Key messages
It is not enough to identify hazards in a general sense. To understand and assess the risks to the health and safety of workers, you need to know:
- the source(s) of the hazard and how workers could be exposed,
- when and where the hazard is present - for which workers and doing what tasks,
- the type and seriousness of harm the hazard could cause (consequence), and
- how likely the harm is, or (in instances where harm builds over time) how frequently and for how long workers might be exposed (likelihood).
Harm can be caused immediately by a single incident. For example, a fall could cause a sprained ankle or exposure to a traumatic incident could result in immediate psychological harm.
Immediate harm: Where immediate harm is a possibility, organisations should consider:
- consequence: the type of harm it would cause and how serious it might be. The type of harm might range from a minor injury to a worker being killed.
- likelihood: This can be estimated by considering how often people are exposed to the hazard and how effective current risk controls are.
Harm occurring over time: Harm can also occur over time with repeated or prolonged exposure to a hazard. For example, exposure to fatigue in the workplace can build up over time and result in psychological and physical harm. Undertaking repetitive physical tasks without effective controls in place can result in musculoskeletal disorders.
Where harm could occur over time you should consider:
- duration: How long is the worker exposed to the hazard?
- frequency: How often is the worker exposed to the hazard?
- severity: How serious would the consequence of exposure be?
Individual hazards and risks should not only be considered in isolation. Workers and others may be exposed to more than one physical or psychosocial hazard at any time. Hazards can interact or combine (including both psychosocial and physical hazards) to create or increase risks.
For example, exposure to workplace stress and work overload can increase the risks of workers developing musculoskeletal disorders.
Fatigue can make workers more likely to make mistakes when following infection prevention controls, exposing them to biological hazards.
In some work situations, the risk of harm may be difficult to plan for and control. For example, disability support workers may work in other peoples’ homes and not have advance knowledge of the work environment before they arrive. Other work environments may change rapidly, such as when a lot of different types of patients enter a hospital, or during an emergency.
For work in other peoples’ homes, a pre-visit risk assessment should be conducted and discussed with the worker prior to the visit. This can then be updated as required by the worker.
If the work environment changes after the initial assessment, you should consider doing a dynamic risk assessment. A dynamic risk assessment allows the worker to quickly assess the risks in a situation and respond appropriately. You must ensure the worker is properly trained to do a dynamic risk assessment. The dynamic risk assessment should also be recorded and reviewed as part of your overall risk management process.
Dynamic risk assessments are useful for dealing with uncertainty or emergency situations, but they do not replace the need for you to fulfill your work health and safety legal obligations.
Case study – Dynamic risk assessments
An organisation providing home nursing services has controls in place to manage the potential risk of violence during home visits, including a pre-visit risk assessment. The organisation has a care plan for each patient. The plan documents known triggers and strategies that have worked well in the past to minimise any risks. This includes having workers work in pairs where there is a history of violence, providing equipment for communication, and logging and sharing a detailed history of interactions on previous visits. The organisation also trains workers to continually observe and assess each visit for potential changes in risk, and to terminate the visit if there is a threat of violence without escalating or putting themselves in danger.
Half an hour after entering a patient’s home, a worker notices evidence of drug and alcohol consumption. The patient’s behaviour then becomes aggressive. The worker assesses that the risk to their safety has escalated and following established procedures, terminates the home visit due to the risk of violence.
The risk assessment and care plan are updated, and the provider negotiates with the patient that future visits will be conducted in a community care clinic as this is a safer environment.