Risk Assesment

[ninjafish]

Hi All,

 

I am needing to produce a risk assessment for our schools Server room and hub rooms but i have never written one before, doe anyone have one that i could have a look at?

 

there are so many things that people could do to injure themselves but most of them i see as common sense which i don't think i am allowed to refer to

 

any help is much appreciated

 

Regards

J

[DorsetTech]

Here's something I've produced Risk Assessment for an IT Repair Facility.docx - it's not entirely relevant to a server room but the principles are still there - assess the risk, the likelihood of the risk of occurring and the severity of damage/injury should there be an incident, put in some control measures and re-evaluate the risk.

 

The HSE website contains some useful information too Risk assessment

 

Risk assessment is about identifying and reducing the risks, as far as is reasonably practicable. Whilst it is not possible to eliminate all risk there are measures that can be taken to reduce the risk that tasks pose. For example, when working at heights you could place some cones round the working area to ensure students don't run in to the ladder round a blind spot in the corridor and ensure that users are competent at working at height.

 

Hope this is of some help.

[rich_tech]

Your LEA may run courses also to show you the ropes with this procedure, as it can be quite involved, I know as I attended one last year for it

[pete]

Dorsettech's list plus the standard "access restricted to suitably trained and experienced staff and contractors".

 

..which hints at the common sense option without being blatant.

 

It should really include stuff about potential data loss/downtime and mitigation steps too for working in server racks and comms cabinets - your mitigation is again "restriced access to suitably trained staff, sufficient sleep/coffee and good documentation".

 

If you've got a hard-wired UPS system, you probably want that on there too including any emergency kill switches.

Edited April 14, 2015 by pete

[ninjafish]

Many thanks for the info guys its much appreciated, i will start putting something together no i have more of an idea what i am doing,

 

i will see if the LEA are running anything soon, sounds like it may be handy to attend one.

 

cheers again, much appreciated

[Andrew_C]

You know, in a tidy server room, I'd have thought that the real day to day risks would be noise, and when changing kit, the lifting and mechanical handling of heavy servers. It wouldn't take ten mins to look around and identify the H&S risks. Disaster management is a whole other story.

 

Identify WHO is at risk.

Identify SIGNIFICANT risks (not trivial stuff, like a carpet burn if you kneel on the floor)

Assign a value to that risk (1 minor, 2... 7 single death, 8 multiple deaths)

Assign a value to the likelihood (1 unlikely to ever happen, 2 might happen, ... 8 every time you open the door)

 

Multiply those numbers; if the answer is over 8-9 then you need to do something to CONTROL the risk.

 

So, in a small noisy server room, the risk of hearing damage might be a 4 or 5, but you get exposed to that risk every time you go in there (8)

 

Gives you a figure WELL over 9. So you have to control the risk. You could implement a 1/2 hour limit without wearing hearing protection rule. Then buy some cheap foam plugs and hang the bag on the back of the door. Manglement INSTRUCT that they will be used, and ENFORCE this instruction.

 

RE-do the RA with control in place. Providing the numbers work, job done.

 

The above is purely an illustration; do your own RAs, it will help you understand the risks you face, and how to control them.

[ninjafish]

cheers Andrew_C, not thought about the sound level, think i'm just used to it