For more information on Simplified Safety, click here.

By Scott Krumwiede, Manager of Manufacturing Performance Solutions, RWD Technologies

A risk assessment is a formal process that must be followed to evaluate safety risk potentials throughout all modes and operations of a machine. This process identifies the potential problems that could injure the operator, maintenance personnel, or even individuals walking past a machine.

By evaluating the machine and the environment around it for safety, a risk assessment lets a manufacturer know what needs to be changed to meet applicable codes. It also significantly lowers the risk to machine operators. If an injury occurs, OSHA will ask what the employer has done to make the area safe. A risk assessment shows the employer has taken steps to understand and correct any identified associated hazards and standard violations.

Ideally, a risk assessment should be conducted at three different periods during the life of the equipment: the design, built, and installed stages.

However, the best time to conduct an assessment is during the design stage. During this period, safety problems may be mitigated through design or re-design to eliminate the hazard. After the equipment is built and installed, it is usually more costly to mitigate the hazard because of high rework costs.

The four most important factors taken into account during a risk assessment are:

• Severity of foreseeable injuries
• Probability of occurrence
• Frequency of exposure to hazard
• A list of actions required to meet applicable standards (showing appropriate actions to ensure personnel safety)

A risk assessment should also identify tasks and hazards that may not have been considered in the past, including safety risks associated with maintenance, teamwork, and troubleshooting activities, as well as general access to the equipment.

The person(s) conducting the risk assessment should be trained and understand the applicable OSHA and ANSI codes. They must also have a thorough knowledge of equipment and manufacturing processes.

RWD's experience in manufacturing processes, safety standards, and our diverse manufacturing background allows us to provide the right people to perform thorough risk assessments. These safety professionals follow an eight step process to perform a risk assessment:

• Assessment Preparation — visiting the site to determine scope of work
• Communicate — present the recommended assessment process and what equipment is effected to the customer
• Identify Hazards — list anything that has the potential to cause harm
• Identify Risks — single out each exposure to the hazards
• Evaluate Risk Severity — On a scale of 0-10, 10 being most severe, prioritize the hazards and risks to be addressed
• Set Controls — Apply safety remedies to mitigate the hazards and risks
• Record Results — Reevaluate the machines after the safety solutions are put in place. The goal is to lower severity rating to 1 or 2
• Perform Audit — RWD recommends auditing the machines and processes around the machine that affect the machine if there have been modifications made to the equipment and/or processes following the initial risk assessment and mitigation

The advantage to third party assessment, like the one described above, is that it eliminates potential oversights of risk due to employee process or equipment ownership. A third party assessment also removes biases from the study and issue reports based solely on facts.

The bottom line is risk assessments must be completed to minimize or bring risk levels to a tolerable state. These assessments dissect the equipment by evaluating possible hazards of the operations that are measured against the real risks to employees, contractors, visitors, and others who are exposed to the equipment. Every business is legally required to safeguard its employees. Risk assessments not only serve to protect workers, but help decrease operating and liability costs for everyone.

For more information on Simplified Safety, click here.