formal hazard assessment

Formal Hazard Assessment Procedures and Risk Assessment Documentation =====================================================================

Assessment Date: \[DATE]

Assessor: \[ASSESSOR NAME]

Department/Area: \[DEPARTMENT/AREA]

Review Date: \[REVIEW DATE]

1\. Assessment Scope

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This risk assessment covers the formal process for identifying hazards, analyzing job steps, evaluating risk, selecting controls, and documenting mitigation actions for a workplace task, activity, or process. The scope includes routine work, non-routine work such as maintenance, repair, cleaning, shutdowns, commissioning, and foreseeable abnormal conditions such as power outages, equipment malfunction, and extreme weather. It also includes exposure to workers, supervisors, contractors, visitors, and any other persons who may be affected by the work. Exclusions are limited to administrative fields that are normally completed by the employer after document generation, such as project name, document number, department, phone numbers, personal names, and specific dates unless explicitly provided.

2\. Risk Assessment Methodology

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This assessment uses a structured job safety analysis and qualitative/semi-quantitative risk assessment approach. The work is broken into discrete tasks, hazards are identified for each task, and each hazard is evaluated using a 5x5 matrix based on likelihood and severity. Risk ranking is used to prioritize controls, and the hierarchy of controls is applied in order of preference: elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, and personal protective equipment. The assessment also considers routine and non-routine conditions, foreseeable unusual events, worker competence, exposure duration and frequency, and the potential impact on others in the area.

3\. Risk Matrix Reference

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

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

4\. Hazard Identification and Risk Evaluation

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1\. Inadequate task definition or incomplete job safety analysis leading to missed hazards during planning and execution.

Potential Consequences: Critical hazards may remain unidentified, resulting in incidents, injuries, regulatory non-compliance, ineffective controls, and repeated unsafe work practices. [1] [2]

Affected Persons: Workers, supervisors, contractors, visitors, and any person exposed to the task or process.

Initial Risk Assessment

Control Measures

• Eliminate ambiguity by defining the exact task, boundaries, and exclusions before work begins.
• Substitute informal planning with a documented job safety analysis and risk assessment process.
• Use engineering and procedural controls such as standardized forms, checklists, and pre-job briefings to ensure all steps are reviewed.
• Require administrative controls including competent-person review, worker participation, and consultation with health and safety representatives.
• Use PPE only where task-specific exposure remains after higher-level controls are applied.

Residual Risk Assessment

2\. Slips, trips, and falls during routine movement, housekeeping, or access to work areas.

Potential Consequences: Sprains, fractures, head injuries, lost-time incidents, and secondary injuries from falls into equipment or traffic paths.

Affected Persons: Workers, visitors, contractors, and members of the public in shared areas.

Initial Risk Assessment

Control Measures

• Eliminate unnecessary obstructions and poor housekeeping conditions.
• Substitute wet or uneven walking surfaces with safer access routes where possible.
• Install engineering controls such as anti-slip flooring, drainage, handrails, and adequate lighting.
• Apply administrative controls including housekeeping schedules, spill response procedures, and designated walkways.
• Provide slip-resistant footwear and other PPE appropriate to the surface conditions.

Residual Risk Assessment

3\. Manual handling of tools, materials, or equipment during task execution.

Potential Consequences: Musculoskeletal disorders, strains, sprains, back injuries, dropped loads, and reduced work capacity.

Affected Persons: Workers performing lifting, carrying, pushing, pulling, or repositioning tasks.

Initial Risk Assessment

Control Measures

• Eliminate manual handling by redesigning the task to avoid unnecessary lifting.
• Substitute manual lifting with mechanical aids, carts, hoists, pallet jacks, or team lifting.
• Use engineering controls such as lift tables, adjustable work heights, and load stabilization devices.
• Implement administrative controls including load limits, lift planning, rotation, and manual handling training.
• Use gloves and safety footwear where needed to improve grip and protect feet from dropped objects.

Residual Risk Assessment

4\. Exposure to moving machinery, tools, or equipment with potential for entanglement, crushing, cutting, or struck-by injuries.

Potential Consequences: Lacerations, amputations, fractures, crushing injuries, eye injuries, and fatal trauma in severe cases.

Affected Persons: Operators, maintenance personnel, nearby workers, and anyone entering the work zone.

Initial Risk Assessment

Control Measures

• Eliminate exposure by isolating the hazard and performing work from a safe distance where possible.
• Substitute safer tools or lower-energy equipment when feasible.
• Install engineering controls such as guards, interlocks, barriers, emergency stops, and exclusion zones.
• Use administrative controls including lockout/tagout, safe work procedures, competency verification, and restricted access.
• Provide task-specific PPE such as eye protection, gloves, hearing protection, and protective footwear as required.

Residual Risk Assessment

5\. Exposure to hazardous substances such as dusts, fumes, vapors, cleaning chemicals, or process materials.

Potential Consequences: Respiratory irritation, chemical burns, dermatitis, poisoning, sensitization, long-term illness, or environmental contamination.

Affected Persons: Workers handling substances, nearby workers, cleaners, maintenance staff, and visitors in the area.

Initial Risk Assessment

Control Measures

• Eliminate hazardous substances where a safer process or product can be used.
• Substitute with less hazardous chemicals or materials whenever practicable.
• Use engineering controls such as local exhaust ventilation, closed transfer systems, and containment.
• Apply administrative controls including SDS review, labeling, storage segregation, spill procedures, and exposure time limits.
• Provide PPE such as chemical-resistant gloves, eye/face protection, respiratory protection, and protective clothing based on the hazard.

Residual Risk Assessment

6\. Work at height, including use of ladders, platforms, or elevated access equipment.

Potential Consequences: Falls from height, serious injury, permanent disability, or fatality.

Affected Persons: Workers performing elevated work and persons below the work area.

Initial Risk Assessment

Control Measures

• Eliminate work at height by completing tasks from the ground where possible.
• Substitute ladders with safer access equipment such as elevating work platforms when appropriate.
• Use engineering controls including guardrails, toe boards, fall arrest anchor points, and stable work platforms.
• Implement administrative controls such as fall protection plans, pre-use inspections, rescue planning, and training.
• Use PPE including fall arrest systems, helmets, high-visibility clothing, and protective footwear where required.

Residual Risk Assessment

7\. Electrical hazards from energized equipment, damaged cords, temporary power, or improper isolation during maintenance or troubleshooting.

Potential Consequences: Electric shock, burns, arc flash, fire, equipment damage, and fatality.

Affected Persons: Electricians, maintenance workers, operators, contractors, and nearby personnel.

Initial Risk Assessment

Control Measures

• Eliminate exposure by de-energizing equipment before work begins whenever possible.
• Substitute damaged or unsuitable electrical equipment with approved, tested equipment.
• Use engineering controls such as grounding, GFCI protection, insulated tools, barriers, and lockable disconnects.
• Apply administrative controls including lockout/tagout, permit systems, inspection routines, and qualified-person requirements.
• Use PPE such as arc-rated clothing, insulated gloves, face shields, and dielectric footwear when energized work is unavoidable and authorized.

Residual Risk Assessment

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

Potential Consequences: Errors, reduced situational awareness, poor judgment, incidents, vehicle collisions, and increased injury likelihood.

Affected Persons: Workers, supervisors, drivers, and anyone relying on safe task performance.

Initial Risk Assessment

Control Measures

• Eliminate excessive overtime and unnecessary extended shifts where possible.
• Substitute high-risk tasks with lower-risk scheduling arrangements when fatigue is elevated.
• Use engineering and system controls such as automation, alarms, and workload balancing to reduce cognitive demand.
• Apply administrative controls including shift limits, rest breaks, fatigue reporting, supervision, and fitness-for-duty checks.
• Use PPE only as a supplementary measure; PPE does not control fatigue directly but may be required for associated hazards.

Residual Risk Assessment

5\. General Control Measures

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• Establish a formal pre-job briefing process before work starts.

Review the task steps, hazards, controls, emergency arrangements, and any site-specific changes before the job begins and again if conditions change.

• Require competent-person involvement and worker participation in hazard identification.

Include supervisors, workers who perform the task, and health and safety representatives so practical hazards and realistic controls are identified.

• Maintain current safe work procedures, permits, and documentation.

Keep risk assessments, job safety analyses, inspection records, incident reports, and control verification records available for review and communication.

• Use the hierarchy of controls consistently before relying on PPE.

Prioritize elimination, substitution, and engineering controls first; use administrative controls and PPE to supplement, not replace, higher-level controls.

• Conduct regular inspections and update controls when conditions change.

Inspect work areas, equipment, and control effectiveness routinely and after incidents, near misses, process changes, or abnormal events.

6\. Emergency Preparedness

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• Develop and communicate emergency response actions for falls, electrical shock, chemical exposure, fire, and serious injury. Ensure workers know how to stop work, isolate hazards where safe, summon help, and provide first aid until emergency responders arrive.
• Include rescue planning for work at height and confined or difficult-to-access locations. Rescue arrangements must be practical, timely, and matched to the hazards present so that delayed rescue does not increase severity.
• Prepare spill response and exposure response procedures for hazardous substances. Provide clear instructions for containment, evacuation if needed, decontamination, and reporting.
• Ensure emergency controls remain available during foreseeable unusual conditions such as power outages, severe weather, or equipment failure. Verify that communication methods, lighting, and access routes remain usable.
• Require immediate reassessment and stop-work authority when an uncontrolled hazard is discovered or when existing controls are no longer effective.

7\. Training Requirements

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• Job Safety Analysis and Risk Assessment Training: Workers and supervisors must be trained to participate in task breakdown, hazard identification, risk ranking, and control selection. Training should explain how to recognize hazards, how to use the risk matrix, and how to escalate concerns when conditions change.
  • Task breakdown and hazard recognition
  • Likelihood and severity evaluation
  • Use of the hierarchy of controls
  • Stop-work and escalation expectations
• Hazard-Specific Control Training: Workers must receive training on the controls relevant to the hazards they may encounter, including machine guarding, lockout/tagout, chemical handling, fall protection, manual handling, and housekeeping requirements.
  • Safe operating procedures
  • Pre-use inspections
  • Control limitations and prohibited actions
  • Reporting defects and near misses
• Emergency Response Training: Personnel must know the emergency actions for injury, fire, chemical release, electrical incident, and fall rescue. Training should include alarm recognition, evacuation routes, communication methods, and first aid notification procedures.
  • Emergency shutdown and isolation
  • Evacuation and muster procedures
  • First aid and incident reporting
  • Rescue plan awareness
• PPE Selection and Use Training: Where PPE is required, workers must be trained on correct selection, fit, limitations, inspection, maintenance, and replacement. PPE must match the hazard and be used only after higher-level controls have been considered.
  • Donning and doffing
  • Inspection before use
  • Cleaning and storage
  • When to replace damaged PPE
• Fatigue and Human Factors Awareness: Workers and supervisors should be trained to recognize fatigue, stress, distraction, and reduced alertness. Training should reinforce reporting expectations, rest breaks, and the need to avoid high-risk tasks when fitness for duty is compromised.
  • Signs of fatigue
  • Work-rest management
  • Escalation of fitness-for-duty concerns
  • Special attention for night work and extended shifts

8\. Monitoring and Review

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Review Frequency: Annually, and immediately after incidents, near misses, process changes, new hazards, or significant changes in work conditions.

9\. Special Circumstances

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• Extreme weather can increase slip, trip, visibility, heat stress, cold stress, and transportation-related risks. Work should be reassessed before and during adverse weather conditions.
• Night work or reduced-light conditions increase the likelihood of visibility errors, fatigue, and vehicle or pedestrian incidents. Additional lighting, supervision, and fatigue controls may be required.
• Lone work or remote work increases response time in an emergency and may reduce the ability to summon help. Communication checks, check-in procedures, and emergency escalation plans are essential.
• New, young, inexperienced, or otherwise vulnerable workers may require enhanced supervision, task-specific training, and closer monitoring until competence is demonstrated.
• Non-routine activities such as maintenance, repair, cleaning, shutdowns, and commissioning often introduce hazards not present during normal operations and must be reassessed before work begins.

Approval and Sign-off

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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 immediately after incidents, near misses, process changes, new hazards, or significant changes in work conditions. or when significant changes occur.

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