General Contractor Guide for Health and Safety

Risk Assessment Do it Yourself Tips for Health and Safety

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 provides the framework for the promotion and sets the standard for health and safety in the workplace.

The Act aims to involve everyone in maintaining a healthy and safe working environment. This will include management, employees, self-employed persons, people who exercise control over premises and manufacturers of plant and materials.

The Act also states that the public must be protected where they may be affected by the activities of people at work.

If you take, for example, construction or repair work being carried out at the local underground station that you use, or the pavement that you walk along, you should see various safety aspects in place, for instance;

a barrier around the area that is being worked on;

flashing lights to draw your attention to something;

brightly worded (usually red) warning signs;

alternative walkways highlighted for you, etc;

Methods of drawing the public's attention to a hazard vary, but one thing they will all have in common is the fact that all the companies involved will have had to carry out a Risk Assessment.

A risk assessment of every work task is a requirement of The Management Of Health And Safety At Work Regulations 1992.

The purpose of a risk assessment is to allow the employer to consider what needs to be carried out to effectively complete a particular task, and assess the risks that doing so will arise. Along with how they may effectively comply with the legislation (law).

Where this affects you, Buildadvice customers, is that self employed persons that you may employ to do works for you are covered by this rule also.

Equally, if you employ the services of a large company who have employees that will be working in your home, you will expect them to have carried out a risk assessment before starting work; you are quite at liberty to request a copy of that risk assessment.