Risk assessment: Steps needed to manage risk (2024)

2. Steps needed to manage risk

Risk management is a step-by-step process for controlling health and safety risks caused by hazards in the workplace.

You can do it yourself or appoint a competent person to help you.

  • Identify hazards
  • Assess the risks
  • Control the risks
  • Record your findings
  • Review the controls

Identify hazards

Look around your workplace and think about what may cause harm (these are called hazards). Think about:

  • how people work and how plant and equipment are used
  • what chemicals and substances are used
  • what safe or unsafe work practices exist
  • the general state of your premises

Look back at your accident and ill health records as these can help you identify less obvious hazards. Take account of non-routine operations, such as maintenance, cleaning or changes in production cycles.

Think about hazards to health, such as manual handling, use of chemicals and causes of work-related stress.

For each hazard, think about how employees, contractors, visitors or members of the public might be harmed.

Vulnerable workers

Some workers have particular requirements, for example young workers, migrant workers, new or expectant mothers and people with disabilities.

Talk to workers

Involve your employees as they will usually have good ideas.

Assess the risks

Once you have identified the hazards, decide how likely it is that someone could be harmed and how serious it could be. This is assessing the level of risk.

Decide:

  • who might be harmed and how
  • what you're already doing to control the risks
  • what further action you need to take to control the risks
  • who needs to carry out the action
  • when the action is needed by

Control the risks

Look at what you're already doing, and the controls you already have in place. Ask yourself:

  • can I get rid of the hazard altogether?
  • if not, how can I control the risks so that harm is unlikely?

If you need further controls, consider:

  • redesigning the job
  • replacing the materials, machinery or process
  • organising your work to reduce exposure to the materials, machinery or process
  • identifying and implementing practical measures needed to work safely
  • providing personal protective equipment and making sure workers wear it

What reasonably practicable means

Put the controls you have identified in place. You're not expected to eliminate all risks but you need to do everything 'reasonably practicable' to protect people from harm. This means balancing the level of risk against the measures needed to control the real risk in terms of money, time or trouble.

You can find more detailed guidance on controls relevant to your business.

Record your findings

If you employ 5 or more people, you must record your significant findings, including.

  • the hazards (things that may cause harm)
  • who might be harmed and how
  • what you are doing to control the risks

To help you, we have a risk assessment template and examples. Do not rely purely on paperwork as your main priority should be to control the risks in practice.

Review the controls

You must review the controls you have put in place to make sure they are working. You should also review them if:

  • they may no longer be effective
  • there are changes in the workplace that could lead to new risks such as changes to:
    • staff
    • a process
    • the substances or equipment used

Also consider a review if your workers have spotted any problems or there have been any accidents or near misses.

Update your risk assessment record with any changes you make.

Back to top
Risk assessment: Steps needed to manage risk (2024)

FAQs

What are the 5 main steps of a risk assessment? ›

2. Steps needed to manage risk
  • Identify hazards.
  • Assess the risks.
  • Control the risks.
  • Record your findings.
  • Review the controls.

What are the 4 steps you would take to carry out a risk assessment? ›

The Four Stages of Risk Assessment
  • 1: Hazard and risk identification. This part of the risk assessment process involves observing the work area and searching for possible health and safety hazards and risks. ...
  • 2: Identify those at risk. ...
  • 3: Complete risk assessment plan. ...
  • 4: Risk assessment review and update.
Apr 18, 2017

What are the 5 risk management processes? ›

There are five basic steps that are taken to manage risk; these steps are referred to as the risk management process. It begins with identifying risks, goes on to analyze risks, then the risk is prioritized, a solution is implemented, and finally, the risk is monitored.

What are the four 4 steps of risk management in the correct order? ›

Managing risks
  • Step 1 - Identify hazards.
  • Step 2 - Assess risks.
  • Step 3 - Control risks.
  • Step 4 - Review control measures.

What are the 4 C's in risk assessment? ›

An important step in improving online safety at your school is identifying what the potential risks might be. KCSIE groups online safety risks into four areas: content, contact, conduct and commerce (sometimes referred to as contract). These are known as the 4 Cs of online safety.

What are the 5 pillars of risk assessment? ›

The pillars of risk are effective reporting, communication, business process improvement, proactive design, and contingency planning.

What are the 5 Rs of risk management? ›

Engineers and other risk managers must tailor their response plans to address the potential exposures during rescue, recovery, reentry, reconstruction, and rehabitation.

What are the 5 elements of risk management? ›

There are at least five crucial components that must be considered when creating a risk management framework. They are risk identification; risk measurement and assessment; risk mitigation; risk reporting and monitoring; and risk governance.

What are the 5 Ts of risk management? ›

Risk management responses can be a mix of five main actions; transfer, tolerate, treat, terminate or take the opportunity. Transfer; for some risks, the best response may be to transfer them. need to be set and should inform your decisions. Treat; by far the greater number of risks will belong to this category.

What are the 4 T's of risk management? ›

There are always several options for managing risk. A good way to summarise the different responses is with the 4Ts of risk management: tolerate, terminate, treat and transfer.

What are the 4 pillars of risk management? ›

The 4 Pillars of risk Management is an approach to the planning and delivery of risk management developed by Professor Hazel Kemshall at De Montfort University. The model is based on the four pillars of Supervision, Monitoring & Control, Interventions and Treatment and Victim Safety Planning.

What are the 4 parts of risk assessment? ›

The air risk staff generally follows a basic four step risk assessment process, including hazard identification, exposure assessment, dose-response assessment, and risk characterization, as described below.

What are the five 5 measures of risk? ›

Types of Risk Measures. There are five principal risk measures, and each measure provides a unique way to assess the risk present in investments that are under consideration. The five measures include alpha, beta, R-squared, standard deviation, and the Sharpe ratio.

What are the 5 Rs of risk assessment? ›

Exposures vary considerably with time. Engineers and other risk managers must tailor their response plans to address the potential exposures during rescue, recovery, reentry, reconstruction, and rehabitation.

What is a take 5 risk assessment? ›

What is a take 5 in safety? Take 5 in safety, especially in the context of workplace, is the process of pausing a task and taking a five-minute assessment to identify potential hazards and risks that come along with it. Take 5 also typically involves five steps which are stop, look, assess, control, and proceed.

What are the five 5 steps that form the basic principles of risk management? ›

You don't have to cross your fingers and hope your business remains protected from bad luck.
  • Step 1: Identify Your Risks. ...
  • Step 2: Analyze All Risks. ...
  • Step 3: Evaluate and Prioritize Every Risk. ...
  • Step 4: Treat Your Risks. ...
  • Step 5: Monitor Your Risks.
Feb 22, 2024

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Greg Kuvalis

Last Updated:

Views: 6206

Rating: 4.4 / 5 (75 voted)

Reviews: 82% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Greg Kuvalis

Birthday: 1996-12-20

Address: 53157 Trantow Inlet, Townemouth, FL 92564-0267

Phone: +68218650356656

Job: IT Representative

Hobby: Knitting, Amateur radio, Skiing, Running, Mountain biking, Slacklining, Electronics

Introduction: My name is Greg Kuvalis, I am a witty, spotless, beautiful, charming, delightful, thankful, beautiful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.