CITB Managers Risk Assessment and Method Statements 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is a 'dynamic risk assessment'?
- A risk assessment carried out using specialist software
- A rapid, ongoing reassessment of risks during a task when conditions change unexpectedly, carried out by the worker or supervisor in real time (Correct answer)
- A formal risk assessment reviewed dynamically every three months
- A risk assessment only applicable to dynamic or moving plant
Correct answer: A rapid, ongoing reassessment of risks during a task when conditions change unexpectedly, carried out by the worker or supervisor in real time
A dynamic risk assessment is a real-time evaluation of risk when a situation changes or unexpected hazards arise. It supplements the pre-planned risk assessment but does not replace it. Workers and supervisors must be trained to recognise changing conditions.
Question 2: Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, which employers are required to record their risk assessment?
- All employers regardless of workforce size
- Employers with five or more employees must record the significant findings of risk assessments (Correct answer)
- Only employers in high-risk industries
- Only employers who have had an accident in the past year
Correct answer: Employers with five or more employees must record the significant findings of risk assessments
Employers with five or more employees must record the significant findings of their risk assessments in writing. Employers with fewer than five employees are not legally required to record but are strongly advised to do so.
Question 3: A Method Statement (safe system of work) details:
- The financial arrangements for the project
- The sequence of work activities, the hazards involved, and the controls to be implemented at each stage to ensure the work is carried out safely (Correct answer)
- Only the PPE required for the task
- The number of workers needed for each task
Correct answer: The sequence of work activities, the hazards involved, and the controls to be implemented at each stage to ensure the work is carried out safely
A Method Statement sets out how a specific task will be carried out safely: the sequence of operations, the hazards at each stage, the controls to address them, the resources required, emergency arrangements, and who is responsible.
Question 4: Who should be involved in preparing a risk assessment for a complex construction task?
- Only the health and safety manager, in isolation
- Competent persons with knowledge of the work (including site managers and experienced workers), along with health and safety advisers where appropriate (Correct answer)
- Only external consultants
- Only the principal designer
Correct answer: Competent persons with knowledge of the work (including site managers and experienced workers), along with health and safety advisers where appropriate
Effective risk assessments are best produced by those with direct knowledge of the work: site managers, supervisors, experienced operatives, and health and safety advisers. Worker involvement is a legal duty and improves the quality of the assessment.
Question 5: What does 'residual risk' mean in the context of a risk assessment?
- The risk before any controls are applied
- The risk that remains after all reasonably practicable controls have been implemented (Correct answer)
- The risk identified by HSE inspectors only
- The financial risk associated with a task
Correct answer: The risk that remains after all reasonably practicable controls have been implemented
Residual risk is the level of risk remaining after all reasonably practicable controls have been implemented. If residual risk is still unacceptably high, additional controls must be introduced before work can proceed.
Question 6: A risk assessment rates a hazard as 'high risk'. Which of the following correctly describes the relationship between likelihood and severity?
- High risk means the task is always immediately dangerous to life
- High risk means the combination of the likelihood of an incident occurring and the severity of the harm if it does occur produces a high overall risk rating (Correct answer)
- High risk only means the severity is high, not the likelihood
- High risk means more than 10 workers are exposed to the hazard simultaneously
Correct answer: High risk means the combination of the likelihood of an incident occurring and the severity of the harm if it does occur produces a high overall risk rating
Risk is a function of likelihood (how probable is an incident?) multiplied by severity (how serious would the harm be?). A high risk rating can result from high likelihood with moderate severity, or moderate likelihood with very high severity.
CITB Managers Risk Assessment and Method Statements 2
What is a 'dynamic risk assessment'?