Risk assessments
What is a risk assessment?
A risk assessment is a logical way of looking at work activities and identifying if and how your work could cause harm to people or the environment. You also put precautionary measures in place to ensure the level of risk is as low as possible.
If you are assessing the risks of using hazardous chemical or biological substances, you will complete a risk assessment.
Guidance and standard template
Advice for carrying out risk assessments with a suggested template for recording risk assessments.
Reasons to carry out a risk assessment
A risk assessment:
- reduces the chances of your work harming you or those around you
- highlights hazards to those less familiar with materials, equipment or techniques
- provides an opportunity to record your experimental procedures
- provides an opportunity to organise your waste disposal routes
- is required before you can carry out any work at the University.
Where activities use or create hazardous substances, (e.g., chemical or biological), or involve processes that can cause harm to health, the law requires the University to control the risks. Part of the way in which the University manages this risk is by creating a combined risk assessment.
The law requires that:
- a risk assessment is carried out
- the relevant people are informed of the outcome of an assessment
- everyone involved is trained and equipped to carry out their duties safely.
When should I complete a risk assessment?
You should complete a risk assessment if there is a risk that your work could present risk of injury or ill health.
Risk assessments must be:
- completed before work starts
- read and understood by everyone before they start work.
Who is responsible for risk assessments?
Heads of Schools or Services should have systems in place to manage risk assessments. This includes making sure that people are competent to do so.
The person responsible for carrying out the risk assessment must:
- record the significant findings. e.g. the hazards, the potential harm to people and the control measures
- cooperate and coordinate with others involved or affected by risk assessed activities.
How often should a risk assessment be reviewed?
Risk assessments must be:
- reviewed regularly based on the level of risk, at least annually
- reviewed immediately if the task or procedure changes.