Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Know the reasons for, and the process o
f
,
risk assessment
SECTION 2
Process of a
ri
sk assessment
Put simply, risk assessment is about deciding what could
go wrong with an activity and agreeing what needs to
be done to prevent that from happening. In your case
the activity is taking part in a residential study visit in
the UK or overseas, which everybody expects will run
smoothly and provide you with an excellent learning
opportunity. However, things can go wrong so carryin
g
out a risk assessment on all parts of the trip ma
k
es
good sense. Your college/school will have a
p
olicy on
completing risk assessment forms for supervised trips
so make sure you know about this before completing
this part of the unit.
Risk ass
e
ssment is a structured process that should
fol
l
ow
the following fi ve steps.
Step 1 - Identifying possible hazards
Hazards vary greatly depending on the nature of the
activity being carried out. The manager of a travel
agency, for example, may need to be aware of trailing
cables, boxes of brochures on the fl oor, bare wiring and
electrical appliances in the staffroom so as to provide a
safe environment for staff, customers and contractors.
Outside the work environment there are likely to be
far more potential hazards to contend with. When
thinking about your study tour, possible hazards could
be related to:
A 'hazard' is anything that c
a
n
c
ause harm, while a 'risk'
is the likelihood, high or
lo
w, that somebody could be
harmed by the hazard,
together with an indication of
how serious the harm
could be. For example, abseiling
at an outdoor activity centre is a hazardous activity,
but the risk that it will cause you harm can be reduced
by taking a number of steps, e.g. being briefed in
advance about safety procedures, wearing the correct
e
q
uipment and being under the supervision of a trained
a
nd qualifi ed instructor.
1.
Travel and transport - for example a poorly-
maintained minibus or coach, overhead luggage
in an aircraft or on a train, taxis without seat belts
fi tted, bikes in a poor state of repair, etc.
2.
Destination itself - e.g. heavy traffi c, poor street
Reasons for risk assessment
lighting, passive smoking, exposure to pollution,
exposed wiring in accommodation, etc.
Risk assessments play an important role in reducing
accidents and incidents in the workplace. As such,
your college or school is obliged to assess risks to staff
and students of all activities that it carries out. Risk
assessments provide the fundamental intelligence on
the hazards, risks and precautions for carrying out an
activity, including trips outside of the premises. They
are a legal requirement under the the Management of
Health and Safety at Work Regulations (1999), which
require employers to assess the risks of activities,
introduce measures to control those risks and tell their
employees about the measures. The risk assessment
process must be carried out by somebody who is
experienced and familiar with the process - this is the
'competent person' under the 1999 Regulations.
3.
Taking part in activities - e.g. swimming, watersports,
aerial sports, horse riding, etc.
4.
What you do in any spare time - for example 'white
knuckle' rides, overcrowding at events, a slippery
surface on the fl oor of a café.
Step 2 - Deciding who might be
harmed and how
For each of the hazards identifi ed in step 1 of the risk
assessment process you will need to consider who
might be harmed and how. For example, all of the
passengers travelling in a taxi without seatbelts could
be injured, or even killed, in the event of a crash. During
