Managing health and safety risks

A simple, proportionate approach to controlling workplace and duty risk.

The organisation responsible for work or duty activity should understand the hazards, who may be harmed, what controls already exist and what further action is reasonably required.

The responsible manager should keep the assessment proportionate to the activity. Routine low-risk activity does not require an elaborate safety bureaucracy, but foreseeable serious risks should be recorded clearly and assigned to an owner.

Controls should be reviewed after a significant change, incident, near miss or evidence that the existing arrangement is not working.

• identify the work or duty activity
• identify hazards and people who may be affected
• assess likelihood and possible severity
• identify existing controls
• decide what further controls are reasonably required
• record significant findings where appropriate
• assign actions and owners
• review after change, incident or new evidence