Risk assessment
Contents
Overview
Employers are required by law to make a suitable and sufficient risk assessment.
A risk assessment is:
- a careful examination of hazards
- identify any activity, machinery or substance that could potentially cause injury or death
- identify who could be harmed
- implement control measures to eliminate/reduce the risk
It is important to distinguish between hazard and risk:
- a hazard is something with the potential to cause harm
- a risk is the extent to which something harmful may happen - i.e. the combination of the likelihood and consequences of a specified hazardous event
For the 5 Steps to Risk Assessment, see .
Example risk assessment
The Example Risk Assessment for Education Departments will help you understand the process.
Other assessments are available on request.