Common Errors in Risk Assessment—Are We Getting It Right?

 Common Errors in Risk Assessment—Are We Getting It Right?

Risk assessment is one of the most powerful tools we have in Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) management—yet it’s also one of the most misunderstood. Too often, assessments become “tick-box” exercises rather than living processes that genuinely protect people and operations.

Through years of observation and audits, several recurring errors consistently appear across industries and workplaces:

1️⃣ Hazard Identification: Missing less visible risks (like ergonomic, psychosocial, or chemical hazards) or failing to involve workers in the process.

 2️⃣ Risk Evaluation: Relying on subjective judgments or inconsistent scoring systems that misrepresent true risk levels.

 3️⃣ Control Planning: Skipping the hierarchy of controls or writing vague, non-measurable action items with no clear responsibility.

 4️⃣ Documentation & Communication: Creating generic assessments that stay on a shelf instead of being shared, discussed, and understood.

 5️⃣ Review & Update: Treating risk assessments as one-time reports, not revisiting them after incidents, changes, or near misses.

 6️⃣ Continuous Improvement: Lack of leadership follow-up and no feedback loop to learn from results or failures.

Each of these errors weakens the foundation of a safety culture — but when addressed systematically, they can transform the way we manage risks.

✅ Practical, specific, and regularly reviewed risk assessments create awareness.

 ✅ Inclusive assessments empower employees and enhance ownership.

 ✅ Continuous improvement turns compliance into culture.

Let’s move beyond paperwork and build risk assessments that truly work in practice — not just on paper.

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