Tolley's Practical Risk Assessment Handbook, 5th Edition
Containing numerous checklists, forms and worked examples for a variety of hazards and industries, this book demystifies the risk assessment process and how it relates to UK legislation.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Tolley's Practical Risk Assessment Handbook, 5th Edition
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 The background to risk assessment
The term risk assessment probably first came into common use as a result of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1988 (commonly known as the COSHH Regulations and revised several times since) which required employers to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks created by work liable to expose any employees to any substance hazardous to health. Similar requirements had actually previously been contained in both the Control of Lead at Work Regulations 1980 and the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 1987.
In practice a type of risk assessment had already been necessary for some years particularly as a result of the use of the qualifying clause so far as is reasonably practicable in a number of sections within the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 ( HSWA 1974).
1.2 Key requirements of HSWA 1974
Previously most Acts and Regulations dealing with health and safety had been extremely prescriptive in their requirements and narrow in their scope. The report of the Robens Committee (published in 1972) recommended major changes including:
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the replacement of specific legal requirements by general obligations;
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legislation to cover everyone at work, including the self-employed (rather than just those in factories, offices, etc. as was previously the case);
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introduction of requirements for employers (and the self-employed) to take account not just of employees but also of others, including the public.
These recommendations were implemented through the passing of
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