City University of Hong Kong Health and Safety Risk Assessment for Workstations, Experiments and Research Projects Objective The objective of risk assessment is to perform a careful examination of what could cause harm to people (hazards / risks). When properly performed, it helps ascertain whether the effectiveness and adequacy of the precautions already in place, or whether more has to be done. Staff and students should spend not less than ONE HOUR to assess their new workstations, experiments or research projects critically and fill in the form completely. Risk assessment should also be performed : for those existing workstations, experiments or research projects which have not been assessed before; as soon as change occurs; after an incident; and regularly for not less than once in a year. Please submit the completed form to your supervisor or Principal Investigator for his / her review, approval, recordkeeping and subsequent follow-up action and monitoring. 1. Workstation / Experiment / Project Information Workstation / Experiment / Project Title : Summary / abstract of workstation, experiment or project (in about 100 words) : Page 1 of 6
Location : (e.g. room, building) Please attach a A4 sketch of the layout of major equipment to be used for assessment purpose. 2. Analysis of workstation / experiment / project and identification of potential hazards Break down the Workstation / Experiment / Project into sequences and input them in the table below. In normal cases, 5 to 10 sequences are enough to fully describe a workstation / experiment / project. Then by referring to the attached list of potential hazards (Attachment A), identify as many as possible the potential hazards that could be created for each of the sequences and write down the corresponding hazard code for each sequence. If there is more than one hazard, please separate the hazard codes by a,. Sequence Description Equipment to be used Hazard code 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Page 2 of 6
3. Assessment of risk Evaluate the level of risk for each of the above hazards using the formula below as a guide : Risk = hazard severity x likelihood of the hazard arising (where severity and likelihood can be estimated and quantified by using the Table 1 and Table 2 below respectively) Table 1 : Description of Hazard Severity Descriptor Minor Moderate Major Catastrophic Description First aid treatment only, no lost work time Casualty treatment Serious bodily injury Death, permanent disablement Table 2 : Measures of Likelihood Likelihood Scale Rare Unlikely Likely Almost certain Explanation Could occur, but probably never will Could occur, but rare Could occur occasionally Could occur often Risk assessment of each of the hazard identified for each sequence in step 2 above Sequence Hazard Code Hazard Severity 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Likelihood of the Hazard Arising Risk Ranking* * Risk Priority Chart LIKELIHOOD CONSEQUENCES (How severely could it hurt someone?) (How likely could it happen?) Minor Moderate Major Catastrophic Rare L M H H Unlikely L M H E Likely H H E E Almost Certain H E E E Legend E = Extreme risk H = High risk M = Moderate risk L = Low risk Page 3 of 6
4. Decision on control measures to eliminate and/or reduce the risk The higher the risk, the tighter should be the control measures. The control measures should be considered in the following order: - 1 st : eliminating / substituting the hazard giving rise to the risk with a hazard giving risk to a lesser risk, such as use of a safer machine, chemical; if not then 2 nd : isolating the risk by keeping the operator away from the hazard, such as provision of fixed guard, fume cupboard; if not then 3 rd : minimizing the risk by engineering means (redesign), such as provision of lifting equipment to reduce manual handling; if not then 4 th : applying administrative measures, such as limiting the exposure time; if not then 5 th : using adequate personal protective equipment. List of control measures suggested by staff or student : i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. viii. ix. I hereby declare that the information provided above is to my best knowledge true, correct and complete. Staff / student who conducts the assessment : (Name in print) Signature : Date : Endorsed by Supervisor : Signature : Date : Page 4 of 6
For Evaluation by Supervisor / Principal Investigator Reviewed by : Signature : Overall risk level : Date : Follow-up action : (choose from Actions 1 to 5 below) Action 1 : acceptable without review Action 2 : acceptable when proper and clear operation procedure is developed (please attach a clear and step-by-step control procedure, jointly signed by supervisor/principal investigator and the staff / student concerned.) Action 3 : staff / student is requested to provide the following additional information for review Action 4 : the risk is probably high and the workstation / experiment / research project will need to be audited in more detail on. Action 5 : the risk is high and proper control measure(s) are required to be put in place first. Workstation / Experiment / Project is suspended until further notification. Page 5 of 6
Attachment A Checklist of Potential Hazards and the Corresponding Hazard Code Hazard Code * Bodily injury resulting from mechanical energy Cut by rotating shaft, mandrel B1 Cut by rotating cutters, (machine tools) B2 Cut by reciprocating die and tools, B3 Cut by in-running nips of gear, bearing, etc, B4 Hurt by moving object (eg., robot arm) B5 * Biohazard (microorganisms, bacteria, viruses, handling of Bio1 laboratory animals, etc) * Chemical Hazard flammables (such as acetone, methane, hydrogen) C1 toxic chemicals (such as chloroform, ammonia) corrosives (such as hydrofluoric acid) peroxide forming chemicals chemicals of explosive nature C2 C3 C4 C5 other dangerous substances (such as nanoparticles) C6 * Electric shock due to contact with exposed live component E1 use of high power/voltage source E2 design of own power source E3 * Fire Hazard (due to use of flammables, open flame, F1 overloading, short circuiting, etc) * Fall of person from height F2 * Hit by falling object H1 * Noise at 85 dba or above N1 * Pressure Hazard P1 * Radiation - Non-ionizing radiation ultraviolet R1 laser R2 very high radio frequency (>1G) R3 far infra-red (> 1um) R4 - Ionizing radiation alpha particles R5 beta rays R6 gamma and X rays machine producing ionizing radiation R7 R8 * Bodily burnt due to high temperatures (handling hot metal, high temperature T1 operations, casting, etc.) cold temperatures (handling cryogenic fluids, working in T2 freezing conditions, etc.) D:\OFFICE DATA\Zip12 (2009)\Tony\Safety\Risk Assessment\Risk Assessment for Workstations & Research Projects (Nov).doc Page 6 of 6