Risk Assessment: Works. Electricity Lines
Workers affected by works hazards
The ISASTUR Group Management is convinced that a job well done is not only one that satisfies the client’s demands, complies with the Group’s own Quality Standards and is in keeping with the legal regulations in force, but also a job well done is a job done under healthy, safe conditions for all the workers who intervene in its execution.
This conviction has taken the form of an Occupational Risk Prevention Policy with a clear aim: to avoid accidents, prevent the appearance of occupational diseases and watch over the Health and Safety of our professionals, who, in short, are the firm’s primary and principal asset.
All workers have access to the full, updated Risk Assessment corresponding to their post within the ISASTUR Group. But the aim of the present Safety Manual would not be covered if it did not give the reader an introduction to the principal factors of risk that he may encounter as a worker in the electricity power lines sector. The personnel that this information is aimed at are:
- Management and executives in general
- Technicians, Works Managers, Team Leaders and middle management in general
- Skilled and Specialised workers
The following includes an assessment of the hazards that, a priori, cannot be eliminated due to the nature of the work. This evaluation is carried out determining, on the one hand, the likelihood of the hazard materializing and, on the other, the seriousness of the possible consequences, i.e. the possible degree of seriousness of any harm done.
According to its likelihood:
- Low (L): harm will occur only rarely.
- Medium (M): harm will occur occasionally.
- High (A): harm will always or nearly always occur.
According to its seriousness (seriousness of the possible consequences):
- Slightly harmful (SH): cuts, bruising, slight irritation of the eyes due to dust, headaches, etc.
- Harmful (H): lacerations, burns, concussion, important sprains, deafness, dermatitis, asthma, etc.
- Extremely harmful (EH): amputations, major fractures, intoxications, cancer and other chronic diseases, etc.
Depending on how both variables are combined, 5 levels of risk are to be distinguished (in increasing order of importance). The following table presents a simple method for estimating the levels of risk according to its estimated likelihood and the expected consequences.
| LEVELS OF RISK | SERIOUSNESS OF THE HARM DONE | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SLIGHTLY HARMFUL (LD) | HARMFUL (D) | EXTREMELY HARMFUL (ED) | ||
| PROBABILITY | LOW (F) | TRIVIAL (T) | TOLERABLE (To) | MODERATE (Mo) |
| MEDIUM (M) | TOLERABLE (To) | MODERATE (Mo) | IMPORTANT (I) | |
| HIGH (H) | MODERATE (Mo) | IMPORTANT (I) | INTOLERABLE (In) | |
The levels of risk shown above help us to decide whether we should adopt measures of control, with what degree of urgency and what the extent of the economic effort should be:
| RISK | ACTION AND TIMING |
|---|---|
| Trivial (T) |
Although specific actions may not be necessary, not very costly preventive measures are to be considered to avoid aggravating the hazard. |
| Tolerable (To) |
The preventive action does not need to be improved; however, more cost-effective solutions should be considered or improvements that do not suppose a substantial economic burden. Periodic checks are needed to ensure that the efficacy of control measures is maintained. |
| Moderate (Mo) |
Efforts should be made to reduce the hazard, determining the investments needed. Measurements to reduce the hazard should be implanted within a certain period of time. When the moderate risk is associated with extremely harmful consequences, measures are to be established to control said risk (to be defined in the action plan). |
| Important (I) |
Work should not commence until the risk has been reduced. Considerable resources may be needed to control the risk. When the risk corresponds to a job that is being carried out, the problem must be remedied in less time than that of moderate risks. |
| Intolerable (In) |
Work should not commence or continue until the risk has been reduced. If it is not possible to reduce the risk, even with unlimited resources, the work must be prohibited. This situation is equivalent to exposure to a serious or imminent risk. |
Finally, the factors that can cause each of the assessed risks are discussed in detail, as well as the planned preventive and protective measures to control these risks. However, it should be noted that this Risk Assessment is general in nature and that the description and exhaustive assessment of the different risks which workers may find themselves exposed to are included in the corresponding Health and Safety Plan of the job in question.
