Risk Assessment
for visiting groups
Teacher
Teacher
The museum is generally a safe environment but there are inevitably risks to child and adult visitors. The purpose of this document is to review those risks so that they can be managed successfully. An internal document covers our assessment of risks which are unrelated to visiting groups and these are not included.
Section 4 of the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act places duties on the Trust in respect of the health and safety of persons not in the Trust's employment who may be affected by its activities. This includes our volunteers, visitors, and anyone else who comes into the Museum. The management of this responsibility requires risks to be assessed, and control measures put in place to eliminate or reduce them. The law recognises that some measures may not be worthwhile, as being not "reasonably practicable" i.e. the cost and difficulty of the control measure is disproportionate to the risk. In this document risks are assessed on the basis of likelihood and consequences, and a simple "high medium or low" measurement system is used.
The likelihood of fire is assessed as low, however the consequences could be serious. The following control measures are in place:
Smoking is not allowed in the building.
The risk of electric shock incidents is assessed as low. The consequences could be serious and are therefore assessed as high. There is no electrical equipment in use other than standard mains voltage equipment as might be found in a domestic situation. Inside the cabin of the exhibit Coronis, low voltage lighting is used. The following control measures are in place.
This type of incident is common in all buildings and the consequences are usually minor. The risk is unexceptional in the museum and is therefore assessed as medium. The consequences are assessed as low. Specific risks have been identified in this category:
The following control measures are in place:
Persons in charge of children must ensure their careful supervision, and that they do not attempt to climb on exhibits or run around the building.
The horse ramp is an attraction for children who must not be permitted to run up or down it.
The canalside area is the property of British Waterways. Nonetheless, safety in that area is considered because in practise the Trust, in exercising its access rights over the land and moorings, is involved in its management. The risk of persons falling in Battlebridge Basin is assessed as low. There is no record of any visitor falling in since the museum opened. In assessing the consequences distinction is made between adults on the one hand, and children, disabled persons, the elderly or infirm, on the other. For adults, falling in the basin, although unpleasant, would be unlikely to result in serious harm. The water is about four feet deep. For children, disabled people, elderly or infirm persons, falling in the basin could result in drowning. especially if not noticed by others. Children are at greater risk of falling due to the natural high spirits of the young. The likelihood of elderly persons etc falling in is much lower as these groups tend to be more cautious. It therefore follows that children are at the highest risk. For all age groups there is a small danger of Weil's disease if a person falls in the water. The following control measures are in place:
There are no records of any violent incident in the museum and the risk is therefore assessed as low. The probable consequences could range from damage to property only right up to murder, and cannot realistically be assessed because such incidents are not predictable and too infrequent for any measure of statistical probability to be made. Incidents of violent behaviour in museums generally in the UK are believed to be too low to be measured. The following control measures are in place:
The museum is a very low risk environment but risk cannot be avoided entirely. The Canal Museum Trust accepts its legal and moral responsibility to keep the premises safe for visitors and others, but the behaviour of visitors themselves is an important factor in avoiding accidents. Children, in particular, are at greatest risk because youthful exuberance does not always fit safely into the surroundings. Adult supervision is the key to minimising the risks to children.
Information about the Canal Museum Trust and its policies including health and safety policy, child protection policy, and other policies may be found on the Canal Museum Trust page.
