riskassess

[lada]

Does anybody use riskassess program? What do you think? Easy to use or a bit of a waste of time
Lada

[nahrein yaghoubpour]

Hi
We have been using it since it started and it is the best thing Philip Crisp did for us and the teachers
Nahrein

[RosalieM]

I love it!! Do a search as this question has been asked before. They keep updating and it keeps getting better! It is hard work getting the pracs on but once they are done it is so easy. So the first year takes more work, but after that teachers just click the prac they want, make modifications if necessary and then type in when they want it. So simple. It has made my life so much better since we started using it about 18 months ago.

[bindi]

Lada,
I found I had no time to set it up nor the teachers, you or the teacher needs to spend time typing in requests, equip etc. I found my group very negative about 'another program', so we still fill a combined request/ risk assessments by hand.
But once it was all set up! I can see it would be great. also if you had an assistant to help with the intial setup. I didnt re-new.
PS congrats grandma!
Bindi

[merilyn]

I've heard really good things about this program. However, our HT is reluctant to use it as he is worried that teachers will just "tick the box" for the prac they are doing and not give any thought to the risks involved, whereas if they have to write something out they will give more thought to what they are doing ie they are not just copying another person's ideas.

I have a good system working now for myself using the Outlook calendar to track pracs and materials, so I'm not too worried about not having it.

[sunray18]

At the moment we have just changed across to all teachers emailing me their prac requests. I have been using the Outlook calendar, bbut the teachers are not doing Risk Assessments. I am just not satisfied with Outlook calendar.. so I would like to try RiskAssess..

[smiley]

I Lo-o-o-ove RiskAssess. I had to do a bit of in-servicing of teachers, and every so often one appears on the calendar that hasn't been signed, so I chase the teacher, but overall it is brilliant!
One footnote is that you have to read the "routine procedures" carefully, because if something is NOT listed there, then your prac is inherently "Medium Risk", then you identify and mitigate the risk in your little fill-in-the-box part, thus making it a "Low Risk". Similarly, having a kid with special needs, e.g. visually impaired, makes every prac inherently "Medium Risk", thus obligating you to acknowledge that the particular student is in your class and you will give out specific instructions/have a designated teacher aide...whatever. If teacher's don't acknowledge that, they can be liable because they didn't consider the risk appropriately.

BTW, some of the "Potential hazards" are hilarious, if also sadly true. SO relevant to a school.
Prime examples are:

Gauze mat: May be thrown ninja style across the room; possibility of eye injury
Heatproof mat: ditto
Tripod: Legs may be unscrewed and left as booby trap for next user
Ruler: long rulers can be used as swords (or presumably light sabers)
Stopwatch: If connected to a string, may be swung around and used to hit people



I mean, I'll bet money the stopwatch manufacturers didn't think of that when they were making the stopwatches in the first place!

But seriously, best investment we've ever made.

[lada]

Thanks everyone!!
Just received it on 2 week trial, so will spend some time looking into it.
How often do you have to update RA? Is it every 2 or 5 years?
Lada

[smiley]

Every five years, but always taking into consideration the things that I said, that might make an otherwise "Low Risk" experiment into a Medium Risk. I tend to save the basic experiment once, and make teachers do their own RA when they are doing the class. That way they get to consider the composition of their own class etc. A good example given to me by a colleague up here from a school in a different socio-economic bracket was when there was a dissection planned for first lesson after lunch, and at lunchtime there was a rumble in the playground between rival groups of boys. The lab tech approached the teacher and told him that there was no way she was handing out scalpels (read weapons) to angry adolescent gang boys, and that the RA had just hit an irretrievable "High Risk" mark. Fair call too. She did the dissection as a demo instead.

Another really cool feature is the "Review Notes", where I put in comments like "Use stronger acid next time" or whatever. Helps for the next time I have to prepare the same experiment.

[Xenon]

Does anyone else have a problem with teachers' electronic signature occasionally not appearing? I don't know if they still writing the prac or haven't signed, but when I chase them up they swear they signed it.

[RosalieM]

If you make a change, they have to re-sign it. I think sometimes they just forget and think they have done it, especially if they do 4 or 5 at once.

As for the re-writing/updating of risk assessments, when they order it the next year they are theoretically updating it because they have to look at it and check it is right or make modifications etc. They are valid on risk assess for 18 months.

[smiley]

Xenon,

Yes!! Sometimes I have to logout and login again to see the re-signed form. And like Rosalie said, sometimes they go back in and change something, then forget to sign it all over again.

[AnnNos]

We have just started using Riskassess. I think once it's being used properly it will be good, however, I used to get orders the day before (mostly) and now I find them on the riskassess program in the morning on the day they are wanted. Before this program I could get things ready in the afternoon, now I can't. Hopefully the staff will get their acts together and get them in earlier.

AnnNos

[Lis]

Hi Smiley & Lada

The Risk Assess RA are valid for 15 months, so long as the prac students and teacher doing it remains the same, you can use the same RA over that 15 months.
I keep current term RA's in a folder on my desk, then they go into larger foler in prep room until they expire, then I store them, I think they need to be kept for 7 years, that was my understanding, may have changed to 5 years, which would make much more sense.
I reluctantly do them for the teachers for every prac, this does take time but they wouldnt do them otherwise, none of my teachers sign them electronically, this way it is SEEN that they have read them and understood it, and I have to chase them for that too sometimes Xenon.I sometimes think the teachers put the prac as a low risk because it is for them, it is for the kids too, like you say Smiley, it can depend on the kids and what is going on at the time, frightening. This is what I really dont like about doing the RAs myself. We have been using it since it started and I wouldnt be without it now, it really is easy to use
Ann, you may have to let them know that you still need the time to prepare pracs for them

[RosalieM]

One of the advantages is that it records the date and time when it was logged so when they say "but I did it yesterday" you can come back at them and say "yeah, at 6:25pm when I was at home!!" or some similar thing.

Lis, I did a couple at the start while the teachers got used to it, or needed one without leaving time to request it, but I refuse to do it as regular practice because it is their prac - therefore, their risk assessment. They are also supposed to put in what any resulting chemicals are produced as well. Not my job to do that much thinking! Ours don't (yet!! - occasionally they do) but I am hoping that when RiskAssess bring in the recommended disposal techniques for substances I will remind them that they need to do the products as well as what I give them.

[Lis]

I agree Rosalie, I may have to revise how we do it, now our '1' teacher is gone.
On my lab request form I have the risk matrix and room for them to do all the risks etc, and I add it to the RA and if there is anything I think they need to be more aware of I write it on the order form stapled to the RA. I also make them tell me the chemical products so I can put this on the RA, the disposal will certainly be interesting add on, might make them think more about what and how things are done
Lisa

[sunray18]

I agree about thinking. I refused to give a teacher 35% ammonia solution to use in her lab - even as a teacher demo. She wanted a mixture of sodium acetate solution and ammonia solution to do chromatography. This made her think about the chemicals she was about to use - and she looked up the CSIS document for the FIRST time ever! THEN I asked her the next question - what is the product of this reaction? She, a CHEMISTRY teacher, had NO IDEA! I gave her a little hint , but that didnt help... sigh...

[curie]

You can get your teachers to read CSIS! I'm sure that most of mine have no idea what it is, despite my regular references.

[Robdean]

I'm sure I'm the only person in the whole school who has any idea, or in fact cares what CSIS is. I have a checkbox on my order forms that the teachers are using the chemicals involved according to CSIS or otherwise they are meant to do an RA. Guess how many RAs I've been given?? Last year our Principal asked me "what is CSIS....is it a computer program??" And here I was thinking the Principal should be aware of such things!!

[Xenon]

A few years back, a teacher asked me if the coloured dots on the chemical containers meant anything, so I explained the CSIS colour-coding system, and he's like - "you should make some charts and put one up in each lab" - so I say "I already have", and point out the one on the wall just behind his head.