This post was originally written as a newsletter article for ETNZ (July 2016).
In the May newsletter I started to share how I tackle risk management for events and shows. To re-cap, the steps I generally take are:
- Identify the hazards and their associated risks.
- Assess the risks.
- Evaluate the risks.
- Manage / control the risks.
- Monitor and maintain the controls.
Last month I covered “identifying the hazards and their associated risks”. At this stage I’m going to skip the “assess” and “evaluate” steps. As I mentioned in the last newsletter, risk assessments are a very useful tool to get an accurate picture of what the likelihood of risks occurring is, and what the possible harm could be. This is really handy in many instances, particularly when you are dealing with multiple layers of management or need to set priorities for action, but it isn’t compulsory. The “law” bits are that you identify the hazards, you manage or control the risks associated with these, and you monitor the controls you put in place to ensure they’re working.
(As an aside I will possibly come back to risk assessment at a later date, but to be honest I find it quite hard to explain in written form, without the aid of my waving arms and a pile of post-it notes… a seminar or workshop session would work better for this…).
So this month I’m jumping straight to “manage/ control the risks”. This is the bit where I decide what things I’m going to put in place to stop people getting hurt from the hazards and risks I’ve identified.
There are laws attached to this and like most laws, they are mind-numbingly boring to read. But essentially what the Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA) and regulations say is where you can you must eliminate any risk to health and safety (meaning remove the hazard completely). If you can’t eliminate the risk then you need to minimise it by either:
- Substituting all or part of the hazard with something less dangerous; or
- Isolating the hazard to prevent anyone coming into contact with it; or
- Implementing engineering controls to the hazard that reduce the risks of harm occurring (these are built in things that stop someone being exposed to a hazard e.g. cut-off switches on machinery, ventilation systems in a building, micro-switches etc.)
If any risk still remains after you’ve considered all of the above controls, you must reduce it further with administrative controls. These include things like worker training, signs, safe work systems, supervision, inspections etc.
And finally if any risk still remains after applying all of the above you must reduce it further with personal protective equipment (PPE). PPE includes things like safety boots, hard hats, gloves, eye protection, hearing protection, ventilators etc.
This order for management of risks to health and safety is called the hierarchy of control. Here’s a picture…
So to use an example from last month… “A pair of scissors (hazard) sitting in a drawer becomes a risk when they are taken out and handed to an actor who will possibly, in a moment of frivolous excitement, decided to run with them”.
This is how I think it through when deciding on controls to manage the risk:
- Level 1: Can I eliminate the scissors? No, because they are needed in Act 1, Scene 3 to cut a delicate pattern in a paper doll. Can I eliminate the excitable actor? No, he too is needed in that scene (dammit!).
- Level 2: Can I apply substitution, isolation or engineering controls? Yes, I can substitute the really pointy scissors with ones that have slightly rounded tips and mock the paper doll cutting action… but they still need to be sharp and pointy enough to be believable.
- Level 3: Is there any remaining risk? Yes, a little. How can this be further reduced? I can work out a plan whereby the stage manager hands the scissors to the actor immediately before he enters the stage and gets them back immediately after he exits.
- Level 4: Stab proof vests for stage crew? Probably not necessary and a bit costly for the remaining very low risk.
Tune in next month for monitoring and maintaining controls.
Cathy Knowsley – HiViz Event Management www.hivizevents.co.nz (and ETNZ committee member).
