This practical guide serves both the student and the safety professional in developing foundations in risk assessment. It is the authors’ hope that this text will challenge the Occupational Safety and Health professional in becoming more competent and creative in their application of assessing, defining and managing operational risks.
1 Risk Assessments: Their Significance
Fred A. Manuele
Hazards Limited, Arlington Heights, IL, USA
OBJECTIVES
Inform on a relatively new international standard that requires making risk assessments and an updated American standard that includes similar requirements.
Establish that safety professionals will be expected to have the knowledge and skills to make and advice on risk assessments and to give counsel in the design and redesign processes.
Provide awareness of how risk assessments have been incorporated into selected standards and guidelines.
Enlighten on the activities initiated by the American Society of Safety Professionals on risk assessments.
Discuss risk assessment systems.
Advice on how to adopt risk assessment systems.
Overall, to establish that risk assessments have become more significant within a safety and health management system.
1.1 Introduction
In the first edition of this book, the purpose of the first chapter was to encourage safety professionals to recognize the trending throughout the world to include requirements for risk assessments in safety and health‐related standards and guidelines. Further, the position was taken that it was logical to expect that having the capability to make risk assessments would eventually become a requirement for the safety and health position.
To support the positions taken, 35 subjects were included in Addendum A, which was titled “A List of Standards, Guidelines, and Initiatives That Require or Promote Making Risk Assessments – Commencing With the 2005 Year.”
Since that list was prepared, the first international standard for occupational health and safety management systems was adopted by an entity with significant credentials – the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
This standard, adopted in 2018, is identified as ISO 45001: Occupational health and safety management systems – Requirements with guidance for use. It is commonly referred to as 45001.
In the same year, approval was given to this international standard by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to become an American standard. Its designation is ANSI/ASSP/ISO 45001 – 2018, and the secretariat in the United States is the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP).
For safety professionals, there is now an international health and safety management systems standard and it requires that risk assessments be made.
Section 6.1.2,2 in 45001 (p. 13) is titled “Assessment of OH&S risks and other risks to the OH&S management system.” Its opening sentence and the beginning of item (a) are as follows:
The organization shall establish, implement, and maintain a process(es) to:
1 “assess OH&S risks from the identified hazards.”
In the previously mentioned Addendum A, item 34 was “ANSI/AIHA Z10‐2012: a standard for Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems.” This standard is now known as Z10. This, the second edition of Z10, also included a provision requiring that risk assessments be made.
A third version of Z10 was approved by the ANSI in August 2019. Since the ASSP is now the secretariat, the name of the standard was changed and is now known as “ANSI/ASSSP Z10.0 – 2019: Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems.”
Section 8.2 in the most recent version of Z10 (p. 17) is titled “Identification of Hazards.” Identification of hazards is necessary, first, in making a risk assessment. Section 8.3 (p. 18) is titled “Risk Assessment.” It requires that an organization establish and implement a risk assessment process(es).
So, for safety professionals, there is also an American National Standard requiring that risk assessment procedures be established as an element within safety and health management systems.
Adoption of 45001 was a momentous development. It has international implications of considerable measure. Safety professionals in the United States should realize that there are two ANSI standards requiring that risk assessments be made and achieve the necessary knowledge and capabilities.
Working with design and operations personnel to assess risks and to give counsel in the decision‐making to achieve acceptable risk levels adds an easily recognized value.
Imaginative safety professionals will recognize this opportunity to be additionally perceived as members of the management team and increase their value to their organizations.
1.2 What Is a Risk Assessment?
Two definitions, taken from standards, are presented here as illustrative. There are several others. “ANSI/ASSP Z690.3 – 2011 – Risk Assessment Techniques,” which is an adoption of “IEC/ISO 31010:2009,” this is the statement given in the Introduction.
Risk assessment is that part of risk management which provides a structured process that identifies how objectives may be affected, and analyzes the risk in terms of consequences and their probabilities before deciding on whether further treatment is required. Risk assessment attempts to answer the following fundamental questions:
What can happen and why (by risk identification)?
What are the consequences?
What is the probability of their future occurrence?
Are there any factors that mitigate the consequence of the risk or that reduce the probability of the risk?
Is the level of risk tolerable or acceptable and does it require further treatment?
ANSI/ASSP Z590.3 – 2011 is the standard for “Prevention through Design: Guidelines for Addressing Occupational Hazards and Risks in Design and Redesign Processes.” This is its definition of risk assessment:
Risk Assessment. A process that commences with hazard identification and analysis, through which the probable severity of harm or damage is established, followed by an estimate of the probability of the incident or exposure occurring, and concluding with a statement of risk.
Risk assessment is a fundamental component of the risk management process and an essential core competency for safety professionals.
To Install a Risk Assessment System Successfully – A Culture Change May Be Necessary
When safety professionals give advice on improving operational risk management systems, their overarching role is that of a culture change agent. If a risk assessment system is installed where there was no risk assessment systems previously, things will be then done differently. That means that a culture change is necessary.
Definitions of a change agent are numerous. This definition is a composite that fits well with the safety professional’s position. It was taken from the third edition of Advanced Safety Management: Focusing on Z10. 45001 and Serious Injury Prevention, Chapter