Risk Assessment & Compliance Consultancy for UK SMEs
Practical risk assessments and compliance audits that reflect what's actually happening on your shop floor - not what a template says should be.
Manchester-based. Working UK-wide. IOSH-qualified. Trusted by manufacturers across the North West and beyond.
Most risk assessments fail the same test: open the folder, read the document, walk onto the shop floor, and none of it matches. Generic hazards copied from a template. Control measures that were true two years ago. Tasks that aren't even done that way anymore. When an HSE inspector, an insurance assessor, or a major customer audit lands, that gap is where you get caught out.
DBIM builds risk assessments and compliance systems that match the real job, in real conditions, with the real people doing them. We walk the floor, talk to your operators and supervisors, and write documents your team will recognise, because they helped shape them.
Who We Help
We work with UK manufacturing and industrial SMEs where compliance has quietly drifted out of date: usually because the person who used to own it has left, the business has grown, or nobody has had the time to revisit the paperwork in 18 months.
You're probably here because:
Your insurance renewal or broker review is flagging gaps in your risk assessment library
A major customer audit (automotive, aerospace, retail supply) is coming, and you need to be audit-ready
You've had an HSE visit, improvement notice, or fee for intervention and need to get compliant fast
Your risk assessments are generic - copied from a template, never reviewed, and don't reflect your actual operation
You need COSHH, fire, or machinery risk assessments done properly by someone who understands manufacturing
You want a compliance register that tracks what applies to you and when it changes
You're preparing for ISO 9001, 14001 or 45001 and need the risk and legal compliance foundations in place first
If that's you, we can help.
What’s Included
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Task-based risk assessments built from direct observation, not copy-paste templates. We cover manual handling, working at height, slips and trips, vehicle movements, lone working, and everything in between.
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Hazardous substance assessments under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations. We review SDS sheets, quantify exposure, and recommend control measures that are actually workable on your line.
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Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 compliant assessments for manufacturing, warehousing and industrial premises. Written by people who understand how a fire actually moves through a factory.
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Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations assessments. Guarding, isolation, maintenance, operator competence. Particularly useful after a near-miss or before bringing in second-hand machinery.
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Task-level MAC assessments with practical recommendations; mechanical aids, redesigned workflows, or realistic training interventions.
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Noise at Work and Hand-Arm Vibration assessments with instrumentation, exposure mapping, and a clear action plan.
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Structured reviews against HSE requirements, ISO 45001, and customer-specific standards. You get a prioritised findings report and a working action plan, not a 90-page PDF that sits in a drawer.
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When something goes wrong, we investigate properly - looking at the system, not the scapegoat - and give you recommendations that prevent recurrence.
Our Approach
A risk assessment is only as good as the conversation that produced it. Every piece of work we do follows the same three principles:
Walk the floor first. We never write a risk assessment from a desk. We observe the task, in its real environment, at the time of day it's actually done.
Talk to the people doing the job. Operators and supervisors know where the workarounds are, where the controls get bypassed, and where the genuine risks live. Any consultant who skips that conversation is writing fiction.
Write it so it gets used. Plain English, matched to your terminology, short enough that a supervisor will actually pick it up during a toolbox talk. If the document doesn't get used, the risk isn't controlled, no matter what the paperwork says.
Industries We Know
Manufacturing and engineering
Chemical processing and hazardous substances (COSHH, DSEAR)
Warehousing, distribution and logistics
Food and beverage production
Plastics, rubber and composites
Metalwork and fabrication
Manufacturing and engineering Chemical processing and hazardous substances (COSHH, DSEAR) Warehousing, distribution and logistics Food and beverage production Plastics, rubber and composites Metalwork and fabrication
How We Engage
Project-based - a defined scope with a fixed fee. Good for one-off gap analyses, full risk assessment rebuilds, or pre-audit reviews.
Retained partnership - ongoing monthly support keeping your risk assessments, compliance register and audit cycle current. Most manufacturers we work with end up here because compliance isn't a one-and-done job.
Ad-hoc/day rate - for businesses that need a specific assessment (COSHH, fire) done properly without a long commitment.
Why DBIM?
DBIM is built around one principle: health and safety should improve how your business operates, not slow it down.
With a background in manufacturing and chemicals, the approach is grounded in real operational environments, where risk, production pressure, and commercial performance all intersect. This isn’t theoretical advice. It’s practical, experience-led support that works on the shop floor.
Systems are delivered with a clear focus on outcomes. That means ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 frameworks that are not only compliant, but embedded and effective. It also means a proven track record in improving safety culture, strengthening accountability, and reducing repeat issues.
Most importantly, the focus stays on performance: not paperwork.
Start the Conversation
If your current approach to health and safety is reactive, inconsistent, or overly reliant on documentation, it’s time to take a different approach.
You don’t need more policies. You need a system that works.
Book a call to discuss your requirements or request a proposal tailored to your business. From there, we can define what support looks like in practice and how it will deliver measurable improvement.
Frequently Asked Questions
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The legal standard is "when they are no longer valid" or "when there has been a significant change." In practice, that means at least annually, and immediately after any accident, near-miss, process change, new equipment, or change in personnel. Most manufacturers we work with move to a rolling quarterly review cycle.
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A risk assessment identifies hazards and the controls needed to manage them for a specific task or area. A compliance audit checks whether your overall management system - policies, training, records, and those same risk assess
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Not necessarily. Substances can be grouped by hazard profile and use-case, but each group needs a documented assessment covering exposure routes, control measures, and emergency procedures. Getting this wrong is one of the most common HSE findings in manufacturing.
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Day rates for qualified consultants typically sit between £400 and £750. A full risk assessment rebuild for a small manufacturer usually falls between £2,000 and £6,000 depending on site complexity. We provide fixed quotes after a free scoping call.
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Yes - this is a significant part of what we do. We'll run a mock audit against the customer's specific standard, identify gaps, help you close them, and sit alongside your team during the real audit if useful.
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Call us first. We'll help you respond formally, close the findings properly, and document everything to prevent escalation. The sooner we're involved, the better the outcome.