one or more people |
1 |
|
Possible |
2 |
Major injury to one person |
2 |
|
Likely |
3 |
Major injury to several people |
3 |
|
Very likely |
4 |
Death of one person |
4 |
|
Death of several people |
5 |