Smart schools are Safe schools Risk Assessment

If it’s not written down or recorded it doesn’t exist

 At common law reasonably foreseeable risks must be guarded against.  Risk management principles have an implicit role in the application of common law principles in the management of OHS.

Employers have obligations under the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation 2001 to: identify any foreseeable hazards assess the risk eliminate the hazards. control the risks.

Hazard Identification Risk Assessment Treat Risk Monitor Effectiveness Risk Management Risk Management overview

HAZARD VULNERABLE OBJECT BARRIERBARRIER PEOPLE - Unsafe Behavior PROCESS LOCATION MACHINES / TOOLS AGENTS ENERGYCONTROLSTO PROTECT PEOPLE - Safe Behavior MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS PROGRAMMES, PRACTICES & PROCEDURES FACILITIES & TOOLS (Ergonomics) PEOPLE PROPERTY ENVIRONMENT Near Miss Accident

 Any condition or substance that has the POTENTIAL to cause injury or harm to the health of a person When this potential is realized the outcome is an incident or accident

Major cause of incidents and ill health is due to the inability of people to identify hazards because of :  A lack of information  Inadequate training and confirming comprehension of training

 Physical- causes physical injury  Chemical - poisons, trigger allergic reactions, cause cancer  Biological- cause disease, illness  Mechanical/ electrical - slips trips and falls, hit injuries, electrocution, burns  Psychological- workplace stressors mental and social health

 Conduct regular housekeeping and general school environment inspections.  Concerns/Complaints from staff,students,parents and visitors  Review previous accident reports, injury registers to identify any problem areas or trends  Have eyes open and brain focused  Health and environment monitoring How to Spot Hazards

 Consultation is very powerful in identifying hazards  Ask "what if" questions: What if the unexpected happens? What if that fell, burst or leaked? What if someone tripped over that? What if someone unauthorized enters the area? What if someone does that job when they are tired, or rushed? What if someone touched/sniffed that?  Look at everything including out of the way storage areas and consider off- site risks for example excursions, fetes, sports.

 But don’t assume….?  That just because you’ve done it before the hazards are the same.  There is a very wide range of possible hazards, and these may be at different times, in different places, under different conditions.

Magdalene25/10/2002

 No activity is absolutely safe.  Even when lying in bed there is the possibility of something crashing into the roof of your home.  But that doesn’t stop you going to bed.

Magdalene25/10/2002

Looking & analysing  Pro-actively (the future) rather than just  Reactively (the past) * - non insurance

 First stage -Discover all the hazards you have  Second Stage - Decide how important each one is  Third Stage - Do something about the hazards  Fourth Stage - Don’t stop now …keep working on it

What is the Hazard Following pictures depict hazards…what could happen, how often could it happen

Magdalene25/10/2002 Bomb Squad

Magdalene25/10/2002

 There are no hard and fast rules to defining acceptable risk.  All activities have risks associated with them.  No activity is guaranteed absolutely safe.  The decision whether to carry on with an activity requires you to assess the possible effects of the hazards and the probabilities of them occurring.

 In the end you must decide whether those risks are acceptable: whether they are outweighed by the advantages to be gained.  And that final decision needs clear thought,judgement, experience and the benefit of discussion with colleagues.  There are no hard and fast rules to defining acceptable risk.

Risk Management is a SYSTEMATIC WAY OF THINKING The Risk Management Process increases awareness of HAZARDS AND RISKS INVOLVED IN A SCHOOL OPERATION