BTEC Certificate/Subsidiary/90-Credit Diploma Health and Social Care
Task Specific Risk Assessment (P3)

Company Name: NewVIc

PROCESS / ACTIVITY
|I am a NewVIc student, studying health and social care level 3. I have been asked to carry out a risk assessment of a part of the college. I|
|have chosen the playground and the C block. The C block is the building where the main subjects are science, math and health and social |
|care. Here there are labs, classes with computers and desks. I will carry out the risk assessment in a methodical way, starting from the |
|bottom of C block to the top and one corner of outside to the opposite corner. The service users of these areas and building are the |
|teachers, cleaners, students and visitors. My risk assessment is to improve the safety of the college for the staff, pupils and visitors. |

| |LIKELIHOOD (Chances of occurrence) | |SEVERITY (Outcome) |
|1 |Remote Possibility (Very Unlikely) |1 |Negligible/No Injury |
|2 |Unlikely |2 |Minor Injury/Minor damage to property or person |
|3 |Possible |3 |Major Injury/Disability/Serious damage to Property or person |
|4 |Very Likely |4 |Fatality/Death |
|5 |Certain |5 |Multiple fatality/ Deaths |

| | |BEFORE CONTROLS |
| | | |
| |HAZARDS |LIKELIHOOD X SEVERITY = RISK RATING |
| | |Leaking roof, this can cause major | |
|1 | |injury such as fractured bones and |4 |
| | |brain damage from slipping, requiring|Very likely |
| | |immediate medical attention. | |

WHO MIGHT BE HARMED?

|1 |Students are most likely to be harmed, but teachers, other staff and visitors can also slip and fracture their bones, or get brain |
| |damage. |
|2 |Students might be harmed and get bruises or small scrapes and cuts. |
|3 |The teachers can get head injuries, causing them to need immediate medical attention. |
|4 |The students, staff, visitors or anyone just outside the college could be killed from the explosion. |
|5 |Teachers, students or visitors could slip or fall down the steep wooden steps and fracture their neck and skull causing fatality. |

CONTROLS

|Detail all appropriate controls for the risks associated with relevant hazards identified above. These are methods used for reducing |
|the risk to ‘as low as reasonably practicable’ e.g. substitution, isolation, limit exposure, warning systems, PPE. |
| |
|(A score of five or above requires control measures to reduce the risk to one that is reasonably practicable. Nine and above require |
|immediate attention). |
| |
|1 |Use warning systems such as signs to warn about the leak, and tell people to take precaution in the area, also use a bucket to|
| |collect the water to stop it making the floor slippery. |
|2 |Substitute the sharp edged tables for ones with curved edges. Substitute is to replace the hazardous object with a safer |
| |alternative. |
|3 |Substitute is to replace a hazard with a safe alternative, in this case replace the single shelving unit for one with more |
| |shelves so everything on it can be stacked properly and safely. |
|4 |Isolate the fire extinguishers so no one can play with them, example put them in a plastic box on the wall so anyone using the|
| |college can’t accidentally or in accidentally play around with the fire extinguishers. Isolation means to restrict access to |
| |something. |
|5 |Eliminate the hazard. Eliminating a hazard is to remove any possibility that the risk can occur. By removing the wooden stairs|
| |you therefore eliminate the hazard, there is a ramp which can be used in place of the stairs already. |

RISK RATING AFTER CONTROLS

| | | |
| |HAZARD |LIKELIHOOD X SEVERITY = RISK RATING |
| |Leaking roof, this can cause major injury such as fractured |2 |3 |6 |
|1 |bones and brain damage from slipping. |Unlikely |Major injury |Medium |
| |Tables with sharp edges, this can cause bruising and small |1 |2 |2 |
|2 |scrapes that don’t require medical attention. |Remotely possible |Minor injury |Low |
| |Overloaded shelves, this can cause major injuries to multiple |1 |3 |3 |
|3 |people, as the shelves are in the air everything on them can |Remotely possible |Major injury |Low |
| |fall on people’s heads and can cause deep lacerations or even | | | |
| |brain damage. | | | |
| |Incorrectly covered fire extinguisher, this can make it harder |1 |3 |3 |
|4 |for the person to get to the fire extinguisher to put out the |Remotely possible |Major injury |Low |
| |fire causing an explosion with multiple fatalities. | | | |
| |Steep and wet wooden stairs, this could cause slips and falls |1 |2 |2 |
|5 |resulting in fatality. |Remotely possible |Minor injury |Low |

|LOW |MEDIUM |HIGH |VERY HIGH |
|(1 – 5) |(6 – 8) |(9 – 15) |(16 and above) |

FURTHER ACTION REQUIRED

|Specify any further action required |Date Completed |
|1 |Fix the roof to eliminate the hazard completely. |28/11/15 |
|2 |No further action is required. |24/11/15 |
|3 |No further action is required. |25/11/15 |
|4 |No further action is required. |24/11/15 |
|5 |No further action is required. |26/11/15 |

|Assessment completed by: |Emma Button |
|Date: |23/11/2015 |
|Signed: | |
|Confirmation that detailed controls will be implemented at all |Emma Button |
|material times: | |
|Signed: | |
|Date: |23/11/2015 |
|Position: |Head of health and safety at NewVIc college |

Leaking Roof

As illustrated in P3, hazard number 1 is a leaking roof; this could have occurred because the roofing is old and worn down, so the rain leaks through the ceiling, causing the floor below to become wet and slippery. The wet floor could cause a student who is rushing to get to class to slip over and fracture their arm. I gave a likelihood of 4 in my risk assessment because lots of people walk around the college and use the C block therefore there are lots of chances for injury to occur. I gave a severity of 3 because the hazard has the risk of causing fractured bones or brain damage from internal bleeding, needing immediate medical attention. The combination of the likelihood 4 and severity 3 gives a risk rating of 12, which means it is a high risk situation; an immediate action should be put into place. In this case use warning systems such as signs to warn about the leak, and tell people to take precaution in the area, use a bucket to collect the water to stop it making the floor slippery and report the hazard to the relevant staff.

After reporting the hazard and using warning systems, the likelihood changed to 2 which means unlikely, because there are signs to warn people to be careful and a bucket to collect the water to stop the floor from getting wet in the first place. This lowers the likelihood but not the severity because the consequence of the hazard is the same; there is a low chance of fractured bones or brain damage which is a severity of 3. The risk rating is now 6 meaning medium risk. This implies that further action is needed to make the hazard a low risk; you can do this by fixing the roof to eliminate the hazard completely.

Tables with sharp edges

As I said in P3, hazard 2 is tables with sharp edges, causing the risk bruises and small scrapes. This could have occurred from teachers or students walking into the corners of tables. I gave the likelihood of 4 because in a crowded classroom it is very likely to bump into the table or scrape past it if someone else is sanding in the way. The severity is 2 because a bruise or a small scrape is a minor injury that doesn’t require any medical attention. The combination of the likelihood 4 and severity 2 makes the risk factor 8, meaning medium risk. Medium risk requires an action to take place to reduce the risk to a low level or to eliminate the hazard completely. The action to be taken in this case is substituting the sharp edged tables for ones with curved edges. Substitute means to replace the hazardous object with a safer alternative.

After replacing the tables the likelihood changed to a 1, because with no sharp edges it is very unlikely that people will get bruised or cut from the tables. The severity stayed as a 2 because the injury would still be a scrape or bruise not requiring medical attention. The likelihood 1 and severity 2 mean a risk rating of 2 which is low, not requiring further action.

Overloaded shelves

In P3 hazard 3 is overloaded shelves, this could be because there are not enough shelving units in place or because there is no space to put everything. This could cause major injuries to multiple teachers, as the shelves are in the air everything on them can fall on teacher’s heads causing deep lacerations or even brain damage; needing urgent medical attention. I gave the likelihood of this occurring a 5 as it is certain for the books and folders hanging over the edge and piled up high on the shelve to fall down. The severity of the risk is a 3 meaning major injury because brain damage and deep lacerations to the head can be lethal and definitely require medical attention straight away. The combined likelihood of 5 and severity of 3 mean a very high risk rating of 15, needing immediate action to be taken place. The action required is to Substitute meaning replace the hazard with a safe alternative, in this case replace the single shelving unit for one with more shelves so everything on it can be stacked properly and safely.
After substituting the old shelve for new shelving unit with more space, the likelihood of overloaded shelves became a 1 meaning remotely possible because objects can still fall off but it is extremely unlikely. The severity stays a 3 because the injury of the objects falling is still the same the substitution or the hazard did not change the risk. The likelihood 1 and severity 3 make a risk rating of 3 which is low, not requiring any further action to be taken place.

Incorrectly covered fire extinguisher

In P3 hazard 4 is incorrectly covered fire extinguishers, this can make it harder for the teacher to get to the fire extinguisher to put out the fire. This can cause an explosion with multiple fatalities of students, staff and any passer-by of the building. I gave the likelihood of this happening as a 1 because it is remotely possible as fire is often present in science experiments, but usually under control. The severity however is at the highest possible level 5 meaning multiple fatalities. Although the combination of likelihood and severity is a 5 which is a low risk situation, you can easily reduce the risk further still. The action I would recommend is to isolate (restrict access to) the fire extinguishers so no one can play with them, example put them in plastic covering boxes on the wall so anyone using the college can’t accidentally or in accidentally mess around with the fire extinguishers.

After isolation the likelihood stayed as a 1 because there is still a minimal risk of a fire even if you can get to the fire extinguisher. The severity however lowered to a 3 meaning major injury, because although there is a fire the fire extinguisher could be accessed easier resulting in burns and smoke inhalation needing medical attention, but no deaths. The risk rating is now a 3 which is still low, not needing anymore action.

Steep and wet wooden stairs

Hazard 5 in P3 is steep and wet wooden stairs; this could cause slips and falls resulting in fatality. The cause of this could be a teacher rushing to get to class on time and running down the stairs but slipping. I gave a likelihood of 5 in my risk assessment because lots of people walk around the college and use the stairs to the business block instead of the ramp because it takes a shorter time and distance; therefore there are lots of chances for injury to occur. I gave a severity of 4 because the hazard has the risk of causing fatality. The combination of the likelihood 5 and severity 4 gives a risk rating of 20, which means it is a very high risk situation; an immediate action needs be put into place. The recommended action for this hazard is to eliminate the hazard. Eliminating a hazard is to remove any possibility that the risk can occur. By removing the wooden stairs you therefore eliminate the hazard. The ramp already in place can be used in place of the stairs.

After eliminating the hazard the likelihood lowered to a 1 remotely possible as there are no more wooden stairs outside to slip down but you could still slip and injure yourself on the ramp if it was wet. The severity however lowered to a 2 because you can still get injured from slipping on the ramp, but as it isn’t steep the most likely injury is a graze and bruises not requiring medical attention. The risk rating is now a 2 which is low, meaning there is no further action required.

Recommendations

Leaking roof

For hazard 1 in P3 I gave the control measure use warning systems to warn people about the leak and tell them to take precaution, as well as to use a bucket to collect the leaking rain water.
The strength of this control measure is that people are aware to take care in the area to prevent accidents. Another strength of the control measure is that the signs are easily to move to where they are needed and durable for multiple usages. However the fact they are easily moved is not good for outdoor use as they will get blown away and some students might be silly and take the signs and place them somewhere else. The next weakness is that it isn’t a long term solution and that it only buys some time for the hazard to be fixed completely.

Another form of intervention I would recommend other than warning systems and a bucket, is to limit the exposure to the area prohibiting access while someone fixes the roof. This would be beneficial because then there is no hazard or risk.

Tables with sharp edges

The control measure for hazard 2 was replacing the sharped edged tables for ones with curved edges. The strengths of this are that the hazard is no longer present and injury is very unlikely. Another advantage is that round corners on tables are easier seen than pointy corners, so people will walk into the corners less.
A disadvantage of replacing the tables is that it is expensive, not only that but you will have to find something to do with all the old desks.

Another form of action I would recommend is to file the edges of the tables so they are round instead of replacing them, as it will be cheaper than buying brand new tables.

Overloaded shelves

For overloaded shelves the control measure was to substitute the old shelve with a new unit that has multiple shelves and more space to put things on. The main advantage of this is that the shelves won’t be overfilled, which will prevent it from breaking and collapsing on someone. An extra advantage of replacing the shelves is that you can organise everything and find everything easier. A disadvantage of the new shelves is that it will take up more space than the other one and you might have to make space some other way. A further disadvantage is that the new shelves would be lower to the ground and some one could bang their head on them.

A different form of intervention could be eliminating the hazard and putting the books in a cupboard where they can’t fall on someone’s head.

Incorrectly covered fire extinguisher

Hazard 4 is incorrectly covered fire extinguishers, the control recommended for this is to isolate the fire extinguishers so no one can mess around with them, example put them in a plastic box on the wall so anyone using the college can’t accidentally or in accidentally play around with the fire extinguishers. The advantage of this is so that the fire won’t burn the whole college down and can be put out easier. Also if they are isolated in a box no one can accidentally let them off and waste it, preventing it from use in an actual fire. A disadvantage is that it will take time for people to adjust to the new placing for fire extinguishers. Another down side is that it takes time for the boxes to be attached to the walls and some people can sit on them and break the box.

A different control measure could be to remove the covers completely to make it even easier to access the fire extinguishers without any time wastage.

Steep and wet wooden stairs

Hazard 5 is steep and wooden stairs, the control measure provided was to eliminate the hazard by removing the stairs, as there is already a much safer ramp to use to get to the same destination. The biggest advantage is that there is no hazard there so the risk of slipping is very minimal. The second advantage is that wheelchair users don’t feel bad about having to go a longer distance to the building, because everybody has to. A disadvantage is that everyone might run down the ramp because they are late and it is extending their journey, which makes it more likely for slips and trips. Also as the ramp isn’t very wide people trying to go both directions and wheelchairs using it may cause blockages and traffic, causing a great inconvenience to all service users.

Another way you could reduce the risk instead of removing the stairs could be to add non slip grip tape. Therefore the stairs aren’t slippery even in the rain making them much safer.

References

http://uxmovement.com/thinking/why-rounded-corners-are-easier-on-the-eyes/ last access 2/12/2015
-----------------------
[pic]

[pic]