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P a g e
Risk The likelihood of the hazard occurring;
Control Measure taken to reduce the risk of a hazard occurring to an acceptable
level
Injury or loss The result of a hazard occurring to a person; or other loss
Damage or Outcome The
result
of a hazard occurring and causing damage or
loss
Risk Management
From these considerations, we can formulate a basic definition of Risk Management
The identification, analysis and degree of control exercised of risks which have the
potential to threaten the assets or well-being of an enterprise. Control implies both the
physical and financial steps which may eliminate, reduce or transfer the risk.
Risks must be reduced to acceptable levels if they cannot be avoided or devolved, which
begs the question, acceptable to whom?
employees working with the risk
shareholders concerned with financial returns
safety officers involved with the risk
society which benefits from the risks being reduced
Risk Control Measures: Having identified the hazards, measured their effect on the
company and worked out some kind of priority, we now have to do something about it.
In practice we probably carry out each stage at the same time: identification, assessing
and controlling.
One way of listing priorities is to consider the choice as being between three
alternatives:
A technical or engineering solution, where we control or eliminate the hazard by
designing a new machine or process, or producing some guarding measure.
Procedural solutions, where we devise a safe method of work, issue job
instructions, introduce permits to work, or restrict a task to certain operators.
A behavioural solution, which involves education and training of operatives,
putting up notices and signs and generally making employees aware of the risks.
Hazards: As already stated, a hazard is something with the potential to cause harm or
loss. We must consider the types of hazards that may be encountered in work situations
and classify them according to the dangers they present or, more precisely, the harm
that would result if they were realised.
Physical hazard, for example:
