HSA: Worker risk assessments make smart business

Company bosses across the country were urged today to ensure the health and safety of employees.

The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) marked the start of European Week for Safety and Health at Work by warning employers to protect workers while improving business performance.

The HSA said all organisations should use this week to refocus their efforts and make sure their places of work were safe.

Inspectors will highlight that risk assessments are the key to reducing workplace accidents and ill-health.

Chief executive Martin O'Halloran said carrying out risk assessments was a legal requirement.

"All businesses, including SMEs, can easily undertake a thorough risk assessment by following the five-step process: identify hazards and those at risk; prioritise risks; decide on preventive action; take action; and monitor and review," he said.

"This will help a business comply with the legislation, but most importantly will help to eliminate many of the unnecessary injuries and deaths we see in Irish workplaces each year."

Last year 67 workplace deaths and 7,757 injuries reported to the authority.

So far this year, more than 5,000 people have been injured and 50 killed at work.

The most recent death was reported yesterday, when a man in his 40s died in an accident at Tara Mines in Co Meath. It is understood he was crushed between a truck and another vehicle in the early hours of the morning.

Throughout EU Safety Week, the HSA said it would highlight the importance of proactively assessing workplace risk.

Authority officials will focus on the issue during workplace inspections and information seminars in Cork, Galway, and Dublin.

Mr O'Halloran said there was also a clear financial benefit, as well as the obvious health and safety benefits, in carrying out effective risk assessments.

"It is consistently shown that investing resources in health and safety is an investment, not a cost," he added.

"In these times of economic uncertainty smart businesses, regardless of their size, know that it pays to invest in the safety, health and wellbeing of their employees."