The University's is to:

'As far as is reasonably practicable, manage and control hazards and risks resulting from or arising due to its activities and undertakings and the activities of others where they have an impact upon University staff, students, visitors and volunteers'.

Risk assessment is a common requirement of all health and safety legislation; rather than just reacting to incidents and making improvements after the event. The emphasis is to prevent:

• Incidents causing injury or death
• Near misses (because they could well cause injury if they happen again)
• Work-related ill health
• Repetitive strain injuries
• Exacerbation of current physical and/or psychological and/or health conditions
• Damage to equipment and the environment
• Stress related ill health / mental health problems

The Northumbria University Risk Assessment Code of Practice complies with current Health and Safety legislation, including The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, which state that risk assessments produced shall be suitable and sufficient, current and retrievable.

All faculties, services and departments are responsible for undertaking their own risk assessments; as detailed in the University's Health and Safety Policy. But it should be remembered that:

• The law requires that only significant risks are assessed and controlled;
• It is NOT about creating huge amounts of paperwork, but rather identifying sensible measures to control the risks in your workplace.
• The depth of the assessment should reflect the complexity of the activity and the potential harm which could occur.
• For some risks, other regulations require particular control measures (Chemical, radiation, pressure systems etc.)

Risk assessment is a 5 stage process, as defined by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE):

• Identify the hazards
• Who might be harmed and how
• The control measures required
• Record your findings
• Review the assessment

A link to the HSE guidance is provided here: 5 Steps to Risk Assessment.

Typically, risk assessments will consider:

• The work area, such as the department, workshop or laboratory and the hazards present there
• The task being performed
• The tools, equipment and materials being used to fulfil that task
• The control measures necessary to reduce those risks to the lowest acceptable level

A full list of completed risk assessments for each Faculty, Service and Department can be found in the Risk Assessment Library.  

Who should carry out risk assessments?

Those responsible for ensuring that risks are adequately controlled. 

In practice, the task of actually carrying out risk assessments should usually be delegated to those people who are most familiar with the activity, project or equipment being assessed, or who create the risk. These individuals, who must attend relevant training, may be line managers, academic/programme leads, technical, professional support, post graduate/researcher or individuals directly involved in the work. They all should understand the nature of the work and are best placed to ensure that on a day-to-day basis, risks are adequately controlled.

Remember that the objective is to manage and reduce risk, not to produce paper! Managers must ensure that risk assessments reflect actual working practices, and identify scope for improvement in working practices based on legislative requirements and accepted standards/good practice. 

Risk Assessments are also not as difficult or as arduous as people think. They are simply a careful examination of what in the workplace could cause harm, who it could harm, for example: staff, students, neighbours, emergency services, the environment so we can then decide if enough is being done to control the risk or if we need to do more.

Contact the Central Health and Safety Team (please email: crhealthandsafety@northumbria.ac.uk, for more information or if you require any training in the principles of risk assessment, visit Learning and Development.

More information on completing risk assessments can be found in Risk Assessment Code of Practice and HSE Risk Assessment Information.

Risk Assessment Forms

Blank Risk Assessment Form

The risk assessment accordions listed below, also show a realistic level of detail to be included and are a starting point only.

Any assessments derived from these templates and examples must be specific to the area or task being assessed, and the risk ratings should reflect the hazards present, the complexity of the task, the potential harm from that activity and likelihood of occurrence.