Workplace health and safety practices are essential for employee well-being and to meet legislative requirements. A key to safety is knowing the nature of any potential risks and hazards that could occur. These are risks that could compromise the safety of staff or visitors. By being aware (and informed) of these risks, allows for them to be controlled and managed appropriately, or eliminated completely. Risk Assessments are a part of workplace safety assessments, when potential hazards have been identified.

When Should I Complete a Risk Assessment?

A risk assessment should be completed whenever a potential hazard has been identified in the workplace. For some workplaces, or particular industries, certain hazards are already identified and there are measured controls already in place.

Where this occurs, then existing relevant workplace laws and regulations must be adhered to. This ensures any existing practices and controls are followed to keep staff and workplace visitors safe.

However, for unknown (or newly identified) risks and hazards, then a full risk assessment should be completed.

Hazard Risk Ratings

As part of the Risk Assessment, the level of risk must be identified. This can either be Low Risk, Medium Risk, or High Risk. The level of risk is determined using an assessment of the likelihood of the risk occurring, and the consequence of the risk.

Risk Likelihood Rating

• Rare: May only happen in unusual scenarios.
• Unlikely: Could happen at some point in time.
• Possible: Might occur occasionally.
• Very Likely: Will probably occur in most circumstances.
• Certain: Expected to occur in most circumstances.

Risk Consequence Rating

• Insignificant: No threat of injury.
• Minor: First aid injury.
• Moderate: Medical treatment.
• Major: Hospitalization.
• Catastrophic: Death or Disability.

How to Complete a Risk Assessment?

One of the most popular risk assessment tools is the Take 5 Safety Book. This is a quick and easy way for workplaces to consistently manage safety. As the name suggests, there are 5 steps to the risk assessment method which include:

1. Think
2. Identify
3. Assess
4. Control
5. Proceed

We highlight these Take 5 Checklist Steps in more detail to show what is involved in each step when identifying and controlling potential hazards in the workplace.

It Only Takes 5 Minutes to Create Safety Awareness in the Workplace

When someone has been doing a trade, or job for a number of years - it’s easy to become complacent when it comes to identifying or talking about workplace safety. One of the big benefits of the Take 5 Safety Book is that it stops the temptation of ignoring or ‘shortcutting’ risk assessment in the workplace.

By taking 5 minutes at the start of any workplace project, staff can become much more aware of any potential hazards or risks that they (or their workmates or visitors) can be exposed to. It creates a routine of safety-focused habits across the workplace, and helps to reshape the daily thought processes when working across various projects.

As an industry leader for over 10 years in workplace safety checklists and risk assessments, UniPrint Safety Booklets come in a range of sizes and finishes, suitable to be used across all industries.