Risk Assessment

Question 1

What is a risk?

Answer 1

The probability that a hazard will be activated and produce injury or property damage

Question 2

Types of impacts a risk can have?

Answer 2

Death, injury, environmental damage, direct/indirect financial loss, liability, penalties, loss of reputation, etc.

Question 3

What is risk assessment?

Answer 3

· A way to determine potential harm due to a hazard
· To determine which hazard has what level of:
-Frequency
-Severity

Question 4

Why do we do a risk assessment?

Answer 4

· Obvious reasons: Reduction in injuries/illnesses, lost time, claims, insurance premiums
· Industry standards require risk assessments
· Customers are beginning to require risk assessment of sale
· Risk assessment works
· As a part of the code of ethics established by various professional organizations

Question 5

What are the risk assessment steps?

Answer 5

Step 1: Set the limit of the assessment
Step 2: Identify hazards
Step 3: Assess Initial Risk
Step 4: Reduce Risks
Step 5: Access Residual Risks
Step 6: When to stop/Residual Acceptable
Step 7: Results and Documentation

Question 6

Explain Step 1: Set the limit of the assessment

Answer 6

These parameters can be the limits of the machine or design, limits on uses, limits on the scope of the analysis, or other limits

Question 7

Explain Step 2: Identify hazards

Answer 7

The nature of this step leads to a team approach such as brainstorming

Question 8

How do you identify hazards (step 2)

Answer 8

· Physical inspection of the workplace
· Brainstorming
-Conducting group meetings with people who are familiar with the operation of the area under review
-Recording all ideas and thoughts relating to possible hazards -sorting the results into some type of priority order.

Question 9

Explain Step 3: Assess Initial Risk

Answer 9

· Two Risk Factors are used:
-Frequency of occurrence
-Severity/impact

Question 10

What is risk ranking (step 3)

Answer 10

-Ranking Matrix combining risk elements of probability (frequency) and impact (severity).
-broken into map chat
-probability * impact = risk
-risk score is found

Question 11

Explain step 4 to reduce risks

Answer 11

-Remedy actions are taken to reduce risks following the hazard hierarchy control:
-Most to least effective (start from top first)
1. Eliminate through/by design
2. Protect (guarding)
3. Warn the User (awareness devices
4. Procedure/training
5. Personal Protective Equipment

Question 12

Explain step 5: Access Residual Risks

Answer 12

· Selected measures effectively reduced the risk
· Probability and severity are assessed to obtain residual risk level
· Aka does new safety implication still have risk(s) or new risks?

Question 13

Explain step 6: When to stop/Residual Acceptable

Answer 13

· This assessment verifies that the remedy actions have reduced the risks to an acceptable level.
· A decision shall be made to accept or further reduce the residual risk.

Question 14

What is an acceptable level of risk? (Step 6)

Answer 14

• When it is insignificantly low
• When we don’t know it’s there
• When we are sure it is worth it

Question 15

Explain step 7: Results and Documentation

Answer 15

· The documentation can be added to a technical file for future use.

Document, Monitor, and Review
· Procedures that have been followed
· Identified hazards
· Risk reduction methods employed (eliminate or reduced to an acceptable level)
· Review what has been done to ensure that the controls put in place are effective.

Question 16

Other risk assessment steps

Answer 16

1. Identify the hazards
2. Decide who might be harmed and how
3. Evaluate the risks and decide on precaution
4. Record your findings and implement them
5. Review your assessment and update if necessary

not as thorough

Question 17

What are the 2 barriers in risk assessment?

Answer 17

· Barrier 1
- Few design professionals possess sufficient expertise in safety

· Barrier 2
- Such processes (risk assessment to design in safety) will increase both direct and overhead costs for designers

Question 18

What is the solution to barrier 1 (Few design professionals possess sufficient expertise in safety)?

Answer 18

• Add safety to design professional curriculum
• Develop and promote 10 hour and 30 hour OSHA courses for design
  professionals

Question 19

What is the solution to barrier 2 (Such processes (risk assessment to design in safety) will increase both direct and overhead costs for designers)?

Answer 19

Educate owners that total project costs and total project life cycle costs will decrease

Question 20

What is the fail safe concept?

Answer 20

Things will fail so you should have a plan and document what you do

Question 21

What are the most to least influential steps in design that influence safety? (5)

Answer 21

Conceptual design, detailed engineering, procurement, construction, start-up