Health & Safety FAQ: Could my activities affect others?

Q.

When we think about Health and Safety, we often think how this will affect our employees, but have you thought how this could affect others? And what do we mean by "others"?

A.

When understanding how our business could affect people, we need to consider several groups. Obviously employees, but could we also be putting others at risk?

Such "others" may be:

• visitors
• customers
• contractors
• other businesses
• volunteers (for charities).

The best way to tackle this issue is to look at your business, and note the hazards that relate to your business to enable it to operate. Perhaps transport, machinery, noise, chemicals and anything else that may risk the safety or health of people. Then consider who this will affect besides your employees, for example: other road users, your clients visiting your premises, and/or contractors working on your equipment.

Once you understand the hazards you have, and the type(s) of people they affect, you're halfway to creating a risk assessment!