12/09/11
Understanding HSE Risk Assessments
Many businesses need to be aware of their responsibilities when it comes to public safety and the safety of their staff. In the workplace, one of the most common hazards and causes of accidents are slips and trips. According to the HSE risk assessment website, there are over 10,000 workers that suffer serious injuries due to a slip or trip each year. Another startling fact is that 95% of major slips result in broken bones, and even a recorded 2 fatalities per year. It is the responsibility of the business to ensure that it meets the safety requirements of UK law, and that they operate in accordance with the guidelines set throughHSE risk assessment.
If the safety of the public and the resulting injuries isn’t concern enough, there are also massive financial implications associated with accidents in the workplace. The HSE risk assessment website advises on the costs that many businesses can incur as a result of slips and trips on their premises. A massive £133 million a year is lost on slips and trips in the health service alone, whilst employers can lose a staggering £512 million per year through lost production amongst other costs.
Many businesses should consult slip and trip specialists to ensure that they meet the HSE directions on slip risk assessment and mitigation. By obtaining the consultancy services of a slip test specialist organisation with the combined knowledge, experience and toolset, a business can not only meet the HSE directions on slip risk assessment, it can exceed them.
Independent slip test specialists will have the specialist slip testing equipment and the full up to date knowledge on the latest HSE risk assessment requirements. With this combination of specialist knowledge and services, an independent slip test can prove to be an extremely effective method of reducing the number of slip and trip related accidents in the workplace, and therefore reducing the amount of lost revenue to the business.
It is no great secret that the most effective method of reducing slips and trips in the workplace is through prevention. However, as a business, where does one start? How many accidents were recorded in the workplace last year compared to the year before? Which aspects had changed in the intervening time and were there any common factors in each reported accident? Maybe the business site was renovated and new flooring was installed? Have the number of accidents relating to slips increased or decreased as a result? Maybe the flooring in the workplace is very old and is losing its grip, therefore causing an increase in the number of accidents?
All of these questions can be addressed and suitable answers and recommendations can be provided through the services of an independent expert slip risk assessment. The HSE risk assessment guidelines are a long and complex list of standards and certifications which will no doubt be an administrative minefield to the average uninitiated business. However, an independent slip risk expert will know to perform slip testing to BS 7976, they will know how to measure the Rz surface roughness profile of the workplace flooring and will be able to provide the solutions needed to reduce the number of slip related accidents in the workplace.
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Pendulum
testing - Surface roughness
- Slips Potential Model - Slip
testing methods - HSE
slips site - Grip Potential Ltd
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