In the manufacturing industry, achieving the highest standards of machine safety is essential. Being in the health and safety management space, we’ve seen too many times businesses failing to review and update their risk assessment systems resulting in catastrophic outcomes. In our opinion, there is no excuse for risk assessments not to be reviewed regularly and in line with the latest regulatory safety standards. 

In this guide, we’ll explore the critical importance of keeping risk assessments current, the key indicators that signal it’s time for an update, and how technology can simplify and streamline the process. By proactively managing risks, manufacturing leaders can create safer workplaces, ensure compliance, and foster a culture of safety and accountability. Read on to find out what best practice can look like in your business, and how to reduce the risks for your team.

Why Regularly Updating Risk Assessments is Crucial

Hazard identification and risk assessments are essential practices for identifying potential hazards, evaluating the likelihood of incidents, and defining strategies to control or eliminate risks. In manufacturing environments, where production lines, equipment, and processes change frequently, regular updates to these assessments are critical. Regular review allows organisations to adapt to process changes, such as new machinery or altered work practices (including work done as opposed to work imagined), ensuring that assessments accurately reflect current conditions and address emerging hazards. 

Regular updates to risk assessments help businesses stay compliant with evolving health and safety regulations, mitigating the risk of costly penalties. Proactively updated assessments also enable manufacturers to implement preventive measures, reducing workplace injuries, equipment damage, and production delays. Finally, by prioritising safety reviews, organisations build employee trust and confidence, reinforcing adherence to safety protocols and fostering a stronger culture of safety.

TEG Risk has developed a cutting-edge Machine Safety Software Solution that is transforming health and safety management for manufacturing businesses across New Zealand and Australia. MinRisk  enhances workplace safety by automating risk assessment reports and enabling on-site evaluations, ensuring a more efficient and proactive approach to risk assessments and their reviews

When To Review And Update Risk Assessments

WorkSafe New Zealand and Australian regulators emphasise the need for continuous risk evaluation, particularly when changes to equipment, processes, or work environments occur. Static assessments can leave gaps in safety protocols, making it crucial for businesses to adopt a proactive approach to risk management.

Immediate reviews should be conducted following significant incidents or near misses, as these events often expose vulnerabilities in existing risk assessments. Addressing these weaknesses promptly not only helps prevent future incidents but also demonstrates a commitment to workplace safety.

Similarly, any process changes, the installation of new equipment, or updates to regulatory requirements should trigger a thorough review of risk assessments. These updates ensure compliance with the latest standards and reduce the potential for legal repercussions or liability from outdated safety practices. Ignoring such changes can lead to costly penalties and reputational damage, which can easily be avoided with consistent monitoring and adjustments.

Employee engagement also plays a pivotal role in maintaining effective risk assessments. Frontline workers are often the first to notice hazards or inefficiencies in current safety measures. Regularly scheduled safety meetings provide an essential platform for employees to voice concerns, share observations, and collaborate on solutions. Integrating their feedback into your risk assessment updates not only enhances safety measures but fosters a culture of trust and accountability. As well as reducing downtime by eliminating hazards.

While there are no fixed statutory requirements for machinery risk assessment reviews, for fixed plants your risk management policies should set a minimum timeframe for reviewing the risk assessments should there be no trigger events to initiate a risk assessment review.  Machinery with higher levels of residual risk should be reviewed more regularly than lower risk machinery.  This may mean machinery risk assessments are reviewed every 1, 2 or 3 years.  Periods beyond should only be considered for the lowest risk plant.

A Machine Safety Review

A machine safety risk assessment review is a comprehensive checkup on the condition and operation of your manufacturing equipment by your staff i.e. work done as opposed to work imagined. Think of it as an annual health exam for your machines: it’s your opportunity to address risks before they result in accidents/harm/loss, and ensure compliance with relevant safety standards, by assessing the risk.

Here’s what a machine safety risk assessment  review would cover:

Review the limits of your original Machine Risk Assessment and identify any new hazards.

  • Is the machine still being used in the same way as when it was when previously assessed e.g. products, processes and materials, operating factors e.g. pressure, heat, speeds, time.
  • Are the general construction and engineering features still the same including safety features e.g. fixed guards, functional safety aspects – reviewing photos is a great way to check this.
  • Are there any new standards, regulatory requirements, or machine guarding requirements that are now relevant for this machine.
  • Determine if there are any new hazards on the machine by conducting a hazard analysis.
  • Once you have identified hazards, update your risk assessment to reflect any changes to the limits of the risk assessment

Establish what the human machine interactions are:

  • The focus here should be on work done as opposed to work imagined so engagement with your operators, maintainers and cleaners is key.
  • Consider all of the operating life-cycle elements and tasks within those e.g. start up/set up, cleaning, maintenance, normal operation (when things run well) and troubleshooting (when things don’t go well), when is there human exposure to hazards?
  • Do your SOP’s and training records reflect reality
  • If you have a good risk assessment to work off this doesn’t need to be an onerous task

Determine if the level of risk is still the same or at suitably low levels

  • Consider maintenance/breakdown information or accident/near miss information.
  • Based on human interactions, engineering and safety features – has the level of residual risk changed? The focus here is on the safety of workers.
  • Confirm safety features are still in place and effective 
    • confirm that safety guards, emergency stops, and other protective features are present
    • Functionally test your safety functions like E Stops or interlocks.  Do they behave as expected e.g. does the plant stop quickly enough ?
  • Are there new technologies, solutions or regulatory requirements that could be used to reduce the risk further?

Communicate your findings

  • Update records.
  • Communicate with your stakeholders on the findings and any new requirements.
  • Initiate any action plans to remediate machinery and or modify tasks to reduce risk.

How MinRisk Makes Your Yearly Review More Accurate and Streamlined

Worksafe suggests maintaining a written record of how you manage risks is a best practice that allows you to revisit and adjust your approach as circumstances change. These records also serve as a valuable resource for educating your team on potential workplace hazards and the measures in place to minimise the risks. For machinery with lower risk, the documentation can be brief—simply outline the main risks you’ve identified and your decisions on how to address them. In contrast, higher-risk machinery call for more comprehensive records to capture the additional measures and considerations involved.

MinRisk is a cloud-based version of a manual written record, designed to bring clarity and efficiency to your machine safety risk assessments. It follows best practice in hazard identification and risk control. By integrating real-time data collection with dynamic risk analysis, the platform provides a single source of truth for everything related to machine safety:

  • Centralised Documentation: When time comes to carry out your machine safety risk assessment review, you’ll have instant access to the history of each machine, making audits smoother and more transparent.
  • Simple photo handling:  A picture says a 1000 words and making your risk assessments more informative and quicker to complete.  Review what the machine looked like last review and quickly update/renew the status of its engineering safeguards with photos at the machine.
  • Mobile and Real Time Collaboration: From on-site engineers to project managers, everyone can collaborate in a shared workspace. This can all be done at the machine on a mobile device.  This ensures that changes or findings are logged in real time, offering up-to-date insights during any risk assessment review.

 

The Importance of Regular Safety Reviews

We have found that the more proactive a business is about revisiting and revising its risk assessments, the better protected it is  against risks and potential accidents/harm. By adopting a regular schedule of reviews and staying responsive to changes, manufacturers can uphold the highest safety standards and ensure a secure environment for their workforce. If you’re looking to go cloud based with your risk assessments, please get in touch to see how MinRisk can help you. 

To assist further in improving your onsite Machinery safety standards, our expert team of safety engineers have created this Guide to Machine Safety Risk, which you can download now for free. We also offer a training version of the software to support your workplace safety training.