The old saying “with great risk comes great reward” is certainly a testament to those who are willing to strive for achievement. And while there is without doubt something to this statement, the reality is that there are some risks you want to make sure and plan for. After all, leaving every risk to chance is no longer a risk, it is simply not being responsible.
Risks happen, but avoiding them is possible, or, to go even further, it is necessary. There are all sorts of guidelines in place that you adhere to to make sure your production limits the amount of risk involved with day-to-day operational tasks. However, each industry is unique, and each business has their own style of doing things. And therefore, even though there are standards established, you need to identify the risks incorporated in the way you are completing tasks. Luckily, there are industrial risk assessments that are designed to identify just that.
What is a Risk Assessment?
You certainly understand the purpose of a risk assessment, but perhaps you have some questions as to the risk assessment process, or what steps are taken to complete a risk assessment. While the answers are not the exact same for every business, there are general approaches that are designed to identify and eliminate any problems or hazards that are present in your operations.
For example, if your business relies on machines, there is plenty of room for danger. But again, just like each business process isn’t the same, each machine isn’t the same either. Your business might be manufacturing, relying on a range of machines from steel cutting technologies to soldering arms to warehouse lifts. On the other hand, your business might be food processing, and this could include everything from tractors to sanitation technologies.
The risk assessment process doesn’t simply provide solutions to various machines, it looks at each piece of equipment as a whole, understands how it operates and the purpose it serves, and then inspects it for potential hazards. These hazards, additionally, can come in the form of dangers to the operator, or dangers to the eventual user (such as errors leading to food contamination).
It is for these reasons that the importance of risk assessment is clear. Making sure your entire business processes are safe and that your staff is prepared for potential dangers is key to any operation. And this isn’t limited to the use of machinery, but any step in your business practice.
Regulations Change
Each year brings new technologies to all sorts of industries. Most of these technologies are designed to make the overall job simpler and more efficient, and implementing them into your production processes can be a wonderful forward-moving business decision. While sometimes these technologies are simply software updates to older technologies, sometimes they are game changers that require regulations to be changed, or at least reconsidered.
This is only one example of why a risk assessment is not a one-and-done type of process. In reality, it should be ongoing. By having risk assessments be part of your business operations, you can rest assured knowing that your business and its production efforts are staying up to date with the latest regulation shifts or concerns.
This peace of mind allows you to focus on your business and the industry at large, as opposed to worrying about whether or not your processes are up to date and keeping your workers safe. There will always be concerns when it comes to safety and risk, but by taking advantage of ongoing risk assessments you can minimize these concerns in your mind, and in reality.
Process Safety Management
As mentioned, risk assessment processes are not a one-size-fits-all approach. Rather, they look at and dissect the intricacies of your business and your industry. There are many factors to consider, but we focus on four types of process safety management services:
- Food Safety
- Food Processing Safety Inspections and Assessments
- Industrial Hygienic Services
- FSMA PCQI Training
- General Safety
- Safety Program Development
- Safety Audits & Inspections
- OSHA Mitigation & Support
- HAZCOM Program Development
- Machine Safety
- Safety Observations – Construction
- Safety Observations – General Industry
- Process Safety
- Combustible Dust Explosion Protection
- OSHA Process Safety Management (PSM)
- Process Hazard Analysis (PHA)
- Management of Change Reviews (MOC)
- Material and Chemical Compatibility Reviews
- Arc Flash Study and Electrical Consultation and Design
- Site Inspection and Project Safety
- Construction Project Safety Management and Inspections
- General Industry Safety Management and Inspections
You can see that this list includes a wide range of disciplines and our job is not merely to identify possible hazards affiliated with each area, but to work with you and your team to implement project safety plans for going forward.
And as mentioned previously, this plan is not a solution, as the process will be ongoing. Even after implementing a project safety plan that makes sense for you (based on the risk assessment), we will continue to work closely with you to make sure everything is running smoothly. Remember, things can and do change unexpectedly, and you need a safety management services company that is ready to adjust when circumstances change, when regulations change, or when other unforeseen events arise.
From identifying initial concerns to maintaining safe and efficient work environments, you need to perform an industrial risk assessment and have a plan in place for keeping your business up to standard for the future. A risk assessment puts you in control of your business as you know where you stand when it comes to safety and guideline compliance.
Remove the worry and contact us today to get started on a risk assessment and safety management plan that makes sense for you and for your business.