Learning Objectives Describe the risk assessment process. Carry out risk assessment studies of construction tasks. Highlight control measures for identified risks. Understand Methods Statement as a part of the risk assessment process.

1. Dammam Community College
Safety Technology Program
Construction Safety Training
SHORT COURSE
Instructor: Mr. Muizz Anibire, MSc
Tel: +966501296203, Email: muizzanibire10@gmail.com

2.  Describe the risk assessment process.
 Carry out risk assessment studies of construction tasks.
 Highlight control measures for identified risks.
 Understand Methods Statement as a part of the risk
assessment process.
Learning objectives

3. Introduction
 April 14th 1912, the Titanic hit an
iceberg on her maiden voyage and 2
hours and 40 minutes later she sank.
 Despite warnings of potential ice flow
the captain was instructed to increase
speed.
 Too few lifeboats available; only enough
to accommodate 1200 passengers on a
ship transporting 2200.
 The lookout had not been provided with
binoculars.
Titanic disaster led to an investigation that
transformed the ship building industry and almost
created the risk analysis industry overnight.

4. Introduction
 Risk assessment is an essential part of the planning stage of any
health and safety management system.
 Risk assessment methods are used to decide on priorities and to set
objectives for eliminating hazards and reducing risks. Wherever possible,
risks are eliminated through selection and design of facilities, equipment
and processes. If risks cannot be eliminated, they are minimized by the use
of physical controls or, as a last resort, through systems of work and
personal protective equipment.

5. Legal aspects of risk assessment
 The following requirements are laid down in the regulations:
o the risk assessment shall be ‘suitable and sufficient’ and cover both
employees and non-employees affected by the employer’s undertaking
(e.g. contractors, members of the public, students, patients, customers
etc);
o every self-employed person shall make a ‘suitable and sufficient’
assessment of the risks to which they or those affected by the
undertaking may be exposed;
o any risk assessment shall be reviewed if there is reason to suspect that
it is no longer valid or if a significant change has taken place;
o where there are more than 4 employees, the significant findings of the
assessment shall be recorded and any specially at risk group of
employees identified. (This does not mean that employers with 4 or less
employees need not undertake risk assessments.)

6. Forms of risk assessment
 There are two basic forms of risk assessment.
o A quantitative risk assessment attempts to measure the risk by
relating the probability of the risk occurring to the possible
severity of the outcome and then giving the risk a numerical
value. This method of risk assessment is used in situations where a
malfunction could be very serious (e.g. aircraft design and maintenance
or the petrochemical industry).
o The more common form of risk assessment is the qualitative
assessment which is based purely on personal judgement and is
normally defined as high, medium or low.
o Qualitative risk assessments are usually satisfactory since the
definition (high, medium or low) is normally used to
determine the time frame in which further action is to be
taken.

7. Some definitions
 A hazard is the potential of a substance, activity or process to
cause harm. Hazards take many forms including, for example,
chemicals, electricity and the use of a ladder.
 Occupational or work-related ill-health. This is concerned with those
illnesses or physical and mental disorders that are either caused
or triggered by workplace activities.
 Accident … ‘any unplanned event that results in injury or ill-health
of people, or damage or loss to property, plant, materials or the
environment or a loss of a business opportunity’.
 Near miss. This is any incident that could have resulted in an
accident. Knowledge of near misses is very important since
research has shown that, approximately, for every 10 ‘near miss’
events at a particular location in the workplace, a minor accident
will occur.

8. Some definitions
 A hazard is the potential of a substance, activity or process to
cause harm. Hazards take many forms including, for example,
chemicals, electricity and the use of a ladder.
 A risk is the likelihood of a substance, activity or process to cause
harm. Risk (or strictly the level of risk) is also linked to the
severity of its consequences. A risk can be reduced and the
hazard controlled by good management.
It is very important to distinguish between a hazard and a risk – the two terms
are often confused and activities often called high risk are in fact high hazard.

9. Overview of Hazard ID and Risk Assessment

10. Some definitions
HAZARD RISK (likelihood of …)
No safety helmet Head injuries
No goggles Foreign matter in eyes
No gloves Hand injuries
No ear defenders Damage to hearing
Improper footwear Injuries to feet
No respiratory mask Damage to lungs etc.
240V electrical supply Electrocution
No RCD trip device Electrocution
Poor electrical connections Electrocution
Site debris laying around Tripping

11. Some definitions

12. The objectives of risk assessment
 The main objective of risk assessment is to determine the
measures required by the organization to comply with relevant
health and safety legislation and, thereby, reduce the level of
occupational injuries and ill-health.
 It is important that all these costs are taken into account when
the full cost of an accident is calculated.
 Direct costs are costs that are directly related to the accident.
They may be insured (claims on employers’ and public liability
insurance, damage to buildings, equipment or vehicles) or
uninsured (fines, sick pay, damage to product, equipment or
process).
 Indirect costs may be insured (business loss, product or process
liability) or uninsured (loss of goodwill, extra overtime payments,
accident investigation time, production delays).

13. Accident categories
 There are several categories of accident and each has a particular
significance in the construction industry.
o Crane accidents
o Slips, Trips and Falls
o Electrical/Heat/Chemical burns
o Power tool accidents
o Falls from height
o Falling object
o Fire outbreak/explosions
o Struck by fixed/moving objects
o Exposure to toxic/hazardous materials
o Scaffold accidents
o Structural collapse
o Asphyxiation/ respiratory issues
o Trench/excavation accidents
o Drowning

14. Health risks
 Risk assessment is not only concerned with injuries in the
workplace but also needs to consider the possibility of
occupational ill-health.
 Health risks fall into the following four categories:
o chemical (e.g. paint solvents, exhaust fumes)
o biological (e.g. bacteria, pathogens)
o physical (e.g. noise, vibrations)
o psychological (e.g. occupational stress).
 There are two possible health effects of occupational ill-health.
o They may be acute - occurring soon after the exposure and
are often of short duration, although in some cases
emergency admission to hospital may be required.
o They may be chronic - develop with time. It may take several
years for the associated disease to develop and the effects
may be slight (mild asthma) or severe (cancer).

15. Job Hazard Analysis (JHA)
NO JOB TASK HAZARDS SEVERITY PERSONS AT
RISK
EXISTING
CONTROLS
1
2
3

16. HAZID Exercise
Identify at least 5 risks in the photos below:

17. HAZID Exercise
Identify at least 5 risks in the photos below:

18. HAZID Exercise
Identify at least 5 risks in the photos below:

19. HAZID Exercise
Identify at least 5 risks in the photos below:

20. The management of risk assessment
 Risk assessment is part of the planning and implementation stage
of the health and safety management system recommended by
the HSE.
 All aspects of the organization, including health and safety
management, need to be covered by the risk assessment process.
o A general risk assessment of the organization should reveal
the significant hazards present and the general control
measures that are in place.
o Such a risk assessment should be completed first and then
followed by more specific risk assessments that examine
individual work activities.
 HSE has developed a Five step risk assessment process. It gives
practical advice on assessing risks and recording the findings and
is aimed at small and medium-sized companies in the service and
manufacturing sectors.

21. Risk Management Framework ISO 31010.3

22. The management of risk assessment
 The five steps are:
o look for the hazards
o decide who might be harmed, and how
o evaluate the risks and decide whether existing precautions are
adequate or more should be done
o record the significant findings
o review the assessment and revise it if necessary.
 Finally, it is important that the risk assessment team is selected on
the basis of its competence to assess risks in terms of their
technical and/or design knowledge and any relevant standards or regulations
relating to the activity or process.
 At least one team member must have communication and report
writing skills. It is likely that team members will require some
basic training in risk assessment.

23. The risk assessment process
 The previous five steps could be divided into six elements:
o hazard identification
o persons at risk
o evaluation of risk level
o risk controls (existing and additional)
o record of risk assessment findings
o monitoring and review.
Hazard identification
o Only significant hazards, which could result in serious harm to
people, should be identified. Trivial hazards should be ignored.
o A tour of the area under consideration by the risk assessment
team is an essential part of hazard identification as is
consultation with the relevant section of the workforce.
o A review of accident, incident and ill-health records will also
help with the identification.

24. The risk assessment process
Persons at risk
o Employees and contractors who work full time at the site or
workplace are the most obvious groups at risk and it will be
necessary check that they are competent to perform their
particular tasks.
o However, there may be other groups who spend time in or
around the workplace. These include young workers, trainees, new
and expectant mothers, cleaners, contractor and maintenance
workers and members of the public.
o Members of the public will include visitors, patients, students or
customers as well as passers by.
o The risk assessment must include any additional controls required
due to the vulnerability of any of these groups, perhaps caused
by inexperience or disability. It must also give an indication of the
numbers of people from the different groups who come into
contact with the hazard and the frequency of these contacts.

25. The risk assessment process
Evaluation of risk level
o During most risk assessment it will be noted that some of the
risks posed by the hazard have already been addressed or
controlled.
o The purpose of the risk assessment, therefore, is to reduce the
remaining risk. This is called the residual risk.
o The goal of risk assessment is to reduce all residual risks to as low
a level as reasonably practicable (ALARP).
o In a relatively complex workplace, this will take time so that a
system of ranking risk is required – the higher the risk level the
sooner it must be addressed and controlled.

26. The risk assessment process
Evaluation of risk level
o For most situations, a qualitative risk assessment will be
perfectly adequate.
o During the risk assessment, a judgement is made as to whether
the risk level is high, medium or low in terms of the risk of
somebody being injured.
o This designation defines a timetable for remedial actions to be
taken thereby reducing the risk.
o High-risk activities should normally be addressed in days, medium
risks in weeks and low risks in months or in some cases no action
will be required.

27. The risk assessment process
Evaluation of risk level
o A quantitative risk assessment attempts to quantify the risk
level in terms of the likelihood of an incident and its subsequent
severity.
o Clearly the higher the likelihood and severity, the higher the risk
will be.
o The likelihood depends on such factors as the control measures
in place, the frequency of exposure to the hazard and the
category of person exposed to the hazard.
o The severity will depend on the magnitude of the hazard (e.g.
voltage, toxicity etc.).

28. The risk assessment matrix

29. The risk assessment matrix

30. The risk assessment matrix

31. The risk assessment matrix

32. Risk control measures
 The next stage in the risk assessment is the control of the risk. In
established workplaces, some control of risk will already be in
place.
 The effectiveness of these controls needs to be assessed so that
an estimate of the residual risk may be made.
 Many hazards have had specific acts, regulations or other
recognized standards developed to reduce associated risks.
Examples of such hazards are fire, electricity, lead and asbestos.
 The relevant legislation and any accompanying approved codes
of practice or guidance should be consulted first and any
recommendations implemented.
 Advice on control measures may also be available from trade
associations, trade unions or employers’ organizations.

33. Hierarchy of risk control
 The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
Schedule 1 also specifies the general principles of prevention
which are set out in the European Council Directive. These
principles are:
1. avoiding risks
2. evaluating the risks which cannot be avoided
3. combating the risks at source
4. adapting the work to the individual, especially as regards the
design of the workplace, the choice of work equipment and
the choice of working and production methods, with a view,
in particular, to alleviating monotonous work and work at a
predetermined work-rate and to reducing their effects on
health
5. adapting to technical progress

34. Hierarchy of risk control
 The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
Schedule 1 also specifies the general principles of prevention
which are set out in the European Council Directive. These
principles are:
6. replacing the dangerous by the non-dangerous or the less
dangerous
7. developing a coherent overall prevention policy which
covers technology, organization of work, working conditions,
social relationships and the influence of factors relating to the
working environment
8. giving collective protective measures priority over individual
protective measures and
9. giving appropriate instruction to employees

35. Hierarchy of risk control
The usual hierarchy of risk control is as follows:
o elimination
o substitution
o engineering controls (e.g. isolation, insulation and
ventilation)
o reduced or limited time exposure
o good housekeeping
o safe systems of work
o training and information
o personal protective equipment
o welfare
o monitoring and supervision
o reviews.

36. Hierarchy of risk control

37. Hierarchy of Risk Control-ANSI Z590.3

38. Prioritization of risk control
 The prioritization of the implementation of risk control
measures will depend on the risk rating (high, medium and low)
but the time scale in which the measures are introduced will not always follow
the ratings.
 It may be convenient to deal with a low level risk at the same
time as a high level risk or before a medium level risk.
 It may also be that work on a high risk control system is delayed
due to a late delivery of an essential component – this should not
halt the overall risk reduction work.
 It is important to maintain a continuous programme of risk
improvement rather than slavishly following a predetermined
priority list.

39. Record of risk assessment findings
 It is very useful to keep a written record of the risk assessment
even if there are less than five employees in the organization.
 For an assessment to be ‘suitable and sufficient’ only the
significant hazards and conclusions need be recorded. The record
should also include details of the groups of people affected by
the hazards and the existing control measures and their
effectiveness.
 The conclusions should identify any new controls required and a
review date.
 The written record provides excellent evidence to a health and
safety inspector of compliance with the law.
 The record should be accessible to employees and a copy kept
with the safety manual containing the safety policy and
arrangements. It is useful for future inspection, and should you
become involved in a litigation.

40. Monitoring and review
 Risk controls should be reviewed periodically.
 This is equally true for the risk assessment as a whole. Review
and revision may be necessary when conditions change as a result
of the introduction of new machinery, processes or hazards.
 If new machines, substance or procedures are introduced to the
site, or existing one are modified, this may introduce additional
hazards.
 There may be new information on hazardous substances or new
legislation. There could also be changes in the workforce, for
example, the introduction of trainees.
 An accident or incident or a series of minor ones provides a
good reason for a review of the risk assessment. This is known as
the post-accident risk assessment.

41. Risk Assessment for Special cases
Young persons.
o A risk assessment involving young people needs to consider the
particular vulnerability of young persons in the workplace.
o Young workers clearly have a lack of experience and awareness of
risks in the workplace, a tendency to be subject to peer pressure
and a willingness to work hard. Many young workers will be
trainees or on unpaid work experience.
o A young person is anybody under the age of 18 years, and it is stipulated
that a special risk assessment must be completed which takes into
account their immaturity and inexperience and the assessment must
be completed before the young person starts work.
o If the young person is of school age (16 years or less), the parents
or guardian of the child should be notified of the outcome of the
risk assessment and details of any safeguards which will be used to
protect the health and safety of the child.

42. Expectant mothers.
o If any type of work could present a particular risk to expectant or
nursing mothers, the risk assessment must include an assessment
of such risks.
o Should these risks be unavoidable, then the woman’s working
conditions or hours must be altered to avoid the risks. The
alternatives are for her to be offered other work or be suspended
from work on full pay.
o The woman must notify the employer in writing that she is
pregnant, or has given birth within the previous six months and/or
is breastfeeding. Typical factors which might affect such women
are: manual handling, chemical or biological agents, ionising radiation, passive
smoking, lack of rest room facilities, temperature variations, prolonged
standing or sitting, stress and violence to staff.
Risk Assessment for Special cases

43. Workers with disability.
o Organizations have been encouraged for many years to employ
workers with disabilities and to ensure that their premises provide
suitable access for such people.
o From a health and safety point of view, it is important that workers
with a disability are covered by special risk assessments so that
appropriate controls are in place to protect them.
o For example, employees with a hearing problem will need to be
warned when the fire alarm sounds or a fork lift truck approaches.
Special vibrating signals or flashing lights may be used.
o Similarly workers in wheelchairs will require a clear, wheelchair
friendly, route to a fire exit and onwards to the assembly point. Safe
systems of work and welfare facilities need to be suitable for any
workers with disabilities.
Risk Assessment for Special cases

44. Lone workers.
o People who work alone, like those in small workshops, remote
areas of a large site, social workers, sales personnel or mobile
maintenance staff, should not be at more risk than other
employees.
o It is important to consider whether the risks of the job can be
properly controlled by one person.
Risk Assessment for Special cases

45. Construction site visitors and trespassers.
o Both authorized and unauthorized visitors to a construction site are
vulnerable to an accident particularly if the trespassers are children.
o All authorized visitors should be given a hard hat, briefed on health
and safety issues and supervised throughout the period of their
visit.
o Walkways on the site should avoid hazards from workers at height,
vehicles or excavation work.
o During non-working hours, the site and the equipment on it should
be secured against trespassers. This will involve the use of security
gates, boarding ladders and emptying fuel from vehicles.
Risk Assessment for Special cases

46. Risk Assessment and Methods Statement (RAMS)
 A risk assessment should be made by the contractor to identify
those hazards that are likely to be encountered and determine the
control measures required.
 The significant findings of an assessment should be recorded, for
example in a method statement.
 Method statements describe ‘Safe working procedures’ for tasks
where hazards have been identified by the risk assessment exercise.
 Method statements should describe the plant and equipment and the
safe methods of working required to control the risks generated.
 Many work tasks are routine, repetitive and relatively free from
hazards and risks. In these circumstances, once a satisfactory
method statement has been prepared for that activity, it can be used
whenever that activity occurs, (i.e., even from one job to another).
Method statements in this category are termed ‘generic’ and most
organizations will accumulate many of these for use over and over
again.

47. Risk Assessment and Methods Statement (RAMS)
 For new or more complex work tasks, where the risks have not
previously been determined, ‘specific’ method statements will be
required.
 Large construction firms deal with common risks, by developing in-
house Generic Risk Assessment Procedures (with corresponding
Safe Working Practices) that can be incorporated into the Safety
Manual for a given site. Risks not deemed to be ‘’Generic’ are dealt
with via Site Specific Risk Assessment Procedures. Generic Risk
Assessments can account for about 75% of risks on site.
 Methods of work need to take into account the following factors:
o the removal from site of surplus excavated material
o the stockpiling of excavated material which is to be reused
o the provision of storage space for materials and working space
for workers and plant
o the type of compaction equipment to be used

48. Risk Assessment and Methods Statement (RAMS)
 The method statement should also contain the information about:
o Emergency arrangements
o Site-based personnel trained to administer first aid,
o Location of the nearest hospital with accident and emergency
facilities,
o Method for swift communication, if there is no telephone
available on site,
 The risk assessment also needs to categorize the level of risk.
 High risks include the collapse of the excavation walls, contact with
existing underground or overhead services, plant and materials
falling into excavations and the presence of hazardous atmospheres
and contaminated soil.
 The possibility of persons falling into the excavations is normally
considered a medium risk
 Flooding of excavations is usually designated a low risk.

49. Risk Assessment for Confined Space – Case Study
Steps in the Risk Assessment Process
1 Describe the activity/task, equipment, process or facility for which the risk
assessment s being carried out.
2 Identify all potential hazards associated with the activity/task, equipment,
process or facility.
3 Identify the people who may be at risk.
4 Assess the risk based on the severity of the hazards, an likelihood of
occurrence/exposure.
5 Describe the measures necessary to control the identified risks based on the
HoC in ANSI Z590.3
6 Re-assess the risk based on the planned/recommended controls to determine
the residual risk.
7 Document the details of the person(s) carrying out the risk assessment and
time.
8 Document and record the risk assessment exercise.

50. Knowledge Check
Q1 A hazard is defined as the potential to cause harm. T F
Q2 Risk is defined as the likelihood that harm will occur. T F
Q3 Risk avoidance is the first level in ANSI Z590.3 HoCs. T F
Q4 PPEs is the last line of defense is risk control. T F
Q5 Potential control measures may be obtained from trade
associations, trade unions or employers’ organizations.
T F

51. End of Session 10: