Risk Assessment is a legal requirement for all employers, who can 'appoint a competent person' to carry out the task. Achieving this Unit 2 Learning Outcome 2 shows any employer that you are competent to carry out a risk assessment.

"Risk Assessment is a careful examination of what, in your work, could cause harm to people, so that you can weigh up wether you have taken enough precautions, or should do more to prevent harm." HSE "What is Risk Assessment? Risk Assessment offers the opportunity to look at the main hazards and work out what mat happen to other employees. You will then use the results of this assessment to determing priorities for action (Unit 2 LO3)

The HSE do not expect a risk assessment to be perfect, as "it is a means to an end not an end in itself". It is only the part of the process from Hazards - through Risk Assessment - Control. The main aim is to prioritorise action, rather than produce a scientific thesis. The HSE says it should be suitable and sufficient or in the new jargon "fit for purpose". This may be anything from some bullet points to heavy duty stuff. In order for you to detemine what is "suitable & sufficient", you need to be aware of the various ways to assess risk, some of which involve numbers, some charts. We will steer you through some of the main ways. More in "HSE Risk Assessment myths"

Risk Assessment