What are Risk Assessments?
Simply put, a risk assessment is a thorough look at a work activity or situation to identify hazards and put controls in place to keep people safe.
Risk assessments often feel like just another paperwork task, disconnected from the actual job. But when done properly, they play a vital role in keeping you and your team safe.
By law, all work activities must have suitable and sufficient risk assessments. If you have five or more employees, these must be documented. The type and complexity of your risk assessment depend on the work involved.
A good risk assessment should:
1. Meet legal requirements – ensuring compliance with safety regulations.
2. Guide safe working practices – providing clear steps to do the job safely.
3. Be practical and relevant – tailored to your specific work, not just a generic template that may not fit your needs.
Done right, risk assessments help create a safer, more efficient workplace.
What type of Risk Assessments do you need?
All risk assessments follow the same process: identifying hazards, assessing who could be harmed and how, deciding on necessary controls to keep people safe, communicating the findings to those affected, and reviewing the assessment when needed. However, different tasks or situations require specific types of risk assessments. Here are some you may need:
Workplace
Looking at your facilities and
Task Specific
Focuses on a particular job, process, or activity, such as working at height, operating machinery, or handling hazardous materials.
Fire
Identifies fire hazards, evaluates risks, and ensures fire prevention measures and evacuation procedures are in place.
Construction Phase Plan & RAMS
Required for construction projects to outline safety measures and working procedures.
DSE
Ensures safe workstation setups to prevent issues like eye strain, back pain, and repetitive strain injuries for employees using screens.
Homeworker
A broad assessment covering everyday workplace hazards, required for all businesses to comply with health and safety laws.
Lone Worker
A broad assessment covering everyday workplace hazards, required for all businesses to comply with health and safety laws.
New & Expectant Mothers
A broad assessment covering everyday workplace hazards, required for all businesses to comply with health and safety laws.
Young Persons
A broad assessment covering everyday workplace hazards, required for all businesses to comply with health and safety laws.
How can ApplaudBC help?
At ApplaudBC, we support you in the way that works best for your business. You can choose from our H&S Documentation Package (checkout our H&S Packages page), which provides customisable templates for policies and procedures, or we can work with you to develop policies tailored to your processes and help implement them in your organisation. Or anything in between!
Whichever option you choose, we make sure your policies and procedures are manageable, practical, and beneficial—helping you stay compliant while making health and safety work for your business.
Our typical process for development of documentation:
1. Review
Review existing documentation against requirements and identify gaps to be filled
2. Data gathering
Gather information needed to develop documentation - this may be a chat with the relevant people or a visit to site to observe ....
3. Develop documentation
Write documentation in line with specific needs of business. Opportunities for feedback so that 100% accurate.
4. Delivery and implementation
Deliver in preferred format. Support in implementation such as training, briefings, audit of new processes etc.
Need help getting it right? Get in touch – we’ll make sure your policies and procedures are practical, effective, and tailored to how your business really works.