What Is Risk

WHAT IS RISK
 What is the difference between a 'hazard' and a

'risk'?
 A Hazard is something that can cause harm, e.g.
electricity, chemicals, working up a ladder, noise,
a keyboard, a bully at work, stress, etc.
 A Risk is the chance, high or low, that any hazard

will actually cause somebody harm.
 For example, working alone away from your
office can be a hazard. The risk of personal
danger may be high. Electric cabling is a hazard. If
it has snagged on a sharp object, the exposed
Prepared by: Gaudencio Boniceli Jr. wiring places it in a 'high-risk' category.
TYPES OF RISKS
LEVELS OF RISK & THE RISK FORMULA
5 - STEPS TO RISK ASSESSMENT (1)
Step 2: Decide who may be harmed, and how.
 The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) advises  Identifying who is at risk starts with your organisation's own full-
employers to follow five steps when carrying out a and part-time employees. Employers must also assess risks
workplace risk assessment: faced by agency and contract staff, visitors, clients and other
members of the public on their premises.
Step 1: Identify hazards, i.e. anything that may cause harm.
 Employers must review work routines in all the different
 Employers have a duty to assess the health and safety locations and situations where their staff are employed. For
risks faced by their workers. Your employer must example:
systematically check for possible physical, mental,
chemical and biological hazards. • Home care supervisors must take due account of their client's
personal safety in the home, and ensure safe working and lifting
 This is one common classification of hazards: arrangements for their own home care staff.
• Physical: e.g. lifting, awkward postures, slips and trips, • In a supermarket, hazards are found in the repetitive tasks at the
noise, dust, machinery, computer equipment, etc. checkout, in lifting loads, and in slips and trips from spillages and
• Mental: e.g. excess workload, long hours, working with obstacles in the shop and storerooms. Staff face the risk of
high-need clients, bullying, etc. These are also called violence from customers and intruders, especially in the
'psychosocial' hazards, affecting mental health and evenings.
occurring within working relationships. • In call centres, workstation equipment (i.e. desk, screen,
• Chemical: e.g. asbestos, cleaning fluids, aerosols, etc. keyboard and chair) must be adjusted to suit each employee.
• Biological: including tuberculosis, hepatitis and other  Employers have special duties towards the health and safety of
infectious diseases faced by healthcare workers, home young workers, disabled employees, night-workers, shift-
care staff and other healthcare professionals. workers, and pregnant or breastfeeding women
5 - STEPS TO RISK ASSESSMENT (2)
Step 3: Assess the risks and take action  Step 5: Review the risk assessment.
 This means employers must consider how likely it is that  A risk assessment must be kept under
each hazard could cause harm. This will determine review in order to:
whether or not your employer should reduce the level of
• ensure that agreed safe working practices
risk. Even after all precautions have been taken, some risk
continue to be applied (e.g. that
usually remains. Employers must decide for each
management's safety instructions are
remaining hazard whether the risk remains high, medium
respected by supervisors and line
or low.
managers); and
Step 4: Make a record of the findings. Employers with five
• take account of any new working practices,
or more staff are required to record in writing the main
new machinery or more demanding work
findings of the risk assessment. This record should include
targets.
details of any hazards noted in the risk assessment, and
action taken to reduce or eliminate risk.
 This record provides proof that the assessment was
carried out, and is used as the basis for a later review of
working practices. The risk assessment is a working
document. You should be able to read it. It should not be
locked away in a cupboard.
RISK MANAGEMENT & CORE ELEMENTS OF
SAFETY MANAGEMENT
TECHNIQUES OF RISK MANAGEMENT
RISK IDENTIFICATION TOOLS & RISK PLANNING PROCESS
MANAGE RISKS IN THE WORKPLACE
A ‘person conducting a business or undertaking’ (PCBU),
who is usually the employer, has the primary duty of care
under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act) to
ensure the health and safety of workers and others at the
workplace, so far as is reasonably practicable.
Definition of PCBU
 The term ‘person conducting a business or undertaking’ (PCBU)
captures all types of working arrangements or structures. A
PCBU can be a company, an unincorporated body or association,
a sole trader or self-employed person. Persons who are in a
partnership that is conducting a business or undertaking will
individually and collectively be a PCBU.
 The term PCBU relates to an organisation or person who is more
commonly known as ‘the employer’. A person who is engaged
solely as a worker or an officer in a business or undertaking is
not a PCBU.
 In some cases, there will be multiple PCBUs involved in work at
the same workplace who will share duties under work health
and safety laws in relation to the same matter. For example, a
principal contractor and sub-contractors at a construction site
SAFETY GOVERNANCE AND PREVENTION
RESPONSE AND RECOVERY
• Response
• If a safety incident takes place, the organisation must

take steps to remove the hazard that caused the
Recovery incident. It should also implement changes to stop
the incident from happening again.
 When a worker is ill or injured, the employer has
responsibilities under both the Safety Rehabilitation • Your organisation’s response documentation must
and Compensation Act 1988 and WHS Act. include information on:
 These responsibilities are usually addressed by
• incident investigation
a rehabilitation management system that manages
workplace injury or illness.
• incident notification requirements
• emergency preparedness and response
• first aid policies and procedures.

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WHAT IS RISK

 What is the difference between a 'hazard' and a

 A Risk is the chance, high or low, that any hazard

• If a safety incident takes place, the organisation must

• emergency preparedness and response

• first aid policies and procedures.

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