Introduction to Fire Safety Management

Principles of risk
assessment
5.1 Introduction
The purpose of risk assessment is to assist an employer
and/or a ‘responsible person’ to identify the preventive
and protective measures required to comply with the
law and in doing so, ensure, as far as reasonably practical,
the safety of their workforce, premises and those
around them who could be affected by their activities.
This chapter aims to provide the basic principles
which are used during activity-based assessments and
the more general risk assessment techniques. Chapter 14
will discuss the fi re risk assessment process which is
based upon many of the issues discussed in this chapter.
An effective risk management strategy is a critical element
in assisting an organisation to successfully plan their
management of safety. Risk assessments conducted by
an organisation will help to identify and quantify areas of
strengths and weaknesses, prioritise actions for controlling
fi re risks and provide a basis for developing a positive
safety culture.
As discussed in Chapter 1, the legal argument for
managing fi re and health and safety is only one of the
This chapter discusses the following key
elements:
➤ Defi nitions relating to risk assessment
➤ Risk assessment and the law
➤ Competencies required for risk assessment
➤ The process of risk assessment
➤ Risk assessment recording and reviewing
procedures.
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three reasons that an organisation should manage safety
effectively.
The same can be said for risk assessment, in so
far as while assessments are required by law, the moral
argument for reducing personal injuries and incidents
of ill health by the use of risk control measures should
also not be overlooked. The fi nancial and economical
Figure 5.1 In order to assess risks from fi re it is necessary
to understand the general principles and practice of
conducting risk assessments
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