Tailor, Test, and Risk Assess Your Processes
This chapter focuses on the core processes to ensure the safe running of your Library of Things and managing risk mitigation.
Mitigating risk for everyone, every time they engage with your Benthyg branch is essential to keeping everyone safe and building trust.
While you’re setting up your space and starting to add items to your online borrowing platform is an ideal time to test out and refine your processes.
Carry out risk assessments as you go and speak to your insurance provider to ensure you’re doing everything they would expect to safeguard staff, volunteers, and members.
As set out in the risk mitigation touchpoints document, all your processes from inducting volunteers to saving signed borrowers agreements & liability waivers to adding items to your online borrowing platform, from inducting volunteers to saving signed borrower agreements & liability waivers to adding items to your online borrowing platform, are crucial parts of mitigating risk at every opportunity.
As you prepare to launch, review these template processes, carry out risk assessments, and amend the toolkit templates as necessary, seek advice from your insurance provider if you’re unsure about anything.
We have further templates available on request so if you need something you cannot see below - get in touch.
Consider having a process for identifying items that may be higher risk, such as power tools, to set out any specific risk mitigations for those items; for example, you may decide to ask members to sign a confirmation that they have re-read and agree with the liability waiver each time they borrow an item in that category.
Mitigating risk should remain a priority as your Benthyg branch grows and evolves. Encourage staff and volunteers to flag any improvements they think would further mitigate risk as you become embedded in your community.
The Risk Mitigations Touchpoint document below is a handy summary of things to be considered across all aspects of your project.
Please follow the link to the Risk Mitigation Touchpoints workshop held in December 23. NB - we have updated our PAT test policy to reflect the recommendation to PAT test items on each return since we recorded this session.
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