RISK ASSESSMENT TRAINING

By
Faculty of Engineering, Safety Unit

What is Risk Assessment?

Risk Assessment is a systematic approach to identify
hazards, evaluate risk and incorporate appropriate
measures to manage and mitigate risk for any work
process or activity.

WHY we need to do RA?

Protect Ourselves
RA is key to prevention of accident
Everyone deserve to go home safely at the end of the
day
Elevate safety awareness & ownership
Aware of hazards, risks and controls and practicing
safe science
University and Faculty Procedures
Compliance with Regulations

Definition HAZARD
Source or situation or act with a potential for harm in terms
of human injury or ill health or a combination of these (2
pg13)
e.g. - Toxic or flammable substances, electric energy, working at heights etc.

Hazard is something that cause harm or injury (MOM Risk Mgt Reg.)

Definition - RISK
Combination of the likelihood of an occurrence of a hazardous event
or exposure(s) and the severity of injury or ill health that may be
caused by the event or exposure(s) (13 page 13)
Likelihood that a hazard will cause a specific harm or injury to
person or damage property (MOM)

Risk means the chance that someone will be

harmed by the hazard.
Risk = Hazard effect x Probability (likelihood
of Occurrence)

Risk Concepts
What can go Wrong

How likely is it?

What are the Impacts

Risk Level

MANAGE RISK
Risk management also includes control and monitoring of risks, as
well as communicating these risks

Legal Requirement

Legal Requirement
Workplace Safety & Health Act
Effective from 1st March 2006.
The WSH Act is an essential part of the new OSH
framework to cultivate good safety habits in all
individuals at the workplace.
It requires every person at the workplace to take
reasonable practicable steps to ensure the
safety and health of every workplace and worker.

Legal Requirement
Reasonable Practicable
Action is considered to be
practicable when it is
capable of being done.

Legal Requirement
Reasonable Practicable
Reasonable usually takes into account:
The severity of harm & degree of risk
(or likelihood) of that injury or harm
occurring. Greater risk, reasonable to go
to very considerable expense & effort to
reduce it
How much is known about the hazard
& the ways of eliminating, reducing or
controlling it. What are others practicing
& what the standards recommend?

Legal Requirement
Workplace Safety And Health (Risk Management)
Regulations 2006
Enforced from 1st September 2006.
The WSH (Risk Management) Regulations require employers, the
self-employed and principal (including contractor and subcontractor) to conduct risk assessments for the purpose of
identifying workplace safety and health risks and implementing
measures to control the hazards and reducing the risks.
Whoever generates the risk shall manage the risk.

Legal Requirement
Workplace Safety And Health (Risk Management)
Regulations 2006
Penalties
Any person who fails to comply may be fined up to $10,000 for
the first offence.
For a second or subsequent offence, the person may be fined up
to $20,000 or jailed up to 6 months or both.

R 3(1)
R 4(1)
R5
R6
R7

Conduct Risk Assessment

Eliminate, Minimise & Control Risk, Specify Responsibilities
Maintain Risk Assessment Record
Inform Those At Risk of Risks & Measures, SWP
Review of Risk Assessment.

RISK MAGEMEMENT REGULATIONS

Why is there a need for Risk Management Regulations ?

to hold stakeholders accountable

for managing the risks they create
to reduce risk at source
What is a hazard ?
means anything with the potential to cause bodily injury
What is a risk ?
Means the likelihood that a hazard will cause a specific bodily injury to any
person.

RISK CONTROL
What can be done to control risks in the workplace ?
Some measures are : ( from most to least preferred )
Elimination eliminate the hazard from the workplace
Substitution - substituting a hazardous substance or
process with a less hazardous one.
Engineering controls - installing machine guarding or
enclosing a noisy machine.
Administrative controls - applying a permit-to-work
system or lock-out and tag-out procedures.
PPE - provision and use of these equipment, AND
SWP Safe Work Procedures

RECORDS of RISK ASSESSMENT

How often must the risk assessment be reviewed ?
At least once every 3 years;
After an accident;
When there is significant change in work processes,
introduction of new machinery or chemicals;
Information on safety technology or requirement
made known

OFFENCE

ESP who contravenes can result in

penalty :
for 1st offence
A fine not exceeding $10,000; and

for 2nd or subsequent offence

A fine not exceeding $20,000; and/or
jail term not exceeding 6 months.

Risk Assessment

Risk Assessment Template

Activity or Experiment-Based Risk Assessment Form
Department:

Name of Experiment/Activity:

Location:

Name of Person in-charge:

Last Review Date:

Next Review Date:

1. Hazard Identification
SN

Task

Hazards

Possible
Consequences

Name of PI:

2. Risk Evaluation & Control

Existing Risk
Control
(if any)

Additional
/ New Risk
Control

Conducted by: (Name,

designation)

Approved by: (Name,

designation)

Signature:

Signature:

Date:

Date:

Action
By

Deadline

Risk Assessment Process

IDENTIFY the hazards
ASSESS the risks and available control
measures
MANAGE the risk
CONTROL the risks through implementation of
appropriate control measures
MONITOR the controls to evaluate their
effectiveness
Communication of Risks & Controls

Risk Assessment
Flowchart

IDENTIFY POTENTIAL
HAZARDS
The most important step in any Risk Assessment hazards can only be controlled if they are identified

Equipment

Procedures
People

Agents

Environment

Each step is analyzed for potential inherent hazards

Decision on the relevance of any particular hazard
come later in the risk assessment processes

What are the Hazards in a laboratory?

Chemicals

Slips and trips

Radiation

Falling hazard

Fire

Ergonomics

Electrical

Thermal

Biological

Noise etc

Physical

Acutevs.ChronicEffects

IDENTIFY POTENTIAL HARM

Identify what are the adverse conditions may arise due the
hazard present in your experiments, laboratory or
environment
Injury
Identify Source of Harm

First Aid Treatment

Hazardous event or process

Visit Clinic/ hospital
Hazardous substance
Admitted in Hospital
Permanent damage
Equipment
Acute Vs Chronic Effects
Identify who could be harmed
Lab Acquired Infection
Researcher
Property Damage
Breakage of glassware
Others students
Equipment
Contractor/supplier
Furniture
Visitor
Building
Identify how harm could occur Environmental Release
Release to Air
Accidental fall from height
Water
Contact with corrosive
Waste materials - solid
chemicals

Risk Evaluation
Consider existing controls
Engineering controls (Fumehood, glovebox, chains for
cylinder, others)
Administrative controls (Signage, training, SOPs, others)
Personal Protective Equipment
Existing control will not change the severity but only
likelihood
Severity & likelihood is based on 3 by 3 matrix and the
respective criteria specified
Risk rating is the product of severity by likelihood
Refer to acceptability criteria on the recommended
action for different risk rating
For medium & high risk, additional controls will be
required

Risk Evaluation
Severity Categories & Description
Level

Human (Impact to
Physical Being)

Biological Impact

Environmental
Damage

Property Damage
(S$)

(1) Minor

No Injury or light injury

requiring only first aid
treatment (MC < 4 days
MC)

May not cause human disease, if does, the

disease is unlikely to spread to the community
and there is usually effective prophylaxis or
treatment available;

Reversible

Up to $5,000

(2) Moderate

Any injury/ill health

leading to 4 days MC
or 1 day
hospitalisation or leads
to temporary disability

Can cause severe human disease, not

ordinarily spread by casual contact from one
individual to another; it may spread to the
community, but there is usually effective
prophylaxis or treatment available

Reversible but takes

years

$5,001 to $50,000

(3) Major

Fatality, permanent
Disability or life
threatening disease

Can cause lethal human disease, may be

readily transmitted from one individual to
another, or from animal to human or vice-versa
directly or indirectly, or casual contact, it may
spread to the community; usually no effective
prophylaxis or treatment available

Irreversible

More than $50,000

Risk Evaluation
Likelihood Categories & Description
Level

Events Frequency

(1) Remote

Undesired event which may occur but unlikely, once in 5

years

(2) Possible

Undesired event which is probable, once in a year

(3) Frequent

Undesired event which probably occur in most

circumstances, once or more in a month

Risk Evaluation
Risk matrix to determine Risk Level

Likelihood

Remote (1)

Occasional (2)

Frequent (3)

Minor (1)

Moderate (2)

Major (3)

Severity

Risk
Evaluation
Acceptability of Risk
Risk
Score

Risk
Level

Acceptability
of Risk

Recommended Actions

<3

Low
Risk

Acceptable

No additional risk control measures required. To continue to monitor to

ensure risk do not escalate to higher level.

Moderately
Acceptable

Acceptable to carry out the work activity; however, task need to be reviewed
to bring risk level to As Low As Reasonably Practicable.
Interim control measures such as administrative controls can be
implemented. Supervisory oversight required.

34

>4

Medium
Risk

High
Risk

Not
Acceptable

Job must not be carried out until risk level is brought to at least medium risk
level.
Risk controls should not be overly dependant on personal protective
equipment. Controls measures should focus on Elimination, substitution
and engineering controls.
Immediate Management intervention required to ensure risk being brought
down to at least medium level before work can be commenced.

Control Measures

Risk Control
Using Hierarchy of Controls to reduce the risk
Using the concept of As Low As Reasonably Practicable
(ALARP)

Hierarchy of Risk Control

Measures

Additional Controls

Responsible person and timeline

Additional control for risk rated more than 3 or
medium & high risk
Reduce risk to as low as reasonably practicable

Who and When?

Responsible person to implement the identified
control measures and
Timeline for completion update the risk
assessment upon completion of the additional
control measures

Record Keeping
1. Risk Assessment record has to be kept for at least 3 years under
the WHS (RM) Regulations requirement.

Recommended to keep record as long as the process/activity is

still valid, before end of any product life cycle or to tie in with the
period other legislation requires pertaining to the particular
process/activity.

Implementation & Review

1. Management staff or Principle Investigator will need to approve the
implementation of control measures.
2. Monitoring of the process or activity has to be carried to ensure that
there is no residual risk or additional risk arising from the control
measures.
3. Risk assessors have to check or monitor the new implementation of
control measures and to communicate with respective lab or operational
personnel.
4. Review on Risk Assessment to be carried on the following basis:
- At lease once every three years base on legislative requirements
- After an accident/incident occurrence
- Any change in process or activity

Thank you