Government minister launches revised version of HSE's most successful free leaflet

Citation

(1998), "Government minister launches revised version of HSE's most successful free leaflet", Facilities, Vol. 16 No. 9/10. https://doi.org/10.1108/f.1998.06916iad.001

Government minister launches revised version of HSE's most successful free leaflet

Government minister launches revised version of HSE's most successful free leaflet

Angela Eagle, the Minister responsible for health and safety at work, recently launched a revised version of the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE's) most successful free leaflet 5 Steps to Risk Assessment at the Senior Labour Inspectors Conference in Newport. Work related accidents and ill-health can not only ruin lives, but also affect businesses if output is lost, machinery damaged, or if the business ends up in court. 5 Steps to Risk Assessment aims to help employers and self-employed people make sure that no one gets hurt or becomes ill from their work.

Angela Eagle said: "The launch of this leaflet is about building on success ­ some 1.5 million copies of the original leaflet have been distributed in the UK during the past four years. This demand shows there is a need for guidance on this subject. The leaflet is aimed mainly at small firms, particularly at those in the commercial, service and light industrial sectors. It explains that a risk assessment is nothing more than a common sense check of what could harm people at work. And it sets out in straightforward terms what employers have to do to prevent people getting hurt or becoming ill.

"Risk assessment can sometimes seem a mysterious process requiring specialist skills or as something just for health and safety experts. This leaflet takes away the mystery and encourages employers responsible for small firms to do the risk assessment themselves."

Noting that risk assessment is one of the themes set by the Health and Safety Commission and HSE in supporting the UK Presi-dency Programme, the Minister continued: "Risk assessment is a key requirement of the EU Framework Directive, and it underpins the work of the HSE in promoting the health and safety of people in the UK."

The leaflet breaks the risk assessment process down into five steps:

1. 1.

   Look for the hazards.

2. 2.

   Decide who might be harmed and how.

3. 3.

   Evaluate the risks.

4. 4.

   Decide whether the existing precautions are adequate or whether more should be done.

5. 5.

   Review your assessment and revise it if necessary.

Copies of 5 Steps to Risk Assessment, ISBN INDG163(rev1), are available from HSE Books, PO Box 1999, Sudbury, Suffolk CO10 6FS. Tel: 01787 881165: Fax: 01787 313995. The leaflet is available free as a single copy. Packs of five are priced.

Public enquiries: call HSE's InfoLine. Tel: 0541 545500, or write to: HSE Information Centre, Broad Lane, Sheffield S3 7HQ.