Risk Assessment for Occupational Health and Safety Management, Hazard Identification, Risk Evaluation, Control Measures, and Residual Risk Review

Assessment Date: [DATE]

Assessor: [ASSESSOR NAME]

Department/Area: [DEPARTMENT/AREA]

Review Date: [REVIEW DATE]

1. Assessment Scope

This risk assessment covers the systematic identification of hazards, evaluation of risk, selection of control measures, implementation of mitigation actions, and review of residual risk for workplace activities, tasks, and processes associated with occupational health and safety management. The scope includes routine and non-routine work, maintenance, cleaning, commissioning, shutdowns, and foreseeable abnormal conditions such as equipment malfunction, power outages, and extreme weather. It also considers workers, supervisors, contractors, cleaners, visitors, and other persons who may be affected by the work. Exclusions are limited to administrative placeholders, project-specific details, and site-specific operational information that must be completed by the employer or assessor for the final workplace version. [3] [4]

2. Risk Assessment Methodology

This assessment uses a structured qualitative risk assessment approach consistent with hazard identification, risk analysis, risk evaluation, and hazard control principles. Hazards are identified by reviewing the work activity, task steps, foreseeable conditions, exposure pathways, affected persons, and existing controls. Each hazard is then rated using a 5x5 matrix based on likelihood and severity, with risk expressed as the combination of probability and severity. Control measures are selected using the hierarchy of controls: elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, and personal protective equipment. Residual risk is reassessed after controls are applied to confirm whether the remaining risk is acceptable and whether further action is required. The assessment should be reviewed whenever workplace conditions change and on a regular basis to confirm that controls remain effective. [1] [9]

3. Risk Matrix Reference

The following matrix is used to evaluate risk levels based on likelihood and severity:

		Likelihood
Rare	Unlikely	Possible	Likely	Almost Certain
Severity	Catastrophic	Low	Low	Low	Moderate	Moderate
Major	Low	Low	Moderate	Moderate	High
Moderate	Low	Moderate	Moderate	High	High
Minor	Moderate	Moderate	High	High	Extreme
Negligible	Moderate	High	High	Extreme	Extreme

4. Hazard Identification and Risk Evaluation

1. Slips, trips, and falls on the same level caused by wet floors, uneven surfaces, poor housekeeping, trailing cables, cluttered walkways, or obstructed access routes.

Potential Consequences: Workers or visitors may suffer sprains, strains, fractures, head injuries, or lost-time injuries. Secondary consequences may include dropped objects, disruption of work, and increased likelihood of further incidents during emergency evacuation. [4] [5]

Affected Persons: Workers, contractors, cleaners, visitors, and any person moving through the work area.

Initial Risk Assessment

Likelihood	Severity	Risk Rating
Likely	Moderate	High

Control Measures

• Eliminate unnecessary obstructions and remove spill sources where practicable.
• Substitute safer floor finishes or anti-slip materials where surfaces are known to become slippery.
• Install engineering controls such as non-slip flooring, drainage improvements, cable management, and adequate lighting.
• Implement housekeeping inspections, spill response procedures, designated walkways, and prompt cleanup requirements.
• Provide slip-resistant footwear and task-appropriate PPE where residual slip risk remains.

Residual Risk Assessment

Likelihood	Severity	Risk Rating
Unlikely	Minor	Low

2. Falls from height during work on ladders, platforms, roofs, elevated equipment, or other access systems.

Potential Consequences: A fall may result in serious injury, fractures, spinal trauma, traumatic brain injury, or fatality. Falling objects may also injure persons below. [15]

Affected Persons: Workers performing the task, nearby workers, contractors, visitors, and the public if the area is not controlled.

Initial Risk Assessment

Likelihood	Severity	Risk Rating
Possible	Catastrophic	Extreme

Control Measures

• Eliminate work at height by completing tasks from ground level wherever possible.
• Substitute ladders with safer access equipment such as elevating work platforms or fixed access systems when appropriate.
• Use engineering controls including guardrails, toe boards, fall arrest anchor points, and exclusion zones below the work area.
• Apply administrative controls such as working-at-heights permits, pre-use inspections, rescue planning, competent supervision, and weather restrictions.
• Provide fall protection PPE including harnesses, lanyards, helmets, and suitable footwear where required.

Residual Risk Assessment

Likelihood	Severity	Risk Rating
Unlikely	Major	High

3. Manual handling of loads, including lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, or repetitive handling of materials, tools, or equipment.

Potential Consequences: Workers may experience musculoskeletal disorders, back injuries, shoulder strain, hand injuries, fatigue, or cumulative trauma. Dropped loads may also cause impact injuries. [8] [4]

Affected Persons: Workers, contractors, and any person assisting with material movement.

Initial Risk Assessment

Likelihood	Severity	Risk Rating
Likely	Moderate	High

Control Measures

• Eliminate manual handling by redesigning the task or changing the workflow so loads are not handled by hand.
• Substitute lighter materials, smaller packages, or pre-assembled components where feasible.
• Use engineering controls such as trolleys, hoists, pallet jacks, conveyors, and adjustable-height workstations.
• Implement administrative controls including load limits, team lifting, task rotation, ergonomic assessment, and training in safe lifting techniques.
• Provide gloves and supportive footwear where appropriate, while ensuring PPE is not relied upon as the primary control.

Residual Risk Assessment

Likelihood	Severity	Risk Rating
Possible	Minor	Moderate

4. Contact with moving machinery, rotating parts, pinch points, entanglement hazards, or unexpected machine start-up during operation, cleaning, adjustment, or maintenance.

Potential Consequences: Serious injuries may include lacerations, crushing injuries, amputations, fractures, entanglement, or fatality. Equipment damage and production loss may also occur. [6]

Affected Persons: Operators, maintenance personnel, cleaners, contractors, and nearby workers.

Initial Risk Assessment

Likelihood	Severity	Risk Rating
Possible	Catastrophic	Extreme

Control Measures

• Eliminate exposure by isolating the hazard and performing work without access to moving parts where possible.
• Substitute safer equipment or automated systems that reduce direct interaction with hazardous moving components.
• Install engineering controls such as fixed guards, interlocks, emergency stops, and energy-isolation devices.
• Use administrative controls including lockout/tagout procedures, permit-to-work systems, competent maintenance practices, and restricted access.
• Provide PPE such as task-appropriate gloves, eye protection, and protective clothing where residual contact or ejection hazards remain.

Residual Risk Assessment

Likelihood	Severity	Risk Rating
Unlikely	Major	High

5. Exposure to hazardous substances such as cleaning chemicals, solvents, fumes, dusts, vapours, or process materials through inhalation, skin contact, or ingestion.

Potential Consequences: Health effects may include skin irritation, dermatitis, respiratory irritation, asthma, poisoning, chemical burns, sensitization, or long-term illness. Spills may also create environmental contamination. [10] [5]

Affected Persons: Workers, cleaners, maintenance staff, contractors, and visitors in the affected area.

Initial Risk Assessment

Likelihood	Severity	Risk Rating
Possible	Major	High

Control Measures

• Eliminate hazardous substances where a safer process or product can achieve the same result.
• Substitute less hazardous chemicals, lower-toxicity products, or pre-mixed formulations where feasible.
• Use engineering controls such as local exhaust ventilation, closed transfer systems, sealed containers, and spill containment.
• Implement administrative controls including SDS review, chemical labeling, safe handling procedures, exposure limits, storage segregation, and spill response training.
• Provide chemical-resistant gloves, eye protection, respiratory protection, and protective clothing as required by the hazard assessment.

Residual Risk Assessment

Likelihood	Severity	Risk Rating
Unlikely	Moderate	Moderate

6. Electrical hazards from damaged cords, exposed conductors, faulty equipment, temporary power supplies, or work near energized systems.

Potential Consequences: Potential consequences include electric shock, burns, arc flash, fire, equipment damage, and fatality. [6]

Affected Persons: Workers, maintenance personnel, contractors, and anyone in contact with the affected equipment or area.

Initial Risk Assessment

Likelihood	Severity	Risk Rating
Unlikely	Catastrophic	High

Control Measures

• Eliminate energized work wherever possible by de-energizing and verifying isolation before work begins.
• Substitute battery-powered or low-voltage equipment where suitable.
• Use engineering controls such as residual current devices, insulated tools, protective enclosures, and proper grounding.
• Apply administrative controls including electrical permits, inspection of cords and plugs, competent persons only, and restricted access to electrical rooms.
• Provide arc-rated and electrically appropriate PPE where energized work cannot be avoided and is formally authorized.

Residual Risk Assessment

Likelihood	Severity	Risk Rating
Rare	Major	Moderate

7. Vehicle and mobile equipment movement, including reversing, loading, unloading, and interaction between pedestrians and vehicles.

Potential Consequences: Workers or pedestrians may be struck, crushed, pinned, or fatally injured. Collisions may also damage property and disrupt operations. [8] [8]

Affected Persons: Drivers, operators, pedestrians, contractors, visitors, and the public near access points.

Initial Risk Assessment

Likelihood	Severity	Risk Rating
Possible	Catastrophic	Extreme

Control Measures

• Eliminate vehicle-pedestrian interaction by separating routes and scheduling work to avoid simultaneous movement where possible.
• Substitute smaller or less hazardous equipment where it reduces exposure.
• Use engineering controls such as barriers, marked pedestrian routes, reversing alarms, cameras, mirrors, and speed control devices.
• Implement administrative controls including traffic management plans, spotters, exclusion zones, licensing/competency checks, and delivery scheduling.
• Provide high-visibility clothing and other PPE appropriate to the site traffic environment.

Residual Risk Assessment

Likelihood	Severity	Risk Rating
Unlikely	Major	High

8. Fatigue, stress, and reduced alertness caused by long hours, shift work, high workload, or insufficient rest periods.

Potential Consequences: Reduced concentration may lead to errors, injuries, vehicle collisions, poor decision-making, and increased likelihood of incidents during routine and non-routine tasks. [8] [5]

Affected Persons: Workers, supervisors, drivers, and contractors working extended or irregular hours.

Initial Risk Assessment

Likelihood	Severity	Risk Rating
Likely	Moderate	High

Control Measures

• Eliminate unnecessary overtime and redesign schedules to reduce excessive hours where possible.
• Substitute task sequencing or staffing arrangements that reduce fatigue exposure.
• Use engineering controls where applicable, such as automation or mechanical aids that reduce physical and cognitive load.
• Implement administrative controls including fatigue management rules, rest breaks, shift rotation, workload planning, and fitness-for-work checks.
• Provide awareness training so workers can recognize fatigue symptoms and report concerns early.

Residual Risk Assessment

Likelihood	Severity	Risk Rating
Possible	Minor	Moderate

5. General Control Measures

• Maintain a formal hazard reporting and corrective action process so workers can report unsafe conditions, near misses, and incidents promptly.

Use a simple reporting pathway, assign corrective actions to responsible persons, and verify closure of actions within defined timeframes. [2] [4]

• Ensure competent persons conduct the assessment with input from supervisors, workers, and health and safety representatives.

Include people familiar with the task and those with a fresh perspective to improve hazard identification and control selection. [4] [6]

• Apply the hierarchy of controls consistently before relying on personal protective equipment.

Prioritize elimination and engineering controls first, then administrative controls, and use PPE as the last line of defense. [9] [14]

• Review the assessment whenever workplace conditions change or new hazards are introduced.

Reassess after incidents, near misses, process changes, equipment changes, maintenance events, or significant weather-related disruptions. [2] [7]

• Keep documented records of hazards, risk ratings, controls, monitoring results, and review actions.

Store records in accordance with local legal and management system requirements and ensure they are accessible for audits and follow-up. [2] [13]

6. Emergency Preparedness

• Establish and communicate emergency response procedures for falls, serious injuries, chemical exposure, electrical shock, vehicle incidents, and fire. Procedures should include immediate area isolation, first aid response, emergency notification, and escalation to external emergency services when required. [15]
• Maintain rescue arrangements for work at height and difficult-to-access locations so a worker can be recovered quickly if a fall arrest system is deployed or a medical emergency occurs. [15]
• Prepare spill response and decontamination measures for hazardous substances, including containment materials, eyewash access, and procedures for isolating contaminated areas. [10] [5]
• Ensure emergency procedures remain effective during foreseeable unusual conditions such as power outages, extreme weather, shutdowns, or reduced staffing. [6] [8]
• Test communication and response arrangements for lone workers, remote workers, and workers operating away from the main site so they can summon help promptly if an incident occurs. [8] [11]

7. Training Requirements

• General Hazard Awareness and Risk Assessment Training: Workers, supervisors, and relevant contractors should be trained to recognize hazards, understand risk ratings, and follow site-specific control measures. Training should explain how hazards are identified, how risk is evaluated, and how workers are expected to report unsafe conditions, near misses, and changes in work conditions. [3] [1]
  • Recognize common hazard categories such as safety, physical, chemical, ergonomic, biological, and psychosocial hazards.
  • Understand the meaning of likelihood, severity, and residual risk.
  • Know how and when to escalate concerns to supervision.
• Task-Specific Safe Work Procedure Training: Workers must be trained on the safe execution of the specific tasks covered by this assessment, including step-by-step procedures, required permits, equipment checks, and stop-work criteria. Training should be refreshed when tasks, equipment, or conditions change. [6] [7]
  • Follow the approved sequence of work.
  • Verify controls before starting work.
  • Stop work if conditions change or controls fail.
• Working at Heights and Fall Protection Training: Any worker exposed to fall hazards should receive training on ladder safety, platform use, fall prevention, fall arrest systems, rescue planning, and inspection of equipment before use. Training should emphasize maintaining three points of contact where applicable, avoiding overreaching, and using the correct access equipment for the task. [15] [12]
  • Inspect equipment before use.
  • Use the correct access method for the task.
  • Understand rescue and emergency response requirements.
• Chemical Safety and Spill Response Training: Workers who handle or may be exposed to hazardous substances should be trained in label interpretation, SDS use, safe storage, ventilation requirements, spill response, decontamination, and the correct selection and use of PPE. [10] [5]
  • Know the hazards of each product used.
  • Use ventilation and containment controls correctly.
  • Respond to spills without creating additional exposure.
• Lockout/Tagout and Machine Safety Training: Personnel who operate, clean, adjust, or maintain machinery must be trained in energy isolation, lockout/tagout, guarding, emergency stops, and verification of zero energy before work begins. Only authorized and competent persons should perform higher-risk maintenance tasks. [9] [6]
  • Isolate all energy sources before intervention.
  • Never bypass guards or interlocks.
  • Verify isolation before starting work.

8. Monitoring and Review

Review Frequency: Annually and after any incident, near miss, significant change, or introduction of new hazards

Monitoring Type	Frequency	Responsible Party	Description
Regular Inspection	Before use and at the start of each shift	Workers and immediate supervisors	Inspect work areas, tools, equipment, access routes, and control measures for damage, defects, housekeeping issues, and changes in conditions that could increase risk. Remove defective equipment from service and report hazards immediately. [6] [14]
Formal Workplace Inspection	Weekly or at a frequency appropriate to the level of risk	Supervisors and health and safety representatives	Conduct documented inspections of high-risk areas, recurring problem locations, and tasks with elevated exposure potential. Verify that engineering controls, signage, housekeeping, and access restrictions remain effective. [2] [13]
Incident and Near-Miss Review	After every incident, near miss, or significant change	Supervisors, safety personnel, and management	Review incidents, near misses, and reported hazards to determine whether controls failed, whether the risk assessment remains valid, and whether additional controls or retraining are required. [4] [2]
Control Effectiveness Audit	Quarterly or as required by the level of risk	Management and health and safety committee or representative	Audit whether controls are implemented as intended, whether workers are following procedures, and whether residual risk remains acceptable. Update the action plan where gaps are identified. [14] [2]
Review of Changing Conditions	Immediately when conditions change and at least annually	Assessor, supervisor, and management	Reassess the work when new equipment, materials, procedures, staffing patterns, weather conditions, or work locations introduce new hazards or alter existing risk levels. [7] [7]

9. Special Circumstances

• Extreme weather can increase the likelihood of slips, falls, vehicle incidents, exposure to environmental hazards, and reduced effectiveness of some control measures. Work should be paused or modified when conditions exceed safe operating limits. [5] [6]
• Night work or low-light conditions can reduce visibility, increase fatigue, and make supervision, communication, and emergency response more difficult. Additional lighting, staffing, and communication controls may be required. [5] [8]
• Lone work and remote work increase the consequence of incidents because help may not be immediately available. Check-in systems, communication devices, and escalation procedures should be in place. [11] [8]
• Non-routine tasks such as maintenance, repair, cleaning, shutdowns, commissioning, and troubleshooting often present higher risk than routine operations and should be assessed separately or with additional field-level review. [4] [6]

Approval and Sign-off

This risk assessment has been reviewed and approved by:

Assessor: _________________________ Date: __________

Manager/Supervisor: _________________________ Date: __________

Safety Representative: _________________________ Date: __________

This risk assessment must be reviewed annually and after any incident, near miss, significant change, or introduction of new hazards or when significant changes occur.

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