4.2 Who will carry out the assessments?

Decisions need to be taken about who will be involved in the risk assessment. In 2.6: WHO SHOULD CARRY OUT THE ASSESSMENT, reference was made to the requirements of Regulation 7 of the Management Regulations 1999 for employers to appoint competent health and safety assistance. Key attributes of competence are sufficient training, knowledge and experience together with other relevant qualities. Additional training may be necessary for some individuals, so that they are familiar with the purpose of risk assessments and are capable both of identifying risks and of evaluating the effectiveness of risk control measures.

As the HSE acknowledge in their guidance on risk assessment, in small businesses the employer or a senior manager may be quite capable of carrying out the risk assessment. Some organisations, both large and small, employ consultants to co-ordinate or carry out their risk assessment programme. Other employers create risk assessment teams who might be drawn from:

• managers;

• engineers and other specialists;

• supervisors or team leaders;

• health and safety specialists;

• safety representatives; and

• ordinary employees.

Whether the assessments are to be carried out by an individual or by a team, others will need to be involved during the process. Managers, supervisors, employees,...