Risk Assessments, including risk of fire
Last updated:Risk assessments are legally required to be conducted prior to the event in order to identify potential hazards and suitable control measures to mitigate the risks.
Risk assessments (Appendix 2) should be completed by a competent person with the necessary combination of training, skills, experience and knowledge of managing health and safety for events, e.g. the event organiser, third party consultant etc., and you should seek assistance if you come across something you’re not sure of.
Buckinghamshire Council uses a 5 x 5 grid to calculate risk, based on the severity and likelihood of harm occurring. More information on risk assessment can be found within the Risk Assessment Guide.
5 steps to carrying out a risk assessment
- List / identify the hazards
- Identify who might be harmed and how
- Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions
- Record your findings and implement them
- Review your assessment and update if necessary
Controlling Hazards
- Eliminate the hazard
- Reduce the impact
- Isolate the hazard
- Control the hazard
- PPE
- Discipline
It is good practice to have the risk assessments reviewed by a competent Health and Safety professional before the event as some hazards may go unnoticed but may have severe consequences if control measures are not implemented. These risk assessments must be reviewed no later than two weeks before the event, with the final version completed one week before the event.
Ensure that a competent ‘Safety Co-ordinator’ with the necessary combination of training, skills, experience, and knowledge of managing health and safety for events is selected to help with managing the health and safety for the event. They will also be able to provide technical/specialist advice where required.
Key findings should be shared between all interested parties.
Please Note: It is important to note that any reasonably foreseeable risk needs to be identified and recorded within the risk assessment - even if there is little or nothing that can be further done to mitigate the risk.
Control measures must be realistic, proportionate and reasonably practicable, e.g., it would not be reasonably practicable to provide the entirety of an outdoor event with cover in poor weather, but it would be reasonably practicable to advise all attendees to wear clothing appropriate for the elements.