Assess the work people actually do
Walk through routine work, cleaning, deliveries, maintenance and unusual tasks with the people involved. Include contractors and anyone else exposed. Look beyond visible trip hazards to manual handling, exposure, lone working and work-related stress where relevant. HSE warns that copying an example assessment without considering the actual workplace is insufficient.
Keep national requirements distinct
France uses the DUERP to document occupational risk assessment. Great Britain has its own risk-assessment framework. OSHA publishes recommended safety-program practices for US workplaces, alongside enforceable standards and state-plan requirements. These are different frameworks. The shared starter below records observations and actions; it is not a completed DUERP or an OSHA compliance program.
Connect prevention to a decision and owner
Describe who could be harmed, the existing controls and the additional measures proposed. Record the action owner and intended completion date. Ask whether the hazard can be removed or exposure reduced before relying on instructions alone. Use a qualified assessment for specialist hazards. A supervisor should be able to explain the control and how its effectiveness will be checked.
Use incidents to improve the assessment
Record observed facts before assigning causes. Separate witness accounts from later investigation conclusions. Escalate urgent conditions using the site procedure, and check separately whether an event needs statutory reporting in the applicable jurisdiction. Review the assessment after an incident, a material change or new risk information; do not substitute a routine checklist score for that review.
Check local implementation and the responsible authority
EU occupational safety directives operate through national implementing requirements. For UAE sites, identify the applicable employment regime and competent authorities before choosing the procedure. Australian model WHS laws require implementation in the relevant jurisdiction; Victoria uses a separate framework. Keep the country, local jurisdiction and assessment decision together in the obligations register. A template used across several sites should still be reviewed for each site’s activities and applicable rules.
Start with the records you need.
Open an editable draft in Kivloo. Add your site, methods, limits and responsibilities, then save it to your workspace. Downloads remain free without an account.
Workplace task risk assessment
Record task-specific hazards, exposed people, controls, action owners and verification.
Workplace safety inspection checklist
Check access routes, work areas and emergency equipment. Record hazards and assign follow-up before the shift begins.
Near-miss observation and follow-up report
Preserve the observed sequence, uncertainty and immediate response before linking investigation and follow-up.
Corrective action register
Link a finding to an accountable owner, implementation evidence and a separate verification decision.
Site induction and practical follow-up record
Connect site-specific instruction, unresolved questions and any required demonstration to the actual assigned role.
Hazard observation, assessment and corrective-action review
Complete the site, owner, version, approver and review details in the downloaded document before putting this procedure into use.
Before you start
- Name the site, assessment lead, worker representatives and scope of work.
- Identify applicable national and local requirements, specialist advice and emergency procedures.
- Define the route for urgent escalation and the authority to restrict unsafe work.
Procedure
- Observe the task with workers and record hazards, exposed groups and existing controls.
- For immediate danger, follow the site emergency or stop-work procedure and notify the responsible person.
- Record further preventive measures, the accountable owner and target date.
- Document incidents or near misses as factual observations and preserve relevant evidence.
- Have the responsible assessor review the controls and any statutory reporting question.
- Verify the action in the workplace, record the result and communicate changes to affected staff.
Records to keep connected
- Site-specific risk assessment
- Observation or near-miss report
- Action owner, verification and assessment revision
Review triggers
- Incident or near miss
- New equipment, task, substance or work organisation
- New information or applicable review requirement