The Importance of Getting a Risk Assessment in the Workplace?
Risk Assessment and Management is now more important that ever before. The safety and security of the workers depend on the owner of a workplace. If any accidents occur that can be traced back to improper working conditions then it is the owner who is to be blamed. He can get involved in all kinds of legal issues for no fault of his own- he might not have been aware of the hazards at all! Moreover, it is the moral obligation for every owner to provide his subordinates with safe and secure working conditions- they are after all, working for him.
The question that often arises is that why should there be any risk at all in a seemingly safe and secure factory or office. The premises are well maintained, there are adequate number of security guards at the gates- so why should the need arise at all? The answer to this question is that risk assessment is not simply a basic survey of the premises. Each and every aspect, ranging from soil conditions, water conditions, air pollution, chemical compounds, electrical setting, construction procedure, legal liabilities- are minutely scrutinized. The identification of problems in any quarter can go a long way in preventing on- the – job accidents and the subsequent legal entanglements and battle for compensation that comes thereafter.
On the other hand, risk assessment is not only about risk identification- it is also helpful for risk eradication. For example- a professional company might have ordered high- end protective gear for its employees, assuming that it was the best that they could do. A risk assessor would probably be able to see that the protective gear is actually useless for the kind of work those specific set of employees have to do. They can also advise about what is actually going to work for them. Again, the kind of water used might have certain chemical components which hinder the proper functioning of the equipments. Experts may find no technical problems whatsoever and yet the problem might persist, and the owner ends up paying every few days for repairing and replacement. Only an environmental consultant might see the problem for what it is. These were some of the simplest examples- in a large workplace, there can be innumerable such instances and only an expert would be able to identify those problems.
It has been seen that workplaces that have the foresight of hiring the services of risk management companies are less prone to suffering losses from paying employee compensations and fighting legal battles. An assessment of the workplace twice or thrice a year is a good approach. With just a bit of foresight, it becomes possible to avert major problems.