This risk management procedure:
A risk management procedure is the process that is followed for identifying, analysing, responding and managing a risk. It includes completing a risk assessment, which is a tool for identifying and analysing a risk. A risk management procedure is a fundamental part of an enterprise’s risk management safety program.
Effective risk management provides a level of assurance that an organization will achieve or exceed its objectives. Complying with obligations is an essential component of due diligence responsibilities. The risk management framework typically involves a four-stage process (outlined below) to identify hazards and assess and control the associated risks with activities, products and services over which it has control or influence.
A risk management process takes into consideration the health and safety of employees, contractors, visitors, stakeholders and equipment, as well as environmental impacts.
The goal and objective of the risk management process is to enable:
An organization needs to be on the offensive to search for, detect and eliminate, or control all reasonably foreseeable hazards and identified risks that have the potential to expose personnel or the organization to risk.
Some hazards that may arise in a workplace include:
If a hazard is identified that cannot be immediately controlled, a verbal or documented hazard report should be completed and submitted to management.
Risk evaluation involves the assessment of both the likelihood of any injury, illness or damage occurring and the likely severity (or consequence) of any injury, illness or damage that may occur.
The following factors should be considered when doing a risk analysis of the identified types of risks and hazards:
Risk management can be undertaken with varying degrees of detail depending on the type of hazards and the information, data and resources that are available under the circumstances.
Hierarchy of Risk Control
A method for mitigating risk must be selected and applied to each hazard identified.
It is important to select the most effective and reasonably practicable method. This may include selecting a combination of risk control measures.
Where it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate risks, control measures must be implemented to minimize risks to the lowest level reasonably practicable, by following a hierarchy of controls.
Control measures and risk mitigation prescribed by a hierarchy must be applied in the order specified and in combination (if no single measure is sufficient) to minimize the risk to the lowest level reasonably practicable.
Where higher level control measures are not able to be implemented immediately, interim control measures (albeit relatively less effective) should be implemented to reduce the risk to an acceptable level until the primary controls can be introduced.
By systematically selecting and applying appropriate risk mitigation methods to each identified hazard, organizations can effectively manage and reduce risks to an acceptable level. This approach helps create safer environments, protect assets and prevent or minimize potential harm or losses associated with the identified hazards.
The final step of the risk assessment process is to review, monitor and control the effectiveness of control measures, to verify they are as low as reasonably practicable. It is also possible that not all hazards have been identified during the initial risk assessment and the dynamic nature of some work activities results in frequent changes, so a re-assessment of the controls may be required.
Reviews of risk control measures may include:
The control measures decided upon should be discussed and reviewed for as long as necessary to enable ongoing safe work practices. Whenever there is evidence that control measures are no longer effective (e.g. an injury or illness, employee complaint or advancements in technology) another assessment of the residual risks must be undertaken.
