Risk Assessment Form

This free risk assessment template is a printable form for one task: break it into steps, rate the risk of each hazard, and record the controls, who owns them and when they are done. Observe the task with the people doing it, identify each hazard and who may be harmed, and use the site’s agreed risk-rating definitions.

What you can download

The PDF contains the original blank form pages, followed by a completed fictional example and a separate instructions page. Print only the blank pages for use at work; keep the example and guide as references. The download is free; enter your email to receive a secure link valid for seven days. Product-news consent is optional.

The blank risk assessment form is two landscape pages. Page one carries the activity or task, location, reference number, assessor, date and review date, a 5x5 risk matrix (risk = likelihood × severity; low 1–4, medium 5–12, high 15–25) and the hierarchy of controls numbered from 1 eliminate to 5 PPE. The hazard table follows, one row per hazard in job-step order: activity step, hazards, who is at risk, initial likelihood, severity and risk, control measures, control level, residual likelihood, severity and risk, person responsible, target date and done date. Page two continues the table to 15 rows and closes with the assessor signature and EHS manager approval.

What a good risk assessment includes

• A defined task and location. One activity per form, so the hazards and controls stay specific.
• Steps in the order they happen. Hazards are easier to spot, and harder to miss, when the job is broken down.
• Who could be harmed. Operators, pedestrians, maintenance staff, contractors and visitors are affected differently.
• An initial score using agreed definitions. Everyone on site should mean the same thing by “likely” or “major”.
• Controls from the top of the hierarchy. Eliminate or substitute where possible; engineering controls before procedures, signs and PPE.
• An owner and a date for each control. Without them, the assessment is a list of intentions.
• A residual score after verification. Rescore only when the control is in place and seen to work.

How to complete a risk assessment

1. Choose the task and watch it being done with the people who do it. List each step in order.
2. For every step, record what could cause harm and who could be harmed.
3. Rate the initial risk with the site’s likelihood and severity definitions and note the score.
4. Pick controls starting at elimination and write the control level (1 to 5) beside each one.
5. Assign a responsible person and target date, and record the date the control was actually completed.
6. Once the control is verified, rescore the residual risk. Severity usually stays the same unless the hazard itself has changed.
7. Get the assessment approved, share it with the people doing the task, and set a review date.

Completed manufacturing example

A tray-transport assessment separates load movement from lifting. Controls target the task design and are checked again after implementation; severity is not reduced merely because a control was added.

The first example starts at likelihood 3 x severity 4 = 12. After a verified control, 1 x 4 = 4. The score supports discussion; it is not proof that a task is safe.

Assessment RA-014 covers tray transport in assembly aisle A2. Step one, moving a loaded tray, carries the risk of the load slipping into the aisle, affecting operators and pedestrians; a secured load and a separated route (an engineering control) bring it from 12 to 4. Step two, lifting the tray to the bench, starts at 3 × 3 = 9 for manual handling strain and falls to 3 after the lift aid and task design are reviewed. A final row schedules a review to confirm the controls still work after the change.

Risk assessment, JSA or JHA?

A risk assessment scores each hazard for likelihood and severity and shows how controls reduce the risk. A job hazard analysis (JHA), also called a job safety analysis (JSA), breaks one job into steps and records the hazards and the safe way to do each step, usually without a numerical score. Many plants keep a risk assessment for the task or area and use a JSA for a specific job on the day. If you need the step-by-step format, use the job hazard analysis template. Our guide on customising a risk assessment template covers adapting the rating definitions to your workplace.

Common risk assessment mistakes

• Rescoring before the control exists. A residual score for a control that is still planned gives false comfort.
• Lowering severity because PPE was added. PPE may reduce the chance of harm; it rarely changes how bad the harm could be.
• Copying a generic assessment. An assessment written for another site or task will miss the hazards that matter here.
• Relying on the bottom of the hierarchy. Training, signs and PPE are needed, but they depend on people getting it right every time.
• Never reviewing it. Tasks change; an assessment dated three years ago describes a different job.

When to use this template

The 5x5 matrix is illustrative. Risk acceptability, specialist assessments and legal duties cannot be determined by a generic score alone.

Reference guidance: HSE: managing risk.

Continue with Job hazard analysis, Incident Report Form, Safety Inspection Form.

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