The Five Steps to Risk Assessment Explained

The five-step approach to risk assessment has become the standard way to think about workplace safety, and for good reason. It turns a vague legal obligation into a clear sequence anyone can follow. In Ireland, the duty to carry out a risk assessment comes from Section 19 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005which requires every employer to identify hazards, assess the associated risks, and record what they find.

The steps below are not a legal formula to be recited word for word. They are a practical thinking tool. Used properly, they make sure nothing important slips through the cracks and that your written record will hold up if the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) ever asks to see it.

Step one: identify the hazards

Start by finding everything that could cause harm. Walk the workplace slowly and look at it as if for the first time. Ask the people who do the job, because they live with the awkward lifts, the worn steps and the temperamental machine every day.

• Observe how tasks are actually performed, not how the procedure describes them.
• Check past accident and near-miss records for clues.
• Read manufacturer guidance and chemical safety data sheets.
• Consider less obvious hazards such as noise, dust and work-related stress.

Step two: decide who might be harmed and how

For each hazard, name the people exposed to it and describe the harm. Think beyond your own staff to contractors, visitors and the public. Pay particular attention to those who may be at greater risk, including young workers, new employees, lone workers and pregnant employees. Being specific — "a cleaner could slip on a wet tiled floor near the entrance" — is far more useful than a generic note.

Naming the people at risk changes the conversation. It stops the assessment being an abstract list and turns it into a duty you owe to real colleagues.

Step three: evaluate the risks and decide on controls

Now weigh how likely each harm is and how serious it would be, then decide what to do. The aim is to reduce risk so far as is reasonably practicable. Always work down the hierarchy of controls rather than jumping straight to protective gear.

• Eliminate the hazard where you can remove it altogether.
• Substitute a safer material, tool or method.
• Add engineering controls such as guarding, ventilation or barriers.
• Use administrative controls like safe systems of work and training.
• Issue personal protective equipment only as the final safeguard.

Many of these controls are spelled out in the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007, which cover areas from manual handling to display screen equipment.

Step four: record your findings

Put your conclusions in writing in plain language. A good record shows the hazard, who could be harmed, the controls already in place, and any further action required — with a responsible person and a target date for each outstanding item. This written assessment is the evidence that you took your duties seriously, and it forms the backbone of your safety statement.

Step five: review and update

A risk assessment is a living document. Revisit it after any accident or near miss, when you introduce new equipment or processes, when staff change, and at sensible intervals such as once a year. If circumstances have changed and your controls no longer match reality, the assessment must be updated promptly.

Where the five steps lead next

The five steps are the engine; the paperwork is the output. If you want a fuller walkthrough of putting pen to paper, our guide on how to write a risk assessment in Ireland expands on each stage with worked examples.

Once your assessments are complete, their findings feed into the written safety statement required under Section 20 of the Act. A short certified course is the quickest way to build the confidence to apply these five steps consistently across your business.