Short answer
A risk assessment is an overview of what can go wrong at work, how serious it is, and what you do to prevent it. It must be in writing, carried out together with the employees and updated when something changes.
Why and when
Section 3-1 of the Norwegian Working Environment Act says the employer must map hazards and problems, assess the risk and make plans and measures. Section 7-1 of the Regulations on Organisation, Management and Employee Participation goes into more detail. The risk must be assessed when the work is planned and carried out, and the assessment must be repeated when something changes, for example when you buy new machines or start using new equipment.
The assessment must be carried out together with the employees. It must be documented, and the form can be adapted to the size of the company. If you have many departments or sites, each can make its own assessment, and management brings them together.
Four steps
The Labour Inspection Authority describes risk assessment as a process in four steps. This is how you can do it, however many of you there are:
- Map. Go through the tasks and the workplaces. What could harm the employees? Think about accidents, physical strain, chemicals, noise, violence and threats, and stress. Who is exposed?
- Assess. How likely is it to happen, and how serious would it be? Use a simple scale, for example low, medium and high.
- Put measures in place. Start with the highest risk. Write down the measure, who is responsible and when it must be done. That becomes the action plan.
- Follow up. Check that the measures are done and that they work. Repeat the assessment when something changes, and review it regularly.
An example
A cleaning company with eight employees goes through a normal working day. They find three things: chemicals that can cause skin problems, heavy lifting of equipment on stairs, and working alone late in the evening.
- The chemicals are assessed as medium risk. Measure: safety data sheets available, the right gloves and training. Responsible: managing director. Deadline: next month.
- Heavy lifting is assessed as medium risk. Measure: a trolley for the equipment and sharing out the jobs. Responsible: supervisor. Deadline: in two weeks.
- Working alone is assessed as low to medium risk. Measure: a fixed routine for reporting when the job is done. Responsible: managing director. Deadline: straight away.
The example is made to show the method. Your own hazards may be completely different.
Template
The Labour Inspection Authority does not require a particular template. What matters is that the assessment is in writing and is used. A simple template can have these fields for each hazard:
- Hazard or unwanted event
- Who may be exposed
- Likelihood (low, medium, high)
- Consequence (low, medium, high)
- Overall risk
- Measure
- Responsible
- Deadline
- When the measure was done and followed up
Common mistakes
- The assessment is made once and put in a drawer.
- The employees are not asked, even though they know the hazards best.
- The measures have no owner and no deadline, and never get done.
How the portal helps
In the HSE system you create risk assessments from ready-made templates, assign an owner and a deadline to each measure and follow them up as tasks. A job safety analysis (JSA) can be signed before the work starts.
Sources
The rules change. Always check the current text with the sources below. Most sources are in Norwegian. This guide is general information and not legal advice.