By Brian Huber, U.S. Safety Depot
Many companies are not aware of the increased requirements for risk assessment for machines. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of US ANSI standards that state that risk assessment SHALL be conducted before operating any machine. The trigger for this change came from the Robotics Safety Standard RIA 15.06 that was adopted in 1999.
Since that standard was released, virtually all of the ANSI B11 standards have been revised to state that risk assessment shall be completed before operating any machine. As of 2002, NFPA 79 also requires risk assessment to be conducted before deciding which type of E-Stop- Stop Category 0, 1 or 2, should be used. If you’re a little shaky regarding these Stop Categories, you might want to check out NFPA 79 in some more detail, this is a vital aspect of E-Stops.
OSHA conducts risk assessments, but typically it is only done after an accident in order to determine the amount of the citation. Obviously, you don’t want OSHA to conduct a risk assessment for you; it is much less expensive to do it yourself!
If you’ve never conducted a risk assessment before, there are a few basics that all risk assessment methods have in common.
Risk Assessment Components
All risk assessments evaluate at least two variables- Severity and Frequency. Many others also add a third component- Probability of Occurrence. There is some disagreement regarding Probability, but as long as the assessment is done in good faith and the results are documented, the end result should be satisfactory. It is more important to be consistent than to worry about this potential issue (click here for picture example).
Flow charts are often used in the US standards to aid in conducting the assessment. The chart (click here for chart) illustrates this flow method and also adds another important aspect- The desirability of designing out the hazard and attempting to properly avoid or eliminate using PPE. The proper use and expense of PPE is well understood to have a big impact on company profits. It is far cheaper and more effective to design a machine that can reduce reliance on PPE, than to depend on employees properly following safety rules.
Some other issues to consider:
Risk assessment is a team effort. Operators, maintenance personnel, engineers and safety people should all be involved in the assessment. Risk assessment is not a one-person job. There are too many variables and tasks in machine operation to leave this for one person to determine.
By using the team approach, there is also another advantage- employee buy-in of the safeguarding that is often required to be added to the machine. Sabotage and complaints will be kept to a minimum.
It is more cost effective for a company to learn how to conduct risk assessment than to employ an outside firm to do the assessment.
When preparing to conduct the assessment, use a camcorder to record the machine in operation. Then view the video in a room where noise isn’t an issue and interference of the work will be kept to a minimum. Operator anxiety will also be reduced if there isn’t a lot of discussion around the machine.
So where do you go for risk assessment information?
The “official” source is ANSI B11-TR3-2000. This document is a technical report, but ANSI B11.19 states that this method is the preferred way. There are also others:
- RIA 15.06 provides an excellent risk assessment that also helps determine numbered categories.
- ANSI B155.1 (packaging safety) also provides a good and understandable method.
- ANSI Z244.1 (alternatives to Lock Out/Tag Out) presents a short assessment method.
Mil Standard 882 is another source of risk assessment and also has the advantage of no cost. The other risk assessment methods are only available through ANSI at a typical cost of $65. See: http://webstore.ansi.org .
Another free risk assessment can be found here:
http://machinesafetyspecialists.com/RiskAssessment.aspx Feel free to use this Excel-based spreadsheet and modify it to for your own requirements. It isn’t copy protected and any portion of it can be changed as you desire. Simply go to the site and view the spreadsheet. If it seems as though it will fulfill your needs, go to the Contact Us page and fill in the info. You’ll soon have a free risk assessment spreadsheet with examples.
Brian Huber, U.S. Safety Depot (brian@ussafetydepot.com). U.S. Safety Depot is a service-disabled veteran-owned company with experience in reducing injury frequency, improving personal protective equipment quality and reducing costs associated with protecting employees in the workplace. Learn more at www.ussafetydepot.com.