Written By: Number & Rev. Level (Rev.

Date):
K. Walker Element 5.1.6, Issue 1
Revised By: Original Issue Date:
D. Speidel August 4, 2000
Approved By: Page:
A. Leuterman Page 1 of 7
Title:
RISK ASSESSMENT

PURPOSE

This procedure outlines the responsibilities and activities required ensuring the Risk Assessment
process is carried out consistently and effectively in a formal manner.

Implementation of this procedure ensures a Risk Assessment is carried out that helps to identify all the
risks associated with an activity or process.

SCOPE

Covers all risk assessments associated with an operation, location, activity or process conducted by, or
on behalf of M-I L.L.C.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The identification of hazards and the assessment of risks are a key part of M-I’s policy for HSE. Risk
assessment is carried out on an ongoing basis and to be effective it is essential that all our employees
co-operate wherever they can in the risk assessment process to ensure that the assessment accurately
reflects the process, which is undertaken.

Managers and supervisors are responsible for ensuring the risk assessment process is conducted,
regularly reviewed and remedial issues identified and actions taken. The location manager shall
monitor the risk assessment progress on a regular basis.

If at any time an employee considers that there is a serious hazard in their area or there are deficiencies
in existing HSE measures, or an Opportunity For Improvement has been identified, the employee must
inform their line supervisor and complete a hazard observation card as soon as possible.

Records shall be maintained by the designated document controller.

PROCEDURE

The purpose of the risk assessment stage of risk management is to obtain an idea of the scale or size of
the risk. It should also provide a ranking of the hazards identified to enable priorities to be agreed for
further action. The M-I risk assessment process is based on a qualitative approach. This expresses the
level of risk in descriptive terms such as: trivial, acceptable and unacceptable and is based on judgment
rather than calculation.

M-I defines risk as a measure of the likelihood that a particular hazard will occur taking into account
the severity of the harm. To carry out the analysis of risk involves consideration of these two factors.
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Severity of harm
This will require the assessor or assessment team to make a judgment of the possible outcome of the
hazard. The assessor(s) should use common sense as a guide, but further guidance can be provided by
information such as: accident statistics, manufacturer data or regulatory guidance. This information
can help assessors to arrive at a more accurate and realistic result.

When considering how severe the harm from a hazard could be, it is important to be realistic. Almost
every hazard could result in death, however, a practical approach must be adopted. Factors affecting
severity include:
• The number of people who may be affected in one incident.
• Individuals especially at risk because of disabilities of medical conditions.
• Concentration of a substance, speeds, heights, weights, amount of energy etc.
• Potential damage to the environment.

When analyzing the severity of a hazard, any control measures already provided such as guards, PPE
or a Permit to Work should not be taken into account unless they reduce the risk at source. That is,
they make the hazard less dangerous and cannot be affected by lack of maintenance, human error,
willful removal etc.

Recording Severity
Judging the severity of the most probable effect of a hazard can be entered on the general risk
assessment form in the Severity column as a number using the following scale: (See next page)
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RISK ASSESSMENT Page 3 of 7 Element 5.1.6, Issue 1

No personal injury / Limited materials damage / No delay in operations/ no

damage to the environment 1

Cost of equipment/materials damage and clean-up – Less than $1,000 LIGHT

Personal injury with no lost time / Short stop in operation / Minor environmental
emission – could cause breach of regulations 2

Cost of equipment/materials damage and clean-up – Between $1,000 and MODERATE

$25,000
Lost time accident / Major damage to equipment – delay in operations /
Significant environmental emission with definite environmental effect, breach in 3
regulations
SEVERE
Cost of equipment/materials damage and clean-up – Between $25,000 and
$1,000,000
Fatal accident / Disabling injury / Major damages leading to more than 3 days
stop in operation / Major environmental emission with extensive damage and 4
breach of regulations
CATASTROPHIC
Cost of equipment/materials damage and clean-up – in excess of $1,000,000

It should be noted that this use of numbers does not make this a quantitative method of risk analysis.
Numbers provide a short hand way of recording the judgment of severity and likelihood and makes it
easier to create a list of priorities. It is important not to become too preoccupied by figures, as part of
the purpose of risk assessment is to identify the measures needed to improve HSE in the workplace or
comply with relevant statutory provisions and these figures are designed to help with the prioritizing of
such measures. Therefore, the objective of this process is not to arrive at a certain number but to
provide a systematic method of ensuring that severity and likelihood are analyzed carefully and a
record made of the analysis for future reference and review.

Likelihood
The likelihood of the hazard actually causing harm also needs to be judged to ensure that a practical
approach is taken for evaluating the chances of a situation actually happening. Factors affecting the
likelihood include:
• The number of times the situation occurs.
• Position of the hazard.
• Distractions.
• Duration of exposure.
• Lighting.
• Quantities of materials involved.
• Environmental conditions.
• Competence of people involved.
• Condition of equipment.
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Other important factors to take into account are control measures already provided or to be provided.
However, in evaluating the likelihood of harm, it will be necessary to take into account the possibility
of the control measures not being used because of human error, lack of maintenance, difficulty in
compliance and complexity etc. It is essential to discover how the task is actually being carried out
rather than assessing the chances based on how the task is supposed to be carried out. The efficiency
of the control measures in preventing harm will also affect the likelihood. Control measures will be
identified during the Job Safety Analysis process, a check of company policy, procedures etc. may be
required to determine if the control measures listed are acceptable.

Any additional control measures required to minimize risk must be recorded or referred to on the risk
assessment form. This may be a reference to necessary precautions, systems and procedure for the
hazard or may refer to a specific safety instruction sheet, specification or manufacturer’s operating
instruction etc.

When an assessor is determining the likelihood of harm, specialist knowledge may be required to
ensure that the rating is accurate and practical. Where specific risk assessments are necessary to
comply with legislation a more detailed risk assessment will be carried out under the guidance of the
associated regulations. If a detailed risk assessment has been carried out there is no need for further
consideration of the hazard on the general risk assessment form other than a cross reference to the
specific risk assessment. Where environmental hazards have identified, the assessment of their risk
should be carried out using the Environmental Aspects and Impacts Procedure.

Recording Likelihood

The judgment of the likelihood of the hazard actually causing harm can be entered on the general risk
assessment form in the likelihood column as a number using the following scale:

Low/Very low. (Annually/Less than once per year) 1

Moderate (Up to once per year) 2

Considerable (Once per month) 3

High (Almost each time the operation takes place) 4

Decisions about likelihood

The most important factor in determining likelihood is the consideration of control measures. The
following provides guidance on how control measures can affect the likelihood of a hazard causing
harm:
1. Harm from a hazard is certain or very likely if no control measures are provided at all and/or if
one or more of the following factors also apply:
• the hazard is a cause of large numbers of injuries or ill health in statistics.
• people are continuously exposed to the hazard.
• the hazard is difficult to see.
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• the hazard is encountered in adverse environmental conditions.

• HSE is not considered a high priority by those involved.
2. Harm is very likely if the control measure provided depend on an individual using them on every
occasion (.g. PPE, safe working procedure etc.) or if training or supervision are minimal, and/or if
one or more of the above factors are present.
3. Harm is likely if control measure provided depend on an individual using them or adjusting them
on every occasion, or if training is provided and work supervised, and/or any of the factors given
for certain or imminent harm is present.
4. Harm may happen if control measures exist which do not depend on the operator but can break
down or can be removed or defeated, or if there is no defined system of maintenance or supervision
of the control measures. Other factors include hazards, which are a significant cause of injury or ill
health, or those to which a number of people are often exposed.
5. Harm is unlikely if there is a defined system of supervision and maintenance, or if training is
provided and repeated regularly. Other factors making harm unlikely include hazards which cause
few injuries or cases of ill health, or those to which a few people are occasionally exposed.
6. Harm is very unlikely if control measures are unlikely to break down, be removed or defeated
easily, if there is a maintenance procedure in place, or if training and supervision are provided.
Other factors which make harm very unlikely include hazards which rarely cause injury, ill health
or damage, those to which only one or two people are exposed infrequently, or the existence of a
positive HSE culture within the organization.

Risk Assessment Outcome

The next stage in the risk assessment process is to arrive at the risk assessment outcome (Outcome).
This is determined by the multiplication of the Severity value by the Likelihood value, this gives the
outcome based upon each hazard. This number is entered in the Outcome column of the Risk
Assessment Form.

The numbers in the Outcome column provide an indication of priority and the extent of the risk that
remains despite the control measure already provided. The information provided by this step will be
used to evaluate whether the risk is adequately controlled or not in the next stage of the risk
management process.

LIKELIHOOD
High chance 4 8 12 16

Considerable 3 6 9 12
chance
Moderate chance 2 4 6 8

Low/Very low 1 2 3 4
chance
SEVERITY Light Moderate Severe Catastrophic
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RESIDUAL RISK EVALUATION

This is the next step in the risk assessment process and will require the assessors to decide if the
hazards identified have been controlled to an acceptable level. The residual risk takes into account the
control measures already in place to control the hazard, the result of this analysis indicates the amount
of remaining risk or the residual risk. The residual risk is recorded in the column provided on the risk
assessment form, according to the definitions given in the table below.

Trivial - the operation can be carried out without further evaluations.

Acceptable - the operation must be evaluated with regards to risk reducing

measures.
Unacceptable - the operation must not be carried out

An additional finding which may be recorded is that a decision cannot be reached by a general risk
assessment as the hazard is one for which special expertise or further information is required.

Additional controls required to minimize risk

In general, high risks may require the provision of considerable additional resources involving special
equipment, training, high levels of supervision and consideration of the most effective methods of
eliminating or controlling hazards. Lower level risks may be considered as acceptable but actions
should still be taken to try to reduce these risks further if possible within reasonable limits.

The risk factor enables decisions to be taken on the amount of effort to be expended on a hazard but
any hazard that is certain or very likely to cause loss must be attended to and the risk reduced even if
the severity is low. The measures should correspondingly be low in terms of cost.

Those hazards identified as not adequately controlled should be identified as a management action plan
in a prioritized list using the risk assessment outcome numbers as a guide to those that will require
urgent attention and those that can be listed for action some time in the future. Some very serious risks
can be reduced to adequately controlled levels very quickly and cheaply once identified, other less
serious risks may be more difficult and require considerable resources. It is essential, however, for
realistic time limits to be set for the various items to be actionned in the same way that other
management objectives are given deadlines.

Risks assessed as trivial or acceptable using the system detailed above should also be monitored, and if
measures can be provided easily to reduce risk even further then this should be done.

Revised Risk Evaluation

Once the risk has been assessed and the control measures have been introduced to deal with the hazard,
the risk analysis and evaluation exercise can be repeated to decide if the revised risk has been reduced
to trivial or acceptable levels. This repeated assessment may need to be carried out almost
immediately after the initial assessment if urgent action to deal with a serious risk is identified. In
other cases, temporary action may be taken, such as the provision of PPE, and a review date set after
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the initial assessment. In each case the reassessment should take place after the introduction of the
control measure as defined by the management action plan.

Specific Risk Assessment

For the hazards covered by specific regulations, the evaluation carried out at the general risk
assessment stage should indicate whether or not an in-depth risk assessment required by these
regulations is necessary. Where specific regulations require a specific assessment to be carried out
then the guidance associated with the relevant legislation will define the content of the assessment.
The principles of specific assessments are broadly the same as for the general assessment, except that
in most cases more accurate measurement of exposure and comparison with quantified limits are
necessary, and so the risk assessment will rely less on judgment and will be more of a quantitative
assessment. Reference can be made to specific risk assessments required in this column.

RELATED DOCUMENTS

Risk Assessment Form

Risk Assessment Policy
Risk Management
Job Safety Analysis
Risk Control
Specific Risk Assessment Forms