Specify Any Action Required Record the Risk Assessment Carry out the Actions Review the Risk Assessment

54 Remember to ask about the existence and application of a work permit system and to check the scope and effectiveness of its application from a health protection viewpoint. An assessment should be suitable and sufficient. Clearly, therefore, it should be conducted by a competent person and the type of individual that constitutes such a person will vary from one workplace to another. In some cases the assistance of a fully qualified occupational hygienist will be necessary because of the more complex nature of the risks being investigated. A critical point to be appreciated is that the term assessment is not synonymous with the measurement or monitoring of occupational exposures, but embraces wider considerations, such as the factors already referred to, as well as relevant inquiry about, and keen observation of, the jobstasks under scrutiny. On the other hand, the findings from measurements of occupational exposures to chemical, physical or biological agents in the workplace may form an important element of the overall assessment. In other cases such monitoring is unnecessary or inappropriate. Workplace Monitoring It may be necessary to obtain some monitoring data, particularly regarding exposure levels, as part of the overall assessment of health risks. Where workplace monitoring is required, the aim is to assist in ensuring the health protection of employees and the sampling strategy adopted should be appropriate to the basic reason for the type of survey to be conducted. The latter ranges from initial monitoring of a plant or operation, in order to establish a baseline situation, to the periodic monitoring of a plant or operation in order to check, at regular intervals, that acceptable conditions are being maintained.

5.3.4 Specify Any Action Required

Where the assessment indicates a risk to health, it is necessary to specify the steps to be taken to achieve effective control. This is an important, integral 55 part of the assessment, which is NOT deemed to have been completed without this aspect being addressed.

5.3.5 Record the Risk Assessment

Although assessments are important in the preventative approach to health protection, they are only of limited value unless they are recorded in writing, and dated and signed by the assessor. The quality of an assessment is also likely to be enhanced when verification of verbal information pertaining to fundamental aspects of the assessment can be obtained, in one form or another, and documented.

5.3.6 Carry out the Actions

It is important to ensure that recommendations from any assessment are implemented properly. Many assessments fail to control exposure because the actions are not implemented.

5.3.7 Review the Risk Assessment

The initial assessment should not be regarded as being relevant forever. Periodic re-assessments should be undertaken regularly and in any event whenever it is suspected that the assessment is no longer valid. The following are the types of factor that should trigger such a further assessment of the health risks in the latter situation: Significant changes to:  The substancesagents involved andor their sources.  The plant e.g. modified engineering control.  The process or method of work.  The volume or rate of production. Adverse results from:  Personal exposure monitoring.  Health surveillance monitoring e.g. eudiometry, biological monitoring.  Monitoring of process control e.g. fugitive emissions. Cases of occupational disease. 56 New information on the risks to health of chemical, physical or biological agents. In the absence of known changesadverse resultscasesnew information the period between reassessments should depend upon the nature of the risks, the work and a judgement on the likelihood of changes occurring. In any event it is suggested that all assessments should be reviewed at least every two years.

5.4 Expert Systems and Control Banding