Risk Assessment

A risk assessment is a systematic examination of a task to identify hazards, decide who might be harmed, and put suitable control measures in place.

A risk assessment is the process of identifying hazards, evaluating the risk of harm they present, and deciding on reasonable control measures to reduce that risk. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 place a legal duty on employers to carry out suitable and sufficient risk assessments, and to record the significant findings where five or more people are employed.

The HSE describes a widely used five-step approach: identify the hazards, decide who might be harmed and how, evaluate the risks and decide on precautions, record the findings, and review and update the assessment as needed.

On site, risk assessments underpin RAMS, permits to work, and toolbox talks. They should be living documents, reviewed when conditions, materials, or methods change rather than treated as a one-off paperwork exercise.