Report on risk assessment process relating to everyday activities.

by emanuelgreenpanashehotmailcouk (student)

Ruth Green

This report will introduce risk assessment process relating to everyday activities. A risk is a chance high or low, that someone will be harmed by a hazard. A hazard is anything that can cause harm. A risk assessment is basically a careful examination of what could cause harm to people, so that you can weigh up whether you have taken enough precaution or should do more to prevent harm.

Risk assessment has five steps:

Identifying what the hazard: You identify the hazard by looking around the work place and asking the employers.

Estimating who’s at risk is the risk high or low: Decide who might be harmed and how, by identifying groups who might be at risk and identifying how they might be injured.

Evaluate the risk and decide on precaution: You control the hazard by, reasonably practicable and looking at what you are already doing also looking at what you can do to minimize the risk.

Record your findings and implement them: You then write down what you have found from the risk assessment, share the information with staff and then plan what you are going to do about it. Putting control measures into action and making sure that you are bothered to do it, for example if you buy a fire extinguisher if there is a fire you don’t just leave it there, you use it.

Review your assessment and update if necessary: You review and update the things which needs updating. Review your assessment in case things have changed and record the important things which you have found with your risk assessment forms.

Everyday hazards are: - personal care, hobbies/ leisure, work/ education, mobility& travel.

This is a preview of the whole essay

Everyday hazards are: - personal care, hobbies/ leisure, work/ education, mobility& travel.

The first everyday activity which I am going to talk about is personal care. The risk could be in the bathroom, the reason why this is a hazard is because, for example an elderly service user could slip in the shower. This is a very high risk for elderly. If I was going to do a risk assessment, the first thing which I would do is identify the hazard which is the wet floor and then I would look and see who is at risk and the people who are more at risk are the elderly, and then I would look and see how I can reduce or prevent the harm from happening; I would reduce the risk by putting on the mats on the bathroom floor. And then I would document this into risk assessment and make sure that the signs are put that the floor is being cleaned regularly and that the floor is always dry. I would rate this risk three to four because the elderly service users are more likely to break their neck or back than younger service users. I would then make sure that someone checks the bathroom floor everyday.

The second everyday activity which I am going to look at is hobbies. The risk could be rock climbing. The reason why this is a hazard is because you could slip, trip or fall of walls; you could also get hit by falling objects. This is a very high risk for the person who is climbing. If I was going to do a risk assessment, the first thing which I would is identify the hazard, which are the rocks themselves, the equipment. Then I would look and see who is at risk, which is the person climbing. Then I would look and see how I can reduce the risk, I can reduce the risk by making sure that the person is wearing correct shoes and that the harness is on and that there is nothing wrong with the harness also by making sure that the person climbing is being assisted by someone and make sure that he/she is wearing a helmet. I would rate this risk four because the person could fall and break their back or neck. I would then make sure that every time someone wants to do rock climbing that they are wearing the correct shoes and that the harness is on and the helmet is on and I would make sure that everything is in correct order.

The third everyday activity which I am going to look at is mobility and travel. The reason why this is a hazard is you could be driving and there is traffic. Mobility and travel is when you drive a car, walk on the street, ride on the bus or train or fly on a plane. There are many risks related with being mobile and travelling, for example, when you drive a car you must wear the seatbelt otherwise you could be seriously injured or killed in an accident or when you fly long distance such as to Australia or New Zealand, there is possible risk of developing a very serious condition called Deep Vein Thrombosis. If I was going to do a risk assessment firstly I would identify the hazard which is the car because the person in the care is not wearing a seatbelt and the person crossing the road, then I would estimate who may be harmed and that would be the pedestrian when they are crossing the road because the traffic lights are not working which is a hazard and the driver because he is not wearing a seatbelt. I would rate this 5 which is a high risk because the pedestrian crossing the road could get run over by the car. Then I would evaluate and decide precaution, this means that I would have to eliminate the risk or reduce it. I would reduce the risk by making sure that the driver is wearing a seatbelt and making sure that the traffic lights are working or we could put on zebra lines. Then I would record what I have found which means that I would have to put control measure and that the driver is obeying the rules to wear a seatbelt. Lastly I would review and update just to make sure that everything is working properly because things change.

The fourth everyday activity which I am going to talk about is education/work. If I was going to do a risk assessment, firstly I would identify the risk which is the computer; because you get RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury) from typing you get pain in shoulders, neck and hands. I would then look and see who is at risk and that is the students/or someone who work in an office, from typing for a long period on the computer. I would then look and see how I can reduce the risk; I would reduce the risk of RSI by cooling down the muscles used, taking regular breaks throughout the day, having an appropriate workstation and seating position, and practising relaxation. Then I would record what I have found which means that I would have to put control measures and make sure that the person is having regular breaks and that the person is exercising the muscles used. Lastly I would review and update to make sure that the chairs is comfortable and that the stuffs are getting their regular breaks.

Report on risk assessment process relating to everyday activities.