Your Workplace Risk Assessment in One Afternoon (No Consultant Needed)
The risk assessment has a reputation problem: it sounds like a consulting engagement with a binder at the end. For most small businesses it is an afternoon with a clipboard and honest eyes — and it is the first document an inspector asks for. Here is the whole method, doable today.
- ✔Five steps: hazards, who is harmed, rate, control, record.
- ✔Controls follow the hierarchy — PPE is the last line, not the first.
- ✔Written and implemented beats perfect and theoretical.
- ✔Review annually, after incidents, and when work changes.
Hour one and two: find the hazards and who they threaten
Walk every area of the workplace — including the ones nobody thinks about: the storeroom, the parking area, the stairwell, the kettle corner. List anything with the potential to cause harm: physical (machinery, electricity, vehicles, heights, wet floors), chemical (cleaning agents, solvents, dusts), ergonomic (lifting, repetitive work, bad workstations — yes, offices too), and human and environmental (lone work, aggressive clients, heat, poor lighting). Involve the people who do each job; they know where the near-misses live.
Next to each hazard, note who could be harmed and how: which employees, but also visitors, contractors and the public — your section 9 duty under the OHS Act reaches beyond your own staff.
Hour three: rate the risks and pick the controls
Rate each risk simply: likelihood × severity, high/medium/low. This triage decides where the effort goes — the paper cut and the unguarded blade are not peers. Then choose controls in the order the law expects: eliminate the hazard if you can; substitute something safer; engineer a physical control (guards, rails, ventilation); administrate (procedures, training, signage); and rely on PPE last, as the final layer over everything else — issued free, with training.
| Control | Example |
|---|---|
| Eliminate | Stop storing stock above shoulder height |
| Substitute | Water-based cleaner instead of solvent |
| Engineer | Guard on the grinder |
| Administrate | Two-person rule for ladder work |
| PPE | Gloves and goggles for the residual risk |
PPE handed out while the hazard stands untouched is the classic failed assessment — it manages appearances, not risk.
Hour four: write it down and make it real
Record everything in a simple table: hazard, who is at risk, rating, controls chosen, who implements, by when. Then — the step that separates assessment from wallpaper — implement: install the guard, run the training, buy the equipment, and sign items off. Review at least annually, after any incident or near-miss, and whenever the workplace changes. The full method and templates context are in the risk assessment guide.
Done this afternoon, the assessment starts paying for itself immediately: it tells you what training to run, which first-aid provision you need (first aid rules), what your safety rep should inspect — and it answers the inspector’s first question before it is asked. The full framework is in the OHS pillar guide.
Always confirm current requirements with the official source — rules and deadlines change.
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Frequently asked questions
Do I need a consultant for a risk assessment?
Not for most small workplaces — a structured walk-through with your own staff produces a credible assessment. High-risk industries (construction, chemicals, heavy machinery) benefit from professional input, but the law does not require a consultant.
How often must a risk assessment be reviewed?
At least annually, immediately after any incident or near-miss, and whenever the workplace materially changes — new equipment, premises, processes or substances.
Is a written risk assessment legally required?
The OHS Act requires hazards to be identified and controlled — and only a written, implemented assessment proves that in an inspection or after an incident. Unwritten compliance is invisible compliance.
Last reviewed: July 2026 · How we research our guides
EmployerGuide.online provides general information about South African employer obligations — not legal, tax or professional advice for your specific situation. Laws, rates and deadlines change; confirm current requirements with the official sources linked above, or ask Admin Boss. See our disclaimer.