The Five Steps to a Workplace Risk Assessment
Risk assessment can feel daunting, but it follows a simple, repeatable pattern. Break it into five clear steps and any competent person can produce one that protects people and satisfies the law.
Behind every safe workplace in Ireland is a risk assessment. It is the structured way an employer answers a basic question: what could cause harm here, and what are we doing about it? The good news is that the process is not complicated. It follows five logical steps that work for a small office or a large industrial site alike.
This article sets out those five steps and how they connect to your legal duties.
Why five steps?
The duty to assess risk comes from section 19 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005. The Act does not prescribe a rigid form, but the well-established five-step approach gives a reliable structure that covers everything an employer needs to do — and it produces findings that feed directly into the section 20 safety statement. The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) is the body that oversees these duties.
The five steps are not a bureaucratic ritual. They are simply the logical order of any good safety decision: see the hazard, weigh the risk, act, record, review.
Step 1: Identify the hazards
Start by walking through the workplace and spotting anything with the potential to cause harm. Look at machinery, chemicals, manual handling, electricity, slips and trips, noise, working at height and confined spaces. Involve the people who do the work, review accident and near-miss records, and check manufacturers' instructions and safety data sheets.
Step 2: Decide who might be harmed and how
For each hazard, identify who could be affected — employees, contractors, visitors, members of the public — and pay particular attention to vulnerable groups such as new or young workers, expectant mothers and lone workers. Describe how harm could actually occur, as this guides the controls you choose.
Step 3: Evaluate the risk and decide on controls
Weigh how likely it is that harm will occur and how serious it could be. Then choose controls using the hierarchy of control:
- Eliminate the hazard entirely if you can.
- Substitute it for something less dangerous.
- Apply engineering controls such as guarding or extraction.
- Use administrative controls like safe systems of work, signage and training.
- Provide personal protective equipment as the last line of defence.
The aim is to reduce risk so far as is reasonably practicable.
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Step 4: Record your findings
Write down what you found and what you decided. A useful record lists the significant hazards, who is at risk, the controls already in place, and any further action needed — together with who is responsible and a target date. This record becomes the evidence that you have met your duty and the basis for briefing staff.
Step 5: Review and update
A risk assessment captures a moment in time, and workplaces change. Review it when you introduce new equipment or processes, after an accident or near miss, when roles change, or at regular intervals. Keeping it current ensures the controls still match the real risks.
Key takeaways
- The five steps satisfy the section 19 duty under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005.
- Identify hazards, decide who is harmed, evaluate and control, record findings, then review.
- Choose controls using the hierarchy of control, with PPE as the last resort.
- Reduce risk so far as is reasonably practicable, not to zero on paper.
- Findings feed the section 20 safety statement and must be kept up to date.
From process to habit
The five steps work best when they become second nature across a team. Training gives supervisors and managers the confidence to apply them consistently, spot hazards others miss and choose controls that actually reduce risk. Master the five steps and risk assessment stops being a chore and becomes one of the most valuable safety tools your business has.
