Smart schools are Safe schoolsRisk Assessment

If it’s not written down or recorded it doesn’t exist

At common law reasonably foreseeable risks must be guarded against.

Risk management principles have an implicit role in the application of common law principles in the management of OHS.

Introduction

Employers have obligations under the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation 2001 to:

• identify any foreseeable hazards • assess the risk • eliminate the hazards. • control the risks .

Hazard Identification

Risk AssessmentTreat

Risk

MonitorEffectiveness

üRisk

Management

Risk Management overview

Incident Causation Model

HAZARD VULNERABLEOBJECT

BARRIER

• PEOPLE - Unsafe Behavior • PROCESS• LOCATION• MACHINES / TOOLS• AGENTS

ENERGY CONTROLS TO PROTECT• PEOPLE - Safe Behavior • MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS• PROGRAMMES, PRACTICES & PROCEDURES• FACILITIES & TOOLS (Ergonomics)

• PEOPLE• PROPERTY• ENVIRONMENT

Near Miss

Accident

Any condition or substance that has the POTENTIAL to cause injury or harm to the health of a person

When this potential is realized the outcome is an incident or accident

What is a Hazard

Major cause of incidents and ill health is due to the inability of people to identify hazards because of :

A lack of information Inadequate training and confirming comprehension of training

What is a Hazard

Physical- causes physical injury Chemical- poisons, trigger allergic reactions, cause

cancer Biological- cause disease, illness Mechanical/ electrical -slips trips and falls, hit

injuries, electrocution, burns Psychological- workplace stressors mental and

social health

Hazard Classification

· Conduct regular housekeeping and general school environment inspections.

· Concerns/Complaints from staff,students,parents and visitors

· Review previous accident reports, injury registers to identify any problem areas or trends

· Have eyes open and brain focused· Health and environment monitoring

How to Spot Hazards

How to Spot Hazards· Consultation is very powerful in identifying hazards

· Ask "what if" questions:

What if the unexpected happens?

What if that fell, burst or leaked?

What if someone tripped over that?

What if someone unauthorized enters the area?

What if someone does that job when they are tired, or rushed?

What if someone touched/sniffed that?

· Look at everything including out of the way storage areas and consider off- site risks for example excursions, fetes, sports.

But don’t assume….?

That just because you’ve done it before the hazards are the same.

There is a very wide range of possible hazards, and these may be at different times, in different places, under different conditions.

Spot The HAZARD What could go Wrong

Magdalene 25/10/2002

Magdalene 25/10/2002

Þ No activity is absolutely safe. Þ Even when lying in bed there is the possibility of

something crashing into the roof of your home. Þ But that doesn’t stop you going to bed.

Hazards

Magdalene 25/10/2002

Assess the Risk

The purpose of Risk Management*

Looking & analysingPro-actively (the future)

rather than just Reactively (the past)

* - non insurance

First stage -Discover all the hazards you have

Second Stage - Decide how important each one is

Third Stage - Do something about the hazards

Fourth Stage - Don’t stop now …keep working on it

Risk Management Process

What is the Hazard

•Following pictures depict hazards…what could happen, how often could it happen

Magdalene 25/10/2002Bomb Squad

Magdalene 25/10/2002

Magdalene 25/10/2002

Magdalene 25/10/2002

Magdalene 25/10/2002

Magdalene 25/10/2002

ÞThere are no hard and fast rules to defining acceptable risk.

Þ All activities have risks associated with them.Þ No activity is guaranteed absolutely safe.Þ The decision whether to carry on with an activity

requires you to assess the possible effects of the hazards and the probabilities of them occurring.

What is an acceptable risk ?

ÞIn the end you must decide whether those risks are acceptable: whether they are outweighed by the advantages to be gained.

ÞAnd that final decision needs clear thought,judgement, experience and the benefit of discussion with colleagues.

ÞThere are no hard and fast rules to defining acceptable risk.

What is an acceptable risk ?

Risk Management is a SYSTEMATIC WAY OF THINKING

The Risk Management Process increases awareness of HAZARDS AND RISKS INVOLVED IN A SCHOOL OPERATION

SUMMARY