Adequate management of occupational risks in a given company requires the implementation of principles in decision-making known as the principles of preventive action (article 15 of the Occupational Risk Prevention Law), which are detailed below:
- Avoid risks.
- Evaluate the risks that can not be avoided.
- Combat the risks at source.
- Adapt the job to the person.
- Plan prevention.
- Adopt measures that put collective protection before personal protection.
- Giving appropriate instructions to workers.
- Allow worker participation.
- Inform and consult workers.
- Provide sufficient and appropriate theoretical and practical training in preventive matters.
But what is risk and how is it evaluated?
Risk is defined as the possibility that a worker suffers a certain harm derived from work.
The risk assessment process can be defined as one that is aimed at estimating the magnitude of those risks that could not be avoided, obtaining the necessary information so that the employer is in a position to make an appropriate decision on the need to adopt preventive measures. and, if so, on the type of measures that should be adopted.
If after carrying out the evaluation it is concluded that the adoption of preventive measures is necessary, it is advisable to clearly indicate the situations in which it is necessary:
- Eliminate or reduce risk, through prevention measures at source, organizational, collective protection, individual protection, or training and information for workers.
- Periodically monitor conditions, the organization and methods of work and the health status of workers.
Firstly, an initial evaluation of the risks that could not be avoided will be carried out in each job in which these risks occur. For which it will be taken into account:
- Existing or planned working conditions.
- The possibility that the worker who occupies it or is going to occupy it is especially sensitive.
Likewise, jobs must be re-evaluated when they may be affected by:
- The choice of work equipment, chemical substances or preparations, the introduction of new technologies or the modification in the conditioning of workplaces.
- The change in working conditions.
- The incorporation of a worker whose personal characteristics or known biological state make him or her especially sensitive to the conditions of the job.
In the world there are several methodologies for risk assessment, in Spain, the most common is the one developed by the National Institute of Safety and Health at Work and is made up of the following stages:
Classification of work activities.
A prior step to risk assessment is to prepare a list of activities carried out in the company, grouping them in a rational and manageable way.
Risk analysis.
At this stage, hazard identification occurs (hazard is defined as the source or situation with the potential for harm in terms of injuries, property damage, environmental damage, or a combination of both); risk estimation (which includes the severity of the damage and the probability of the damage occurring) and risk assessment.
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