Glossary term
Health and Safety Risk Assessment
Subject: Risk Management, Operational and Model Risk
Also known as: Workplace Risk Assessment
A health and safety risk assessment is a structured look at what could injure or harm people at work, how likely and how serious that harm is, and what controls are needed to keep it acceptable.
Explanation
The method starts with identifying hazards in each task, area and piece of equipment, and then asks who could be hurt and how. For each hazard the assessor estimates likelihood and severity, checks the controls already in place, and decides whether more are needed. The results are written down, assigned to owners and reviewed after incidents, changes to the work, or at set intervals. Many countries require employers to do this by law. It is hazard-based and tied to a specific activity or workplace, which sets it apart from an enterprise risk assessment that rates strategic and financial risks across a whole organisation. Workers and their representatives are usually involved, because they know how the job is done in practice. Inspectors usually ask to see the written assessment first, then check whether the workplace matches it.
Example
A hospital laundry assesses its work. Staff are at risk of cuts from needles left in linen, back strain from lifting and burns from hot machines. For needles, the assessment finds that sharps containers are not used consistently, so the hospital changes the collection process, adds training and sets a monthly check by the supervisor.
Not to be confused with
- Enterprise risk assessment
- An enterprise assessment ranks risks to the whole organisation's objectives. A health and safety assessment looks at harm to people from specific workplace hazards.