Risk assessment template for workplace hazards
Updated · Reviewed by Israel Margulies, founder and CEO of High Point GPS
A risk assessment template: list each hazard, who could be harmed and how, rate the likelihood and the severity, multiply them for a risk rating, then write the controls, the risk left after them, and who owns each action.
A risk assessment helps you spend safety effort where it matters most. Rate each hazard from 1 to 5 for likelihood and for severity; the product, from 1 to 25, ranks them. Deal with the high scores first, starting with controls that remove the hazard rather than ones that rely on people remembering.
Work through controls in the usual order: eliminate the hazard, substitute something safer, engineer it out (guards, barriers, ventilation), use administrative controls (procedures, training, signs), and use PPE last. Then rate the risk again with the controls in place.
Risk assessment
Fields: Area or task · Assessed by · Date · Review date
Log columns: Hazard · Who could be harmed and how · Likelihood (1 to 5) · Severity (1 to 5) · Risk (L × S) · Controls · Residual risk · Owner · Due
Fill it in the right way
- Walk the area or the task and list every hazard you see or that people report.
- For each, write who could be harmed and how.
- Rate likelihood and severity from 1 to 5 and multiply for the risk score.
- Write controls, starting with removing the hazard, and rate the risk again.
- Give each action an owner and a due date, and review the assessment when the work changes.
Tips
- Ask the people who do the work; they know the hazards that aren't obvious from a walk-through.
- Agree what each number means before you start, so ratings are consistent.
- Re-assess after any incident or near miss.
- Keep it with the job safety analyses and SOPs for that work.
Do it in FleetZap
- Hazards found on inspections can be logged against the machine or area, and a failed check opens a work order.
- In FleetZap, a procedure can be attached to work orders, with pass/fail, reading, photo and signature steps; required steps block closing the job.
- FleetZap records checks and repairs; it doesn't certify compliance.
FleetZap Maintenance
Work orders, PM, parts, compliance, assets and KPIs. Explore FleetZap Maintenance.
Frequently asked questions
What is a risk assessment?
A careful look at what could cause harm in a task or workplace, how likely and how bad it would be, and what controls are needed.
How do you calculate a risk rating?
Multiply likelihood by severity, each rated on a scale such as 1 to 5. Higher products are dealt with first.
What is the hierarchy of controls?
From most to least effective: eliminate, substitute, engineering controls, administrative controls, then PPE.
How is it different from a JSA?
A JSA breaks one job into steps and finds the hazards in each; a risk assessment rates hazards across an area or activity. They're often used together.