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A risk assessment template is a standardized document used to identify, control, and record risks in the workplace. It involves a systematic examination of a workplace and its environment to determine hazards, assess injury severity and likelihood, and implement control measures to reduce risks.
While outsourcing can save your team time and effort, performing in-house operational risk assessments can bolster your company’s culture in several ways:
Enable workers to be proactive rather than reactive – A proactive approach to safety pays off in the long run since the majority of workplace injuries are preventable only if workers know the possible risks and how to handle the situation.
Reinforce responsibility and accountability – When workers are obligated to look out for one another’s safety through in-house operational risk assessments, the habit and culture of responsibility and accountability are reinforced.
Promote transparency and collaboration against operational risks – To identify, evaluate, and control operational risks, teams need to be open and transparent with their activities and processes.
Beyond continued business operations, unhindered by incidents caused by hazards, another key reason to conduct a workplace risk assessment is that it is legally mandated in most countries and regions:
In the UK, workplace risk assessments are required under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSWR). According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Regulation 3 of the MHSWR, employers must:
Identify hazards. Anything that could cause injury or illness.
Determine the likelihood and severity of harm (the risk).
Take action to eliminate the hazard or, if that isn’t possible, control the risk.
Review the risk assessment whenever there is reason to believe it is no longer valid or when significant changes occur, and update your risk mitigation plan and risk treatment plan accordingly.
Implement any necessary updates following the review.
If an employer has five or more employees, they must also keep written records of:
Significant findings from the risk assessment.
Any groups of employees identified as being particularly at risk.
In the US, workplace risk assessments—commonly referred to as hazard assessments—are required under the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 29, Part 1910, Subpart I, specifically OSHA Standard 1910.132.
In Canada, risk assessments (also known as hazard assessments) are required under Part XIX of the Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations.
Australia doesn’t explicitly mandate risk assessments. But Part 2 of the Work Health and Safety (WHS) Act 2011 requires employers to ensure worker health and safety. Conducting risk assessments is widely recognized as essential to meeting that duty.
One of the main things to keep in mind on how to perform a risk assessment is the format of your report. Depending on the type of the risk assessment, this format will serve as the outline of the full risk assessment.
Once risks are recorded, use a risk treatment plan template to document how each risk will be addressed.
Organize information with tables that contain the following required information:
Name of the hazard
Description of the hazard
Who will be at risk
Risk rating
Existing measures for risk control
Who prepared it? Refers to the name of an individual risk assessor or the company/team working on the risk assessment report.
Who is it for? Indicate what or who the risk assessment is for.
Done on Specify the date on which the risk assessment and the report were completed.
Review date This indicates a specific date set for reviewing risk assessment protocols. As a general rule, a risk assessment review must be done whenever significant changes are made to operations.
The two types of risks are physical and substance risks. Slips, trips, falls, getting or injuries due to falling objects all fall under physical risk. Injuries due to toxic, flammable, and caustic materials are covered under substance risks. These findings should be recorded, preferably in easily accessible risk assessment templates for future reference.
Once hazards are identified, score them using a risk matrix that multiplies likelihood by severity. This gives every risk a rating so your team knows what to act on first.
Likelihood ↓ / Severity → | Negligible (1) | Minor (2) | Moderate (3) | Major (4) | Catastrophic (5) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Almost certain (5) | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 |
Likely (4) | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 |
Possible (3) | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
Unlikely (2) | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
Rare (1) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Scores of 1–4 are low risk, 5–9 are medium, 10–14 are high, and 15–25 are extreme and need immediate action. This scoring approach aligns with ISO 31000 risk management guidelines.
Identify the task, area, or process being assessed and list who could be harmed.
Identify hazards present, from physical risks like falls to substance risks like chemical exposure.
Score each hazard’s likelihood and severity using a risk matrix.
Assign control measures to eliminate or reduce each risk.
Assign an owner and a review date for each control measure.
Sign off the assessment and share it with affected workers before work begins.
To help you visualize what a risk assessment report looks like, here’s an example report using the Risk Assessment Template.
Byblos Construction digitized safety checklists, compliance checks, and risk assessments with Mitti (by SafetyCulture), letting teams quickly notify leaders of risks for faster action and fewer blind spots. This improved risk management, communication, and visibility for safer job sites.
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Use this basic risk assessment form to identify, assess and control hazards in the workplace. This template can be used at any time when assessing risk and control measures but should be ideally conducted before commencement of tasks.
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Use this Health and Safety Executive (HSE) template to document a risk assessment to manage health and safety hazards in your workplace. Identify observed potential and existing hazards (e.g biological, chemical, energy, environment, etc.), assess the risk level (consequence, likelihood and risk ratings) and provide necessary control measures.
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Based on HSE guidance for risk assessment at work, this workplace risk assessment template can be used by employers, owners, and managers to identify hazards and the risks they caused, as well as who might be harmed by these risks. Using this template also empowers employers to develop effective risk control measures when hazards cannot be eliminated.
