Risk Assessment Guidance & Template
Instructions for Contract Holders:
The information contained in this document, will help understand and assess the HSE Risk of
your contract.
Assess and analyse HSE risks
Categorise each contract as Low HSE Risk, Medium HSE Risk or High HSE Risk corresponding
to the highest risk inherent in the contract scope as follows:
1. Identify all Hazards associated with activities in the contract work scope, covering but not
limited to the following:

Nature of the work - work methods, staffing, materials, equipment, tools to be used and
associated hazards e.g. lifting, working at heights, transport, etc;

Nature of the product or service i.e. is the contractor required to perform an HSE critical
activity (such as the design HSE-critical equipment) as opposed to a hazardous activity
(such as working at height);

Location of the work - vicinity of shops, schools, hospitals, offices, houses;
environmentally sensitive locations (beaches, coral reefs, fishing areas, etc), and
associated hazards e.g. H2S, asbestos, chemicals and heat;

Local constraints;

Number of concurrent operations or contractors on site;

Potential consequences – environmental harm, injury, illness, asset damage, impact on
local societal sensitivities, reputation with Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) or
Governments, etc.
To minimise the assessment effort and to ensure consistency please refer to the relevant
hazards encountered in Appendix A- ‘Hazards and Effects Management Process’ guidelines
(HEMP).
2. Assess the HSE risk of each Hazard using Appendix B - ‘Risk Assessment Matrix’ (RAM).
3. Document the HSE risk assessment in the table below.
Contract Risk Assessment: (HEMP study)
Please complete the template to help you perform a contract risk assessment. This exercise is not supposed to be an exhaustive or comprehensive
assessment as such effort should be directed towards identifying the higher risk activities and their more
Contract Name
Contract Work Scope
Assessed*
Risk
(High / Medium/
Low)
Activity
Hazard
Effect
Consequence
Likelihood
Risk *Ranking
(If hazard was to be realised /
released)
(Severity rating
number )
(Frequency letter)
(letter & Number)
N.B. For guidance please refer to Appendix A“Hazard and Effects Management Process (HEMP)” and B “Guidance for Using the RAM”
Appendix ‘A’ Hazards and Effects Management Process (HEMP)
To help guide you, we have listed some activities and hazards that, can be considered when
determining the contracts risk. This list should only be used as a guide, as it does not include all
hazardous activities.
Activity
Hazard
Driving/ Transport
Dust, road condition, weather, 3rd parties, animals/camels, vehicle
maintenance/condition, driver competence & fitness, load restraining,
driving permit, driving hours, speed, mobile phone use
Manual handling, spills, fall of load, crane/ forklift failure, sling failure,
air winch failure
Home made, wrong for the job, wrong size or type
Tool racks, stoppers, conditions, securing mechanisms
Unsecured objects, earthing, un-authorized personnel, moving/ rotating
parts, noise, vibration, hot surface (high operating temperature),
slippery surface/ trips, compressed air failure, hydraulic power failure
Domestic, medical, batteries, drilling, exhaust fumes
Equipment failure, lockout failure, overloading circuit/ cables, incorrect
voltage/ frequency, high voltage.
Slips/ trips/ falls, falling objects, condition of ladders, condition and
presence of railings, loose gratings
Release of pressure, release of test fluid, not following manufacturer
guidelines, excessive pressure, stored energy, material failure,
connection failure, calibration failure
No gas flash back arrester, gas leaks, unsecured cylinders, welding or
cutting near flammable fluids, fumes, open flame, arcing, UV light,
heat stress, electrical failure
Exposure to paint, painting at height
Lack of Air, H2S
Crude oil & diesel, paints & coatings, oils & greases, solvents, acids,
mud chemicals, completion chemicals, cement, cement chemicals,
shock cards, storage, shading
Sharp objects, manual handling, steam, smoke, boiling water, boiling
oil, hot surface, slippery surface/ trips, chemicals, electrical appliances,
food contamination, water contamination, flies/ insects, rodents
Fire, smoking, slippery surface, tripping, electrical appliances,
flies/insects, spiders, rodents, snakes, scorpions, heat, cold, winds, dust
Hydrogen sulphide, hydrocarbons
Storage (Security, non–segregation of explosives, premature
detonation) and transportation (compatibility, shock/stress loading,
non–segregation of explosives, premature detonation), gun loading &
laying down (e.g. trapped pressure), gun misfire.
Radioactive sources, storage and transportation
Hydrocarbons at surface, high pressure, hydrogen sulphide, ionising
radiation, naturally occurring radioactive materials, ignition sources,
tubular, drill pipe and BHA handling, elevated objects, working out of
direct sight (e.g. in the cellar)
Lack of air, H2S
Incorrect voltage /frequency, sparking/ earthing
Material handling, Lifting,
loading, unloading
Use of hand tools
Storage of tools
Use of machines &
Equipment
Waste
Electrical work
Working at heights
Pressure testing
Welding, cutting, grinding
Painting
Confined spaces
Dealing with chemicals
Cooking
Accommodation/
desert environment
Gases at surface
Explosives
Radioactive sources
Well intervention
(in addition to above
activities)
Entry into Confined Spaces
Moving Equipment under
Power Lines
Etc.
“”
“”
Etc.
“”
“”
Appendix ‘B’ Guidance for Use of the RAM
The starting point for a RAM assessment is an understanding of the Hazard in its context (activity,
location etc.), or an understanding of the particular incident being considered.
HSE Risk Assessment Matrix
An assessment consists of the following steps.
Step 1 Identify potential consequences
Identify the consequences that could develop from a release of the Hazard under the prevailing
conditions. Ask the question: ‘What could happen if the controls don’t work or they fail?’
For example, the operation of a pump in crude oil service involves the potential for a release of crude
oil in the event of a pump seal failure. Some of the consequences that could result are:
a) Leak of crude oil into the drain system and then into the sea.
b) Ignition of the crude oil resulting in a small fire around the pump.
c) Inadequate fire fighting and escalation of the fire to the point where other process equipment fails
and a major fire and explosion occurs.
Step 2 Estimate the Severity of each potential Consequence
For each of the identified consequences assess the Severity (0 - 5) in the four Consequence categories people, assets, environment and reputation (PAER).
In the crude oil pump example above, for the consequence in which crude oil leaks from the pump seal
and flows through the drain system into the sea, there could be impacts in 3 Consequence categories asset, environment and reputation.
Step 3 Estimate the Likelihood
For each of the potential consequences make an estimate of the Likelihood of the Consequence in terms
of the Likelihood levels A to E. The Likelihood level should be judged from past experience, by asking
the question: ‘How often in the past has a hazard release resulted in a Consequence similar to the one
that we are considering?’ The approach is one of applying history to predict the future.
The estimate of Likelihood should be based on the Likelihood of the particular Consequence under
consideration, not on the Likelihood of the Hazard being realised or incident occurring. In the example
above an estimate should be made of the likelihood of the crude oil pump seal leak resulting in oil into
the sea, not the likelihood that the pump seal will leak.
Step 4 Estimate the risk rating
For each potential Consequence determine the risk rating for each of the applicable PAER categories in
terms of the product of the Consequence Severity and the Likelihood. The risk ratings (up to 4 for each
potential Consequence) can be plotted on the matrix to provide a visual representation of the risk
profile of the hazard release scenario under consideration.