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Why do a risk assessment?
Pro-actively preventing occupational ill-health and accidents before they
happen makes good management sense.
The latest figures from the government's Health and Safety Executive estimate that
there's over one million reported injuries at work and around 1.3 million people
suffering from work related ill-health each year in the UK.
That's just the ones that get reported, so it's likely the actual numbers are even higher.
Apart from the suffering caused to victims and their families, there's also
numerous financial costs involved for businesses when things go wrong. These can range
from the immediate costs of interupted productivity, to longer term losses which are often
less obvious.
Task
Are you fully aware of all the costs to your business that might result from poor health and safety?
You know your business and the practices that go on there well, so that makes you an ideal candidate
for carrying out a risk assessment in your workplace. Your knowledge and experience
means that you can accomodate health and safety within the needs of your business, and make
any risk assessment appropriate to your particular workplace.
To put the potential costs of poor health and safety into context for your business, with a pen and paper
try to list as many costs which might arise following work-related
accidents or ill-health in your workplace. Don't forget to think about it both in terms of time and money.
Now compare your answers
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