The Basics of Risk Management

Basics of Risk Management

An effective Risk Management Framework for an organisation should:

• Provide consistent, structured approach to identifying and managing risk
• Manage risk to avoid  impeding success of your organisation
• Promote a transparent culture around health and safety
• Assist the development of better decision making in your organisation
• Promote understanding of the risk environment which your organisation works within
• Assures governance and management that critical risks are being identified and managed effectively

This may all seem quite dry and uninteresting but there are some very critical points we all need to understand as employees working in conservation.

It is a process and a culture.... or put into different words "Look after your mates and use the processes provided to protect yourself and your workmates"

There are systems which you build in to every day to make your worklife safer - They talk about the "Zero Tolerance" to injury in the workplace.It is your right to come home to your family every day, injuries don't just happen, they happen for a reason and when we report the injuries that do happen, we can set about ways to eliminate this as a risk. Here is a place where incidents can be reported which can help to build a bigger picture of the accidents that do happen.

Some risks you cannot avoid completely, one in particularis driving to the worksite. Other drivers are a variable you cannot control but you can make sure that you have your end sorted like doing a vehicle check, have the best person driving on the day and spread the task around, call people out for unsafe driving habits and have fully licensed and experienced drivers and provide training where necessary. This is a mixture of culture and processes.

One thing that must be acknowledged is that it does cost to have robust safety systems  but not as much as a death or injury!

When we use the Job  Safety Analysis, we need to identify the tasks and associated hazards that we are exposed to. Often they are then looked at to see if we:

Eliminate is great but you may not get any work done, minimise is often the best option

If elimination is not possible consider (in this order): (this is adapted from the WORKSAFE NZ website)

• Substitution: Whether the method of your activity could be replaced by one posing less risk, such as substituting one practice with another, for example there is a very dangerous tree hanging over a track and chainsawing it is very hazardous, trying to use explosives to remove the tree may be the safer option.
• Isolation: Isolating the hazard can prevent people coming into contact with it, for example, a remote controlled machine with people at a distance
• Engineering control measures: Apply physical control measures to minimise risk, such as a chainbrake on a chainsaw.
• Administrative controls:  If engineering controls are not sufficient to remove the risk, you are required to apply processes to make your workplace safer, e.g. job rotation to reduce the time someone is carrying out a hazardous task.
• Personal protective equipment (PPE): If the risk remains after all other measures have been applied, you must supply and ensure the use of personal protective equipment. For example, steelcapped boots, helmets, chaps and safety glasses for chainsaw use.

The format used by DOC is the Job Safety Analysis

The process is what are we doing, what hazards exist and what can we do about it?

The right hand section called the Toolbox Talk is a very good addition which can also be referred to as the tailgate chat. This addresses the things that can be different on the day such as individual wellness, weather conditions, small issues around gear and also confirming the team leader.

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In a nutshell

Overall your responsibility is to be aware, fill in the JSA before you start the work, bring the right gear, wear your PPE and call people out when they are not being safe 

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