IOSH Managing Safely risk assessment examples for everyday work

A useful risk assessment is about the work people actually do, not just filling in a form. You might be checking a loading area, planning a repair or deciding what to do about a recurring spill. IOSH Managing Safely covers identifying workplace hazards, evaluating the likelihood and severity of harm, and choosing controls. The examples below apply those ideas to familiar SME tasks. They are fictional learning examples, not IOSH sample answers or a statement of how an assessment is marked.

What should a useful worked example show?

Start with a specific task and a hazard, rather than writing a broad label such as “warehouse safety”. A hazard is something with the potential to cause harm; risk is the chance of harm and how serious it could be. For each example, identify who may be exposed, describe the possible harm, note existing controls, and decide what further action is needed. A clear action has an owner and a time for completion.

IOSH’s beginner’s guide to risk assessment uses a wet-floor example and explains that a risk assessment considers hazards, people affected, likelihood and severity, controls, and review. It also shows an illustrative risk matrix with scores from 1 to 5; that is an example of a way to structure judgements, not a universal scoring system or IOSH marking rubric.

Keep the assessment proportionate to the task. Do not invent precise likelihood scores where you have no evidence, or imply that a low score makes a serious hazard acceptable. Explain the reasoning in plain English and prioritise controls that remove or reduce exposure, rather than relying only on warnings or personal protective equipment.

How might a delivery-area example be written?

Imagine a small business where a delivery vehicle reverses into a shared yard while staff move goods and visitors enter through the same area. This is a fictional example; check your own layout, vehicle movements and working arrangements before using any similar wording.

Task: unloading deliveries in a shared yard.

Hazard: a moving vehicle and pedestrians using the same space.

Who might be harmed, and how? Drivers, warehouse staff, contractors and visitors could be struck or crushed, with potentially severe injuries.

Existing controls: A marked delivery area and a site speed limit are in place. Those measures may help, but the assessment should check whether people actually keep separate from vehicles during busy periods and whether drivers can see the area clearly.

Further action: If practicable, separate pedestrian access from the vehicle route. Set a clear unloading procedure, tell visiting drivers where to wait, and arrange supervision when deliveries take place. Assign someone to check that signs, barriers or other physical measures are in place and usable. Training and high-visibility clothing can support a safe system, but should not replace better separation if that can be achieved.

Review: Check the arrangements during a delivery and ask staff and drivers about problems. Revisit the assessment if the yard layout, delivery pattern or work changes, or an incident or near miss shows that controls are not working.

This example demonstrates why “staff to take care” is a weak action: it leaves the shared route unchanged and gives no practical method to prevent contact. The Health and Safety Executive advises considering site layout, vehicles and people’s actions when assessing workplace transport risks, and prioritising improvements according to risk.

What does a premises example look like?

Suppose a cleaner discovers a spill on a corridor that employees and visitors use. “Wet floor” identifies the hazard, but a useful assessment also describes exposure and the response.

Task: cleaning and managing spills on a busy corridor.

Hazard: liquid on the floor can make the surface slippery.

Who might be harmed, and how? Employees, visitors and cleaners could slip, fall and sustain an injury. A person carrying items or moving through the corridor without seeing the spill may be particularly exposed.

Existing controls: A cleaning routine is in place, and warning signs are available. Check whether staff know how to report a spill, whether the signs are used promptly and whether the route can be diverted while cleaning takes place.

Further action: Clean the spill promptly, put warning signs where approaching people can see them, and close or redirect foot traffic if the area cannot be made safe immediately. Record who is responsible for responding and how staff should report a spill outside routine cleaning times. Consider whether recurring spills point to a leak, an unsuitable process or another cause that should be addressed at source.

Review: Look for recurring incidents or reports, and check whether the response works at busy times. Change the procedure if workers identify a gap or if the source of spills changes.

The important distinction is between a control written down and a control that works in practice. A sign alone does not remove liquid or stop someone entering an unsafe area. The assessment should make clear how the business will reduce exposure while the hazard is dealt with.

How should you assess a maintenance task?

A routine maintenance job may involve equipment that is normally guarded, but a repair can change how people interact with it. For a fictional task involving clearing a blockage from a small packaging machine, consider the following structure.

Task: investigating and clearing a blockage during maintenance.

Hazard: moving parts or unexpected start-up could cause entanglement or crushing.

Who might be harmed, and how? The maintenance worker could be injured while reaching into the machine. Nearby operators could also be exposed if they restart it before the work is complete.

Existing controls: Operators are instructed not to interfere with the machine, and the equipment has guards for normal operation. The assessment must establish whether those controls cover the maintenance activity; ordinary operating safeguards do not, by themselves, explain how the machine will be made safe for repair.

Further action: Define a safe maintenance method with the people responsible for the equipment. Prevent unintended operation while the blockage is cleared, restrict access to authorised workers and confirm that guards are restored before normal use resumes. Identify who checks and communicates that the job is complete. The exact isolation method depends on the machine and work, so do not treat this fictional example as a machine-specific instruction.

Review: Check the method against the actual equipment instructions and the way the repair is performed. Reassess if the machine, task or work method changes, or if a near miss indicates that the procedure is unclear.

This example is useful because it distinguishes the routine production task from a non-routine maintenance task. HSE guidance specifically advises considering how equipment is used, non-routine work such as maintenance and cleaning, who could be harmed, existing controls, further actions and the person responsible for those actions.

How do you choose between possible controls?

Compare options by asking what changes the exposure, not which option is easiest to write in a form. For the delivery example, a separated pedestrian route may be more effective than reminding workers to look out for vehicles. For a spill, preventing access during clean-up can add a practical barrier while the floor is made safe. For maintenance, a defined method to prevent unexpected start-up addresses the hazard more directly than relying on a warning notice.

IOSH describes Managing Safely as covering risk assessment, risk controls and managers’ responsibilities. If you are choosing training for your workplace, compare relevant workplace safety courses with the roles and tasks your managers oversee. The course is described by IOSH as three days in its full-course format; delivery arrangements can vary. If you need details about the assessment itself, check what the IOSH assessment involves. The examples here do not establish pass requirements, official answers or marking criteria.

A good action should answer three practical questions: what needs to change, who will do it, and by when? “Improve housekeeping” is too vague to check. “The facilities manager will clear the blocked route and arrange a daily check before the next shift” is specific enough to follow up, provided it reflects the actual workplace and is feasible.

How can you check whether the assessment worked?

Put the actions into practice and check the conditions they were meant to improve. Walk the delivery route while vehicles are present; check that the spill procedure is understood and signs are available; observe whether the maintenance method is followed. Ask the people doing the work what is difficult or routinely bypassed. An assessment that exists only as paperwork does not control a hazard.

The HSE steps for managing workplace risks set out five stages: identify hazards, assess risks, control them, record findings and review controls. HSE says employers with five or more employees must record significant findings, including hazards, who might be harmed and how, and the controls in place. It also advises reviewing controls when they may no longer be effective, when workplace changes could create new risks, or after workers report problems, accidents or near misses.

Keep the record concise enough to use. Write down significant hazards, the people who may be affected, existing precautions, additional actions and the review arrangements. Do not confuse completion of a course exercise with completion of your employer’s workplace duties. To make the training relevant, use examples from your own site and confirm that the actions selected are suitable for the real task.

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