HOW TO USE THE HAZARD
IDENTIFICATION AND RISK
ASSESSMENT TEMPLATE
Page 1 of 11
1. Introduction
Safety is one of the most important factors in a workplace. The question is, how do you
know that your workplace is safe?
The only way you’d know there’s an unsafe condition in your workplace is through the
identification of a hazard and the assessment of the risk.
3 Reasons to do a risk assessment
1.
2.
3.
4.
It is a legislative requirement.
It is a moral obligation.
To stay the business.
For insurance purposes
Conducting a hazard identification and risk assessment process (HIRA) will help you:
1. Recognise and control hazards and exposures in the workplace.
2. Create awareness among employees. Use it as a training tool as well.
3. Set risk management standards, based on acceptable safe practices and legal requirements.
4. Reduce incidents in the workplace.
5. Save costs by being proactive instead of reactive.
Although it’s mostly believed that incidents happen due to employee mistakes and negligence, it’s a fact
that most incidents in the workplace occur due to insufficient management controls.
Use the risk assessment template attached to conduct a risk assessment in workplace. To help you
understand how to use the template we’ve included an explanation on how it works below.
But first, let’s go through some of the definitions to make it easier to understand.
2. Defintions
 A "Danger"
It’s anything that may cause injury or damage to persons or property. This is a clear
indication that the OHSAct doesn’t ONLY provide for the health and safety of people,
but also for damage that might occur to property – WHY? Because the chance of
people being affected when damage occurs to property, is very likely.
 A "Hazard"
It’s a SOURCE of danger, or exposure to danger.


A danger becomes a HAZARD when people are EXPOSED thereto.
A DANGER is technically also a HAZARD, because:
A SOURCE of DANGER = DANGER = HAZARD.
 A "Risk"
It’s the probability that injury or damage will occur.
A risk assessment should therefore, at the very least address, the following:


Exposure of PEOPLE to dangers/hazards.
Sources of dangers that may cause damage to PROPERTY.
Page 2 of 11
7 Different types of risk
Risks could be associated with:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Injury or illness to people;
Damage to property;
Effects on the environment;
Productivity;
Cost;
Insurance; and
Reputation.
3. Risk Assessor
Who can do risk assessments?
 The person specified by a regulation:
 Only the Major Hazard Installation Regulations specify that an Approved
Inspection Authority (AIA) must do it.
 The AIA are approved by the Department of Labour.
 A person who’s competent to do it.
 They could be in-house persons, OR
 It could be a specialist from outside the company.

“Competent person” means any person having the knowledge, training,
experience and qualifications specific to the work or task being performed:
Provided that where appropriate qualifications and training are registered in
terms of the provisions of the South African Qualifications Authority Act, 1995
(Act 58 of 1995), these qualifications and training shall be deemed to be
required qualifications and training (Regulation 1, Construction Regulations).
4. Methodology (Method used to get to the answer of a risk assessment formula)
a. Risk Value
 It’s a value in % to indicate the need for measures to either:
 Eliminate, reduce or to control the hazards you identified as
required by Section 8 of the OHS Act, 1993.
 It is calculated as follows:
Risk Value = Probability (P) x Severity (S) x Frequency (F)
b. Probability
 It’s the likelihood that people might be exposed to a a hazard
(danger).
 Probability Index
 It covers a range from 1 to 5:
1
=
Highly improbable.
2
=
Less than an even chance.
3
=
Improbable.
Page 3 of 11
4
5
=
=
Probable.
Almost certain or inevitable.
c. Severity
This is the degree to which the hazard might affect the following:
 Injury or illness, and damage to property.
 Cost:
 That includes cost to injuries or illness, property, productivity, the
environment, reputation or whatever other aspects are included
under SEVERITY.
 Productivity.
 The environment.
 Severity Index: Injury or Illness
1
=
First aid or medical attention.
2
=
Between 3 to 14 days off duty with full recovery.
3
=
More than 14 days off duty with full recovery.
4
=
Permanent or slight disability.
5
=
Fatality.
 Severity Index: Productivity
1
=
Loss of 1 man-shift.
2
=
Loss of 1 day’s production.
3
=
Loss of 1 week’s production.
4
=
Loss of 1 month or more production.
5
=
No production.
 Severity Index: Effect on Environment
1
=
Insignificant effect.
2
=
Short-term effect – 1 day to 6 months.
3
=
Medium-term effect – 6 months to a year.
4
=
Long-term effect – more than 2 years.
5
=
Permanent effect.
 Severity Index: Cost Implications
1
=
R 0 to R 999.
2
=
R 1 000 to R 9 999.
3
=
R 10 000 to R 99 999.
4
=
R 100 000 to R 499 999.
5
=
more than R 500 000.
 Severity Index
All the values of the different elements under the severity index, i.e.
injury or illness, cost, productivity and environment, are ADDED together.
IMPORTANT!!! Only use the elements that are present, e.g. if no person can be affected,
but the environment can be affected with an implication on costs but the productivity
won’t be affected, then only address the 2 aspects present, i.e. the environment is effected
and there’s a cost factor.
Page 4 of 11
 Possible Maximum Values
 Only 1 element – maximum value = 5.
 Only 2 elements – maximum value = 10.
 Only 3 elements – maximum value = 15.
 All 4 elements – maximum value = 20.
d. Frequency
It’s the rate at which the hazard would be present, or how often the hazard
would be present.
 Frequency Index
1
=
Hazard arises every 5 years.
2
=
Hazard arises once a year.
3
=
Hazard arises once a month.
4
=
Hazard arises once a week.
5
=
Hazard is permanently present.
e. Risk Value (RV)
Risk Value = Probability (P) x Severity (S) x Frequency (F) ÷ Maximum Value
(MV) (expressed as a %).
 Probability – scored value (1, 2, 3, 4 or 5).
 Severity – scored values of different elements under SEVERITY
INDEX added together (5, 10, 15, or 20).
o It depends on the number of elements present.
 Frequency – scored value (1, 2, 3, 4, or 5).
f. Maximum Value
5 (for Probability) x either 5, 10, 15, or 20 depending on the number of
elements present x 5 (for Frequency).
 Possible maximum Values

5 x 5 x 5 = 125 (1 element under Severity).

5 x 10 x 5 = 250 (2 elements under Severity).

5 x 15 x 5 = 375 (3 elements under Severity).

5 x 20 x 5 = 500 (4 elements under Severity).
Expressed as a (%).
Example:
P = 5; S = 4; F = 5; MV = 500(All 4 elements are present)
=5x4x5
= 100 / 500
= 20%
RV = 20% (D)
5. Categorisation of Risk Value
After you’ve completed the risk assessment your scoring is categorized as follows:
Page 5 of 11
A
B
C
D
E
80 to 100%
60 to 79%
40 to 59%
20 to 39%
0 to 19%
A
B
C
D
E
Take immediate action.
Take action within 1 week.
Take action within 1 month.
Take action within 6 months.
No action necessary – monitor the situation
6. 5 Steps to a Risk Assessment
Step #1: Identify members to be on the team

Identify a competent person who’ll be responsible for the entire risk
assessment .

The other team members must:
a.
Know the applicable legislation (OHSA and Regulations).
b.
Must have knowledge of plant, procedures, equipment and employeejob specifications.
c.
Expert knowledge might be necessary in specialised fields.
d.
Health and safety representatives must be consulted:
i.
Give them a reasonable amount of time to make recommendations
and to comment thereon.
ii.
Make them part of the process from the start.
Step #2: Study and understand the risk assessment procedure

Identify the applicable legislation. Categorise it into:
a.
Administrative aspects:
i.
Appointments, procedures, job specifications, etc.

b.
Mechanical aspects:
i.
Machinery, vessels under pressure, lifts and escalators.
c.
Electrical aspects.
d.
Health-related aspects:
i.
Chemicals, asbestos, lead, biological aspects (i.e. any microorganism, cell culture or human endoparasite, including any which
have been genetically modified, which may cause an infection,
allergy or toxicity, or otherwise create a hazard to human health.
e.
Civil-related aspects
Make arrangements with the relevant persons in charge of sections or divisions
to be assessed.
Page 6 of 11
a.
b.
Arrange for a situation to be assessed under normal working conditions,
the taking of photographs, etc.
Inform the workers of the assessment.

Prepare questions in relation to what has to be assessed.
a.
Allocate questions to persons who are conversant with the relevant
aspects that have to be assessed.

Take the risk assessment proformas (the template attached plus this document
and previous risk assessments) and all the necessary documentation with.
Step 3: Carryout the Risk Assessment

The relevant members of the team must:
a.
Report to the person in charge of that division.
b.
Identify significant hazards.
c.
Ask for applicable documentation:
i.
Maintenance records.
ii.
Training records.
iii. Appointments.
iv. Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS’s), if applicable.
These documents may contain information about the risks involved for the
hazards indentified.
d.
Check legal requirements against the situation in question.
e.
Question people on operating procedures - this is to establish if the
employees are conversant with the procedures. Here you can also
establish the level of training the employees received.
f.
Check manufacturer’s specifications - In terms of Section 10 of the OHS
Act, the manufacture must include the risks involved with the usage of
such equipment under the conditions it’s manufactured for. These
specifications serve the same purpose as MSDS’s.
g.
Check site standards and in-house rules – This is to ensure that the
current procedures cover all the risks involved with the work to be
performed. For example, work with grinding machines. The procedures
must include the possible risks involved with the working of such
machinery.
Look at incident statistics. BE CAREFUL.

All members must use the same format:
a.
Get the names of all persons involved.
b.
Stipulate the name of the section or division assessed.
c.
Stipulate the risks being assessed.
d.
Take photographs where necessary.
i.
Don’t get confused with the photographs.
e.
Get the opinion of the people involved.
i.
Make additional notes as to why a certain conclusion was reached.
f.
Complete the entire risk assessment matrix.
Page 7 of 11
g.
DONT BE MISLEAD BY STATISTICS.
i.
Your Health and Safety System should dictate your statistics, and not
the other way around. Health and safety statistics will never be 100%
accurate, because of the human factor and incidents that aren’t
reported by employees, and thus misleading, especially with the
operation of machinery.
Step 4: Write your report based on your findings


The report must be of a high standard.
The risk assessment report should have:
a.
An Introduction
i.
This must address WHAT was done, WHERE it was done, WHEN it
was done, and what the PURPOSE thereof was.
ii.
It must explain the METHODOLOGY being used in short:

That will ensure that the reader will understand the content.
b.
The Content must address
i.
The section or department that was assessed.
ii.
The date on which the assessment was carried out.
iii. Persons present during the assessment.
iv. Include a TABLE which addresses the following:

The identified hazards.

The probability index.

The severity index.

The frequency index.

The risk values of all identified hazards.

The category the hazards fall into.

Discuss each hazard listed in the TABLE in detail. Also mention
why only certain elements of the SEVERITY INDEX have been
used, if it was the case.

Highlight the hazard under discussion with photographs.

ALWAYS link the identified hazards with either a legal nonconformance or a site standard, by making reference to it.
A Conclusion, which should Include
i.
Responsibilities.
ii.
Certain hazards might have been overlooked.
c.
Step 5: Feedback

Present feedback to top management.
a.
Ensure that all persons responsible for areas in which the assessment was
done, are present.
b.
Issue each manager with a copy of the report.
c.
Discuss deadlines and responsibilities at this meeting, or as soon as
possible thereafter.

Give feedback to the health and safety representatives at the health and safety
committee meeting.
Page 8 of 11

7.
i.
Ensure they can give feedback to the employees they represent.
Give feedback on the following:
a.
The introduction.
b.
The methodology being used.
c.
A summarised TABLE with identified hazards.
i.
Explain why only specific elements of the SEVERITY INDEX have been
used, if it was the case.
ii.
Refer to legislation or site standards.
iii. Illustrate with photographs where possible.
Here’s how to complete the the risk assessment template
a. General information
Insert the following information:
 Project Name
 Compiled By (Who is the person compiling the report)
 Date of Assessment
 Revision Date (Normally a year after initial assessment)
 Evaluator Name (Who is the person doing the Risk Assessment)
 Signature (Of evaluator)
 Responsible Manager
 Signature (Of responsible manager)
b. Indexes as discussed above
Risk Value Index
Risk value is calculated as follows:
Risk Value = Probability x Severity x Frequency ÷ Maximum Value (expressed
as a %). (See discussion above)
Page 9 of 11
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) index
PPE is the equipment used to control and minimize the risk
c. Risk Assessment info
i. Task / General Activities
What is the task that needs to be performed? Give a full description of
the task, for example, equipment of 15 kg to be lifted 30cm high.
ii. Hazard Identified
Here you stipulate what are the hazards involved with the task/general
activities
iii. Risks and Severity Index
Risks are categorised in “I” – Health and Safety, “P” – Productivity, “E” –
Environment, “C” – Cost. The block is colour coded and Risk Rating can
be obtained in the index.
Page 10 of 11
iv. Calculation
The spread sheet calculates the Risk Value. You need to add the
Probability Index and Frequency Index – Colour coded and information in
the index section.
v. PPE, Signs, Corrective Action and Responsible Person
 Complete the PPE section, by inserting the letter of the correct
type of PPE(See PPE Index above) in this block.
 In the Signs section you need to identify what safety signs are
needed in the workplace for the specific task or activity.
 In the Corrective Action section you need to identify what action
is going to be taken to reduce the risk in the said task or activity.
 In the Responsible Person section, the name of the person
responsible for the corrective action must be inserted in this
section.
Continue to item No 2 and start with the next Task or activity for the workplace.
Page 11 of 11