Any risk to health and safety identified must be dealt with.
Things used, and actions taken to address risks to health and safety are called control measures. Not all control measures provide equal protection to your health and safety.
The hierarchy of control measures
The process of managing risks and implementing control measures is required by law. Businesses must:
- First try to eliminate the risk, and if this is not reasonably practicable then;
- Minimise the risk much as possible (by reducing the likelihood it will occur, or how much harm it will cause) using the hierarchy of controls.
The hierarchy of controls is about ensuring that businesses look to implement the best, most effective control measures proportional to the risks arising from the work.
Control measures are more effective when:
- They protect everyone that could be exposed rather than individuals. For example, soundproofing noisy machinery rather than requiring hearing protection be worn; and
- When they don’t rely on human behaviour or intervention to be effective. These kinds of control measures can be undermined by accident, inadvertently, or even deliberately. This is why Peronsal Protective Equipment (PPE) and administrative controls sit at the bottom of the hierarchy.
Many risks will require multiple control measures to eliminate or reduce the risk to health and safety.
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