Risk Assessment as the Main Tool for Injury Prevention

Risk Assessment as a Continuous Process

Today, occupational risk assessment is becoming not just a formal requirement, but a key tool for actually reducing workplace injuries. Unlike the special assessment of working conditions (SAWC), which is conducted once every five years and is tied to a specific workplace, risk assessment is a continuous process focused on the operations and processes performed.

Speaker Andrey Maltapar, an occupational health, safety, and environmental specialist at an international company, shares his ten years of experience in building a risk assessment system. The presentation details a practical approach to identifying hazards, assessing their probability and severity of consequences, and developing corrective measures.

Cross-Functional Approach to Hazard Identification

One of the main insights of the webinar is the need to involve employees from different departments in risk assessment. Creating cross-functional working groups (from 5 to 10 people) allows you to look at familiar processes from a new angle. For example, involving an accountant in a risk assessment in a production shop can reveal non-obvious hazards to which production personnel have already become "accustomed".

The speaker emphasizes the importance of a creative approach to risk identification. Hazards can be hidden not only in obvious things (moving mechanisms, falling loads), but also in anchor bolts left after dismantling or wires under desks in the office. It is important to assess not only work processes, but also the movement of employees around the enterprise territory, for example, during their lunch break.

Matrix Assessment Method and Hierarchy of Controls

To visualize and assess risks, the speaker demonstrates a classic 3x3 matrix (probability x severity of consequences) as an example. The enterprise establishes the criteria for the scales independently, based on its own statistics and legislation.

The development of corrective measures must strictly follow the hierarchy:

• Technical measures: equipment modernization, installation of protective guards — the priority level aimed at eliminating or isolating the hazard source.
• Organizational (regulatory) measures: development of instructions, admission procedures, restricting access to hazardous areas — applied when technical solutions are impossible.
• Use of PPE: the last line of defense, used when other methods are exhausted or required by law (for example, when working with chemicals).

Effectiveness Control and Reassessment

Risk assessment does not end with the development of measures. It is critically important to conduct a reassessment after implementing corrective actions to ensure the risk level has been reduced to an acceptable one (the green zone of the matrix). If the risk remains high (red or blue zones), work continues.

To control effectiveness, the speaker suggests integrating the results of the risk assessment into the production control program or the plan for improving working conditions. Risk review should be carried out continuously, at least quarterly, to track dynamics and confirm the effectiveness of invested funds.

What You Will Learn from This Webinar:

• What is the fundamental difference between occupational risk assessment and SAWC?
• How to form an effective working group to identify non-obvious hazards?
• How to use the matrix method to assess the probability and severity of risks?
• In what sequence should corrective measures be developed?
• How often should the risk assessment be reviewed and how to formalize this process?