While a great deal of precautions are taken by industrial cleaning professionals when they clean manufacturing and industrial spaces, accidents do happen. If chemicals spill, fires erupt or hazardous materials are accidentally released during an emergency cleanup, it is crucial that the correct steps are taken to mitigate any damage, ensure the safety of employees and customers and resume normal operations as soon as possible. This is where a proper risk assessment comes into play.
As a subset of risk management, a risk assessment is the process of reviewing all potential hazards that could be encountered during a particular task or activity. This includes identifying who might be harmed by the hazard, how likely it is to occur and its severity. It also identifies any existing control measures and what else may need to be done to eliminate or at least reduce the impact of the hazard.
When it comes to assessing risks associated with industrial cleaning, the scope needs to be defined clearly in order to accurately plan and assess. This will influence the amount of time and resources that are required to complete the process, so it is important that all relevant stakeholders are involved at the planning stage.
Depending on the type of work being performed, there may be a variety of hazards that need to be considered during an assessment. Some of the most common include chemical, physical and biological hazards. Identifying these hazards is usually achieved by reviewing any information on the specific chemicals being used.
Once all relevant hazards have been identified, they need to be assessed in terms of how severe an effect they could have on those performing the cleaning and who might be harmed as a result. Ideally, these hazards should be eliminated or reduced to a point where they are no longer harmful; however, this may not always be possible. For advice on Industrial Cleaning Services Gloucester, contact https://intocleaning.co.uk/contract-cleaning-services/industrial-cleaning-services-gloucestershire/gloucester
Typically, once the risk has been identified and assessed, it should be recorded. This is generally a very simple exercise and may involve creating an excel spreadsheet that lists the hazards, how they could be harmed, the likelihood of them occurring and the impact this would have on those doing the work. The spreadsheet should also record any existing control measures and what is still needed to be done in order to eliminate or at least reduce the risk. This is then reviewed periodically to ensure that it is still effective and up-to-date.