Competence of the assessor

[tomcat606]

Hi all
A risk assessment to be deemed suitable & sufficient ; should indicate the competence of the assessor
I have never seen on any risk assessment that I have completed or read any section that indicates the competence of the assessor has anyone else
Or am I reading it wrong ‘’ won’t be the first time ‘’

Thanks all

[Phoenix]

Hi

For a risk assessment to be suitable and sufficient, the assessor must be competent. The assessment record itself does not have to record how the assessor is competent.

Hope this helps

Nick

[tomcat606]

Hi Nick
So the fact that someone has completed a risk assessment makes them suitable & sufficient so we’re would the so called ‘’indication’’ of competence come from
As stated in the Management of health and safety at work Reg,s ACOP

Steve

[Jack Kane]

The fact that somebody has carried out a risk assessment doesn't necessarily mean it is suitable and sufficient unfortunately. Hence the reason competence is required and typicially, it will be a court of law that ultimately decides if an assessment is suitable and sufficient if something goes horribly wrong.

The term competence is a mixture of the skills, knowledge and experience of a person or even a team. I say team as there are loads of things at my work that I couldn't possibly risk assess completely as I would need the expert help from our engineers and other 'competent' people.

The indication of competence that you mention would come from things like the first stages of employment, i.e. your CV submittance, interview, ongoing training throughout your career, keeping up with your continual professional development (CPD) etc.

[tomcat606]

Hi Jack
There you hit the nail on the head ‘’a court of law that ultimately decides if an assessment is suitable and sufficient if something goes horribly wrong.’’ Does the forum think it’s time there was be a section to highlight someone’s experience when completing a risk assessment. I have seen complete idiots completing of the net risk assessments which has cost me dearly in the past with losing a job

Steve

[Juan Carlos]

On the other hand, I have also seen risk assessments completed by "highly qualified" individuals that are pile of rubbish. I don't see the need to include such a section on the risk assessments, as already said here, the ultimate word belongs to the court and their magnifying glass when examining the risk assessment will not be any smaller on those assessments where you indicate the competence level of the individual.

Don't forget the fact that the most successful risk assessments are those completed as a team, including the operators themselves. (they might not have risk assessment training but their input is invaluable as they actually carry out the tasks)

[vesparado]

im a safety rep and a big issue im trying to get sorted is the inclusion of " doers " taking part in risk assessments , eg a youg lad comes out of school , sits in his office , comes out now an then and makes a risk assessment on a job a scaffolder is doing ? this isnt right a scaffolder shud be involved

[tomcat606]

Hi
And just how Meany risk assessment have you seen complied by the opps doing the work, in my 30 years of construction i have seen zero
And if we wait until it gets to court for somebody to decide if something’s suitable & sufficient it will be small comfort to someone with life threatening injuries. so finding out if a person is capable with skills, knowledge and experience is worth finding out before someone gets injured don’t you think

[Juan Carlos]

Tomcat, IMO if you have the power to start changing the way risk assessments are carried out in your company, you should be looking into the way of changing the behaviour you have seen over the last 30 years and start involving the guys that "run the show" in your risk assessments rather than worrying for what name goes against them.

[Phoenix]

Tomcat

As you have asked this question in the NEBOSH Certificate forum, I assumed (wrongly it seems) that you wanted to know how to answer a NEBOSH question on the subject?

If you are trying to answer a NEBOSH question, you are going into too much depth. If you aren't, you are in the wrong forum.

Kind regards

Nick

[tomcat606]

I see
The whole existence of some people is the accountability of others you will learn this in time hopefully you will not find out in a court of law
Ignorance is not a defence

[Juan Carlos]

I see
you have your opinion on the subject, others might have a different one - is that just a fact of life?