Risk Assessment for Keele Geography Dissertations: Guidance Notes.

Risk Assessment for Dissertations

You are required to submit a completed Risk Assessment Form with your Formal Research Proposal. This form must be filled in and signed by you and counter-signed by your advisor before being put into the Research Proposal. You should keep a copy with you as you carry out your research. Copies of the risk assessment form for inclusion in the Formal Research Proposal are available from the secretaries’ office.

The idea of risk assessment is nothing new, you do it all the time, for example when crossing the road you use the Green Cross Code, when hill-walking at weekends you take warm clothing and waterproofs etc. Once you have chosen your dissertation topic you must assess the risks involved in the project. An assessment of risk is nothing more than a careful examination of what, during the work, could cause harm to people (including yourself), so that you can weigh up whether enough precautions have been taken or whether more should be taken to prevent harm. The aim is to make sure that no one gets hurt or becomes ill.

Reasons why we assess risk...

  1. To identify all the foreseeable hazards associated with a piece of work and to try to minimise the risks from them so that no one gets hurt or becomes ill.
  1. To be assured that if an incident or accident does occur, all reasonable precautions had been taken to prevent it. We must be able to demonstrate that this is the case.
  1. It is a legal requirement to assess the risks involved in projects (the risk assessment form is a legal document).

You must attach a completed and signed risk assessment form to both copies of the Formal Research Proposal. This must include evidence that you have discussed the risks associated with carrying out your dissertation project with your dissertation advisor. Proposals not including a risk assessment will not be accepted.

Read the following notes very carefully, then follow the instructions below.

The following notes were adapted from:

  1. Five Steps to risk assessment. Health and Safety Executive, 1994 and
  1. Code of Practice for Safety in Fieldwork. CVCP, 1995

Definitions

Hazard: This is anything that can cause harm e.g. chemicals, electricity, working at height, working in potentially dangerous areas.

Risk: This is the chance, great or small, that someone will be harmed by the hazard.

General Guidance

Decide whether a hazard is significant and whether it is covered by satisfactory precautions so that the risk is small. This needs to be checked when the risks are assessed. For example, electricity can kill, but the risk of it doing so in an office environment is remote, providing that ‘live’ components are insulated and metal casings properly earthed.

Do not over complicate the assessment. The hazards may be few and simple. Checking them is common sense. Some may have already been assessed - e.g. chemicals should already have been assessed and the risks to health and the precautions needed recorded under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1988 (COSHH). If so they can be considered checked and this can be noted. If laboratory work is included as part of the dissertation it should be discussed with the person in charge of the laboratory before completion of the risk assessment form.

If you intend to use the laboratory facilities for your dissertation you must see Ian Wilshaw our laboratory technician to discuss health and safety procedures. You will be asked to abide by the general safety rules of the laboratory as well as following strict health and safety guidelines for carrying out specific laboratory procedures.

Five steps to risk assessment

STEP ONE

Look for the hazards

The first stage in any risk assessment is to identify the potential hazards. Field and laboratory work should be carefully looked at with regard to location and working practices used on the trips and the hazards that could cause significant harm. The risks should be assessed from the hazards that can reasonably be foreseen. Risk assessment is also a continuous procedure - when arriving on site any additional hazards spotted should be assessed and if necessary included in your risk assessment.

Use the checklists on the following page to assist in the identification of any hazards associated with the project. Note however that this checklist is not exhaustive.

STEP TWO

Decide who might be harmed and how

Determine those who could be affected by the hazards identified in step one. Besides the people actually taking part in the activity (yourself), think of others who may be affected even thought they are not directly involved e.g. members of the public, field assistants etc.

STEP THREE

Evaluate the LEVEL OF risk ASSOCIATED WITH EACH hazard and determine what control measures can be implemented to minimise the level of risk

For each of the hazards you have identified in step one, evaluate the level of risk it poses to yourself and others. The level of risk posed by a potential hazard is dependent both upon its probability and the severity of its outcome. Both elements should be considered when evaluating the level of risk. For example, if your fieldwork entailed a high probability of you falling from a cliff resulting in serious injury, then the level of risk would be very high.

At this stage it is crucial that you identify the steps you can take to minimise the level of risk posed by the various hazards you have identified (known as control measures). For example, if you have identified inclement weather as a particular hazard, then the risk can be minimised by ensuring you are appropriately equipped with warm and waterproof clothing. In addition, check whether your precautions and control measures conform to the University guidelines or any other professional standard (see CWIS, Health & Safety Noticeboard, Safety Advisor), to all the legal requirements (e.g. COSHH) etc.

Even after all precautions have been taken, usually some risk remains. It is important that you evaluate and document the residual level of risk as part of your risk assessment. What has to be decided for each significant hazard is whether this remaining risk is high, medium or low.

As mentioned before, the risks on field work should be assessed from the hazards that can reasonably be foreseen. When arriving on site, any additional hazards spotted should be assessed at that time and appropriate action taken and recorded.

Above all, if you consider the level of risk posed by your intended fieldwork to be unacceptably high, you should not undertake your project in its current form. Instead, through consultation with your advisor, you should consider ways in which you can modify the project such that the risk is reduced to an acceptable level.

STEP FOUR

Record your assessment

The significant findings of your assessment must be recorded. A form has been provided for this. There is no need to show how the assessment was performed, provided it can be shown that:

  • a proper check was made
  • consideration was made of who might be affected
  • all the obvious significant hazards were dealt with, taking into account the number of people who could be involved
  • the precautions are reasonable and the remaining risk is low.

STEP FIVE

Review the assessment from time to time and Revise it if necessary

If the dissertation project changes then additions should be made to the risk assessment to take the new hazard(s) into account. If your project changes altogether then you will need to complete a new risk assessment form.

CHECKLISTS OF POSSIBLE HAZARDS

This list is not comprehensive and you may need to think of other risks and hazards.

Risks inherent in the site?

Physical Hazards
extreme weather / mountains & cliffs / glaciers, crevasses, ice etc.
caves, mines, quarries / forests (inc. fire hazards) / freshwater
sea and seashore (tides etc.) / marshes & quicksand / Roadside/traffic
Biological Hazards
venomous, lively or aggressive animals / plants
pathogenic micro-organisms (tetanus etc.)
Chemical Hazards
Agro-chemicals & pesticides / dusts (COSHH assessment) / chemicals on site (COSHH)
Anthropogenic Hazards
machinery & vehicles / power lines & pipelines / electrical equipment
insecure buildings / slurry & silage pits / military activity
attack on the person or property / travel & transport
Hazards to Environment
disturbance of ecosystems / pollution / waste minimisation

Risks inherent in work?

Training
navigation e.g. map & compass work / survival/rescue
specialist training e.g. diving, using machinery / first-aid
Chemical Hazards
COSHH assessments for the work on site
Biological Hazards
COSHH assessments for the work on site / animals plants
Personal Safety
risk of attack / routine communication / communication in emergency

Lone Working, Communication & CONTINGENCY PLANNING

Communication is a very important part of controlling risk. You should try to avoid working alone. This may mean striking a deal with a friend so that they help you with your surveying and you help them to deliver questionnaires. This does not mean that you are working together, simply that you are being sensible and not working alone. It may be that it is not possible to avoid working alone, if so you should take extra care with the next stage. Whether you are working alone or with an assistant, before setting off for your study site, you must give somebody a record of where you are going, what time you left and what time you expect to return. This will probably involve leaving a written record with your family, friends, at a youth hostel or camp site or with local organisations (e.g. mountain rescue). Think about who you are going to inform of your whereabouts (they should be located near to where you are working) and what steps they will take if you fail to return by your stated time. Take a mobile telephone with you (and check you have reception in your field area).

Before undertaking any fieldwork, it is worthwhile considering what steps you would take in the case of either an emergency or a change in conditions. If you have given some thought to this previously, then you will be able to deal with any incidents (minor or major) more effectively. For example, if your project involves working at a field site near a hill top and you encounter poor weather conditions (and an associated risk of hypothermia for example), consider whether there are alternative sites at lower elevations that would be suitable and that would minimise the level of risk. These contingency plans can then be incorporated into your risk assessment.

Checklist for completing the risk assessment form

  1. READ these guidance notes very carefully.
  1. THINK about where you are going to do your dissertation work and make a list of the possible associated hazards. Use the checklist in the handbook as a prompt but remember that not all the possible hazards are listed. There may be others. Think about how the risks can be minimised. If you need advice on laboratory work see The Geography laboratory supervisor, Ian Wilshaw.
  1. COMMUNICATION is a very important part of controlling risk. Make sure you have read the section in this handbook on Lone Working and Communication. Decide who you are going to inform of your whereabouts and what steps they will take if you fail to return by your stated time.
  1. ARRANGE to see your dissertation advisor before the submission date for the formal research proposal. Bring the notes you made when thinking through points 2 and 3. Complete the form together and both sign it.
  1. HAND IN two copies of the risk assessment form, one attached to each copy of your formal research proposal. They should both be signed by both parties. Proposals without an assessment of risk attached will not be marked.
  1. When your Formal Research Proposal is returned, make sure that you keep the risk assessment form and take it with you to your study area to remind you of the hazards and precautions you should be taking.