1.2 Site Risk Assessment & Control Hierarchy

Understanding Risk Assessments

In the electrical contracting industry, managing health and safety is not merely a bureaucratic exercise; it is an absolute necessity to prevent injury and death. At the core of this management is the Risk Assessment. A risk assessment is a careful examination of what, in your work, could cause harm to people, so that you can weigh up whether you have taken enough precautions or should do more to prevent harm. The law does not expect you to eliminate all risk, but you are required to protect people as far as is 'reasonably practicable.'

To effectively conduct a risk assessment, one must first understand the fundamental difference between a hazard and a risk. A Hazard is anything that may cause harm, such as electricity, working from ladders, an open floor edge, trailing cables, or hazardous chemicals. A Risk is the chance, high or low, that somebody could be harmed by these and other hazards, together with an indication of how serious the harm could be. Therefore, exposed live terminals are a hazard; the risk is the high probability of a worker receiving a fatal electric shock.

The 5 Steps to Risk Assessment

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provides a widely adopted framework known as the '5 steps to risk assessment.' This methodology ensures a comprehensive and systematic approach to identifying and mitigating workplace dangers.

Step 1: Identify the hazards. Walk around the workplace and look at what could reasonably be expected to cause harm. Ask employees or site managers what they think. Check manufacturer's instructions for equipment, review accident records, and consider long-term health hazards (like asbestos or noise) as well as immediate safety hazards.

Step 2: Decide who might be harmed and how. For each hazard, you need to be clear about who might be harmed; it will help you identify the best way to manage the risk. This doesn't mean listing everyone by name, but rather identifying groups of people (e.g., 'electricians,' 'passers-by,' 'cleaners'). Consider how they might be harmed, for instance, 'electricians risk fatal shock from unisolated distribution boards.'

Step 3: Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions. Having spotted the hazards, you then have to decide what to do about them. Compare what you are currently doing with good practice and see if you can do more to bring yourself up to standard. Can you get rid of the hazard altogether? If not, how can you control the risks so that harm is unlikely?

Step 4: Record your findings and implement them. If you have five or more employees, you are legally required to write down your risk assessment. Even if you have fewer, it is excellent practice. The record must show that a proper check was made, you asked who might be affected, you dealt with all the obvious significant hazards, and the precautions are reasonable, keeping the remaining risk low. Crucially, the findings must be put into action.

Step 5: Review your risk assessment and update if necessary. Few workplaces stay the same. Sooner or later, you will bring in new equipment, substances, and procedures that could lead to new hazards. It makes sense, therefore, to review what you are doing on an ongoing basis. Look at your risk assessment periodically and whenever there is a significant change in the workplace.

RAMS: Risk Assessment and Method Statements

In many commercial and industrial settings, a risk assessment alone is insufficient. Clients and principal contractors frequently demand RAMS—Risk Assessment and Method Statements. While the risk assessment identifies the hazards and evaluates the risks, the Method Statement is the practical document that details exactly how a specific task will be carried out safely. It acts as a safe system of work, breaking the job down into step-by-step instructions. For example, a method statement for replacing a high-bay luminaire would detail the isolation procedure, the type of Mobile Elevating Work Platform (MEWP) to be used, the specific exclusion zones required below, and the exact sequence of dismantling and reassembly.

The Hierarchy of Controls (ERIC PD)

When evaluating risks in Step 3 of the assessment process, electricians must apply the Hierarchy of Controls. This is a sequence of mitigation strategies ranked from the most effective to the least effective. The acronym ERIC PD is frequently used in the UK to remember this hierarchy:

Eliminate: The most effective control. Can the hazard be completely removed? For example, moving a control panel from a hazardous, high-level location to ground level, eliminating the need to work at height altogether.

Reduce (or Substitute): If elimination is impossible, reduce the hazard. Can you substitute a dangerous process with a safer one? For instance, replacing 230V portable tools with 110V reduced low voltage (RLV) tools, significantly reducing the severity of a potential shock.

Isolate: Keep the hazard separate from the workers. This is the very essence of electrical safe isolation—physically isolating the electrical energy and locking it away. Another example is erecting solid hoarding around an excavation site.

Control: Implement engineering or administrative controls. Engineering controls might involve installing physical guards on machinery. Administrative controls include erecting warning signs, limiting exposure time, and providing comprehensive safety training (like RAMS briefings).

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): This is the absolute last line of defense and should only be relied upon when all other measures in the hierarchy have been exhausted or are insufficient. PPE includes hard hats, safety glasses, insulated gloves, and arc-flash protective clothing. PPE only protects the individual wearing it and often fails if not worn or maintained correctly.

Discipline: Ensuring that all rules, procedures, and controls are strictly followed and enforced. Without discipline, the entire hierarchy collapses. Workers must be disciplined enough to follow the safe isolation procedure every single time, without taking shortcuts.