The Risky Business Of Risk Assessment In Manufacturing

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Manufacturing processes that often deal with the handling of hazardous materials and heavy machinery are currently responsible for as many as 5% of workplace fatalities. With even one serious safety setback in this area at risk of costing both your best employees and your reputation at large, it’s hardly surprising that there’s an expectation of risk assessments at least each time you introduce new machines, substances, and procedures. 

Unfortunately, the fact that accidents have continued to happen despite compliance here means that, often, we misunderstand either what risk assessment should entail, or how to put that information to good use. To ensure that you remove these risk factors from your risk assessments moving forward, we’re going to delve into the technicalities of this risky business. 

Identify hazardous waste

While risk can be defined as the chance or probability of a specific effect as a result of manufacturing processes, hazards concern the substances that create those risks in the first place. In other words, there’s no way to address risk without first identifying hazards overall. Predominantly, you should seek to identify, analyze, track, and document any hazards that you come across during routine walkarounds. To make sure that you’re identifying every possible hazard, you’re especially going to want to take note of crucial considerations at this stage, including – 

• The raw materials or products employees are handling
• The machinery used
• Overall workplace environments
• Historic accidents
• Etc.

All of this will help you to gain the clearest possible idea not just of obvious hazards, but of those that may otherwise slip under the radar, and pose the highest levels of risk as a result of that. 

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Perfect methods of risk assessment

Even understanding your hazards isn’t going to help if you don’t also perfect methods of risk assessment in the first place. Predominantly, considering the severity of hazards that you’re seeking to address should help you to select the most efficient and relevant form of risk assessment out of options that include – 

• What-if analysis: Assessment that requires the asking of what-if questions about what could go wrong, and what could happen as a result.
• Hazard and operability analysis (HAZOP): An expert-led structured and systematic evaluation of existing processes and operations to understand risks. 
• Task analysis: The process of identifying all potential causes of hazardous events.
• Failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA): A system of risk analysis that considers where and how systems could fail, and what will happen to the system in its entirety if that happens. 

The method that best suits your needs is going to depend on a great deal of unique-to-you factors, including the processes that your factory engages in, the hazards handled, and even the expertise/numbers of your employees. In some cases, multiple approaches, e.g. what-if analysis paired with HAZOP, are the best possible way to effectively oversee every element of satisfactory risk assessment and management overall.

Evaluate overall risk

When you evaluate risks, you determine their significance, thus better understanding their realistic implications and the levels of action or resources necessary to address them. Obviously, the effective handling of all identified risks is fundamental, but you also need to evaluate the severity of each one in turn through methods that include – 

• Qualitative risk analysis: Probability and impact ratings that allow you to quickly and effectively rank risks.
• Quantitative risk analysis: A numeric estimate of risk effect on project objectives such as cost and schedule, typically used to develop contingency reserves. 

This level of focus, and overall evaluation, especially enables the effective categorization and handling of all risks that should, rightly, require varying levels of attention. After all, you don’t need to waste huge amounts of resources addressing a risk that’s unlikely to come to fruition, while risks faced every day should be prioritized at every level. It’s especially true to say that 80% of impact here typically comes from around 20% of the risk, meaning that ensuring the greatest impact of your safety efforts requires a complete understanding of risk intricacies. Or, to simplify the issue, consider that effective evaluation can predominantly be brought back to two simple questions, which are – 

1. Can I remove this hazard?
2. If not, how can I control its risk to minimize harm?

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Take action based on your findings

Risk assessment in itself is a small part of a much larger safety focus that requires you to act on whatever hazards you’ve documented so far. The good news is that, if you’ve already been thorough in your research, evaluation, and documentation, then you should be halfway towards this goal. From there, effective action will typically come down to a few common focuses such as – 

• Less risky alternatives: Switching the machinery or chemicals handled to safer options where possible is an obvious and effective way to eliminate your most worrying hazards. 
• Protective equipment or machinery: Where you’re unable to entirely remove risks from your working environment, protective equipment such as PPE can significantly help to offset hazardous contact. Equally, the installation of additional machinery like the positive displacement blowers that you can learn more about here can help to at least minimize exposure to hazards where possible.
• Changes in workplace organization: Small workplace changes, such as limiting traffic through certain areas or dedicating specific teams to set areas each day, can help to eliminate the number of people exposed to risks, as well as additional risks like cross-contamination.
• Improving first aid and hand washing facilities: While prevention in the first place is the main focus of risk assessments, putting precautions including first aid kits and washing facilities in place is an equally imperative aspect of safety overall, even if the worst were to happen.

A final word

Manufacturing is an industry rife with risks, and in many cases, addressing this isn’t as easy as removing hazards the moment they make themselves known. Instead, proactive measures tailored towards evaluated risks are fundamental for safe working. Make sure that you’re offering precisely that by approaching risk assessment with these crucial pointers in mind.