Lancaster University

Hazard Review

The Purpose of a hazard review

The effective control of workplace hazards is a legal requirement placed on the University. Checking the effectiveness of health and safety performance is an essential part of protecting people from harm and of being able to demonstrate to the regulatory authorities that we are legally compliant.

The hazard review is a management tool which tests the adequacy of our health and safety arrangements and provides the Vice Chancellor and you as the Head of Department, with evidence of the strengths and weaknesses in the risk management systems which are in place.

 

The Hazard Review Process

The review will take the form of a discussion with the Head of Health and Safety and an inspection of your department. During the discussion you will be asked to;

• Identify the hazards which arise within your department
• Identify those groups of persons who are at risk
• Describe in general terms the controls which are in place
• Demonstrate an awareness of relevant University Safety Policy
• Provide a copy of the most recent Departmental Inspection

Following the discussion, you will be asked to accompany the Head of Health and Safety on an inspection of all or part of your departmental facilities.

The discussion and inspection will normally take less than half a day to complete.

 

The Output of the hazard review

At the end of the review process a report will be produced. You will be given an opportunity to challenge any factual inaccuracies before being invited to endorse the report.

The final report will be distributed to the Vice Chancellor and members of the Health and Safety Committee.

The report will include a summary chart depicting the hazard profile of your department.

Any shortcomings in the way hazards are controlled or any instances of non-compliance with University Safety Policy will be highlighted and appropriate recommendations made.

 

Actions following a hazard review

Managing recommendations

It is important that the University can demonstrate that any shortcomings in hazard control or policy compliance are recognised and dealt with. To this end recommendations arising from the review are presented in the form of a table within the report.

You should assign a target completion date and name an individual responsible for implementing each recommendation in the appropriate column of this table. This table then becomes your 'Action Plan'.

Audit

The Hazard Review process may, at the discretion of the Head of Health and Safety, trigger a full safety audit of your department. This may be necessary due to the significance and or number of hazards identified, or as a result of any significant findings.

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