In the UK, the HSE has published guidance on risk assessment:
There is no set way of undertaking a risk assessment but the simplest and most straightforward way is to consider following the five steps in our leaflet: Five steps to risk assessment [1].
- Identify the hazards
- Decide who might be harmed and how
- Evaluate the risks and decide on precaution
- Record your findings and implement them
- Review your assessment and update if necessary
The publication Five steps to risk assessment [2]describes each of these steps in simple terms. It will help you focus on the risks that really matter in your workplace.
There is also a number of example risk assessments which show you what a completed risk assessment may look like for a range of different business types. These examples can be used as a guide when completing your own. When thinking about recording your findings we also have a template [4] which you can fill in to complete your risk assessment requirements.
If you work in a low risk office based environment you can complete your risk assessment quickly and easily by using HSE’s new web-based tool. Here you can select the risks and actions that are relevant for your workplace and then save and print your completed risk assessment.
Remember a risk assessment is only effective if you and your staff act on the findings. It is important you follow through with any actions required and review the assessment on a regular basis.
Contains public sector information published by the Health and Safety Executive and licensed under the Open Government Licence v1.0.
In the US, OSHA has produced a useful Job Hazard Analysis Handbook. U.S. Department of Labor.