This is Camille....
Camille works for Extreme Indoor Climb, a rock climbing gym. She is a fitness and climbing instructor with 8 years’ experience in climbing and fitness training. Her responsibilities include: preparing and checking climbing equipment before lessons, maintaining and stowing all climbing equipment after lessons, following all necessary safety protocols and responding accordingly, orienting customers to the basics of climbing and all relevant safety information, coaching customers during lessons, and instructing customers in strength, endurance and flexibility exercises.
Can you briefly explain risk and risk management in the workplace?
Risk is the chance of something happening that will have an impact on something else, a combination of consequences of an event. The most likely causes of risk include; people, process, procedures and natural events. There is risk in everything we do.
Risk management describes ‘coordinated activities to direct and control an organisation with respect to risk’. It means making optimal decisions in the face of uncertainty. Risk management is an ongoing and fluid process.
As an employee, what is your role when it comes to risk management? Isn’t that something for management?
As an employee you are more likely to be aware of the particular risks in your workplace, and you are often in a better position to point out shortcomings in policy. It is important that you take a proactive approach to risk management to create a safe environment for you, your clients, and coworkers.
At your workplace, how are you required to maintain risk management documentation and why is it considered important?
A risk register is one way to record the description of risks, controls currently in place, likelihood of consequences and treatment priorities. A post incident register or database can be used to record ‘near misses’ as well as major incidents. Both the risk register and post incident register/database is kept up-to-date, backed-up and notifies management of entries into the registers. In addition to risk management processes, well-kept records may prove vital in the event of an incident and may serve to reduce our exposure to liability.
What are some of the main risks in your workplace?
Equipment failure, falls, muscle and joint injuries, falling objects, other people, tripping hazards, medical conditions, inexperienced staff and/or customers.
Once a risk management plan is endorsed, how do you implement it?
By issuing a risk management statement. Outline the key risk management strategies, the proposed timetable for review, and key contact people, and procedures for contributing to the risk management process.
Other tasks include conducting training in risk management for all staff and also establishing and documenting procedures and making these available to all.
We also allocating specific responsibilities to certain team members. It should be clear to all those involved in the process, who is responsible for each aspect of implementation of the risk management plan.