Student’s Guide author and Electrical Engineer Steven Devine takes us through the risk assessment proceduress. Buy the book from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Students-Gui...

We visited Cambridge Regional College to talk to Charlie about some of the things that need to be taken into consideration when carrying out a risk assessment. Most of us don't realize
it but we're actually carrying out a risk assessment almost every second of every day, from tasks as simple as crossing the road to some more complicated ones like drilling holes into walls.

While you're studying to become an electrician it is absolutely essential that you know how to carry out a risk assessment it's requirements for the qualifications that you'll be doing and when you're working on-site it's absolutely necessary to carry out a documented risk assessment for some of the larger jobs that you'll be involved.

So Charlie, you're training to become an electrician, can you tell me do you find carrying out risk assessments improve the safety of your work environment?

Some things you don't even realize to be a risk, when you actually sit down and analyze, there are ways around making a site safer.

Yes, absolutely even in seemingly safe environments when you sit down and analyze the situation you start to pick out things that may cause a risk in the work that you're going to be carrying out and you can find solutions to make that a little bit safer.

Charlie, today you're going to be carrying out work on a light fitting at a high level can you tell me what considerations you have to make for the environment, what risks there might be and who or what will be affected?

The work I'm going to be doing today is going to affect staff working in the building and members of the public coming in and out of the building.

So, what kind of things could you do to reduce the impact on those people

Well, the first thing that do is keeping communication with the
appropriate people so staff in the area and people coming in and out

Perfect, so you make people aware of what's going on and that you're going to be there. Is there anything else you can do to reduce that further?

Well, I could put barriers up and signs up so they've got visual
and physical warnings of work being taken place.

So you've got quite a lot of methods in there, you've got the communication, you've got the barriers to physically stop people
getting into the area where you're working and you've also got warning signs up. Another thing to consider, you're going to be working at a high level you're going to be using step ladders or towers or something so is there something that you would take into consideration with the equipment that you are going to be using to reach the light?

Well, before I start work I'd like to check that the equipment is safe and in good condition, also that it has the correct certificates.

So you're really setting yourself up for the safest possible scenario you can for carrying out that work.

So Charlie, now that you've completed the risk assessment for this particular job that you're going to do is that fine for the duration of the work that you're going to be doing?

No because in the working environment anything can change at any time so the duration of the job it needs to be reviewed.

Exactly. you know you know what's going to change and you need to make sure that you're aware of the possible risks even in the changing environment. With this particular job what are some of the risks that may be changing throughout the day?

Well if I start early in the morning there might not be many people around or in the building but as the day progresses more people start turning up more risk being in place so to prevent any possible injury or inconvenience communication needs to flow between the two parties.

So you have to keep communicating with the people who you are working with and keep updating the risk assessment as the day goes on.


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