Free HSE template · Risk Assessment Templates
Generic Risk Assessment Template
The generic risk assessment template is the no-jargon version: six columns, one line per hazard, the score and the action. It is the format for the small workplace, the new assessor, and the quick area check where the full five-step document is more than the task needs.
Generic Risk Assessment — the six-column format
Hazard, who, score, control, owner, date. No jargon, no bloat — the format for the small workplace and the quick area check.
| Hazard | Who | L | C | Score | Control | Owner | Date |
|---|
It still follows the five steps — the columns are the steps in order — so what it loses is the formality, not the method. The score is the standard 5×5, and the high and very high lines still get an owner and a date before the work continues.
How to use the template
- Set the header — the area, the assessor, the date, the review date
- Add one line per hazard you find, in the order you find it
- Name who each hazard can harm in the who column
- Score likelihood and consequence (1–5) — the template shows the band
- Write the control, name the owner, set the date on every high line
- Sign it, print it, and file it — export to CSV if you are keeping it in a register
Worked example
A five-line generic assessment for a storage office: the step at the door (trip, 2×2=4, mat and the sign), the server rack (electrical, 2×3=6, the RCD and the cable tie), the manual handling of the boxes (2×3=6, the trolley), the blocked fire exit (3×3=9, cleared and re-marked), and the coffee machine (burn, 1×2=2, the position). Five lines, ten minutes, and the one 9 has an owner and a date the same day.
Standard & legal context
The generic template is the same five steps in the compact six-column layout, so it meets the MHSWR 1999 recording duty and the ISO 45001:2018 clause 6.1.2 hazard identification at the level of a small workplace. The 5×5 scoring is the HSE ACoP L80 convention. Where the workplace is high-risk or the document is statutory, the full assessment template and the competent person are the standard, not this one.
Common mistakes
- Using the generic format on a high-risk site — the compact layout is for the small workplace, not the process plant
- Filling the who column with everyone — the who is the specific group the hazard harms, and it changes the control
- Scoring everything low to keep the table short — a wall of 2s is the confession, not the assessment
- No owner, no date on the high lines — the generic format is short, not empty
Need the sign-off, not just the template?
The template is the preparation; the sign-off is the professional. For the statutory assessments, the audits, the ISO 45001 implementation and the training that comes with them, ask Muhammad Umer — 8+ years across Iraq, KSA and Pakistan, and the programme runs through umer-hse.pro. One message gets the written scope.
Common questions
Generic Risk Assessment Template — answered
What is a generic risk assessment?
A generic risk assessment is the compact, six-column risk assessment — hazard, who, score, control, owner, date — for the small workplace or the quick area check. It follows the five steps in a shorter form.
Is a generic risk assessment acceptable?
For a small, low-risk workplace, yes — it meets the recording duty at the level the workplace needs. For a high-risk site or a statutory document, the full five-step assessment and the competent person are the standard.
How is it different from the general risk assessment template?
The same five steps in a shorter layout: the general template is the full five-step document with the worked example; the generic template is the six-column table for the quick check. Use the generic for the small workplace, the general for the formal file.
Can I use it in the US?
Yes — the five-step method is the UK convention, but the columns (hazard, who, risk, control, owner, date) are the same logic OSHA and ISO 45001 expect. The standard section names the US and ISO equivalents.
Does it score the risk?
Yes — likelihood times consequence on the standard 5×5, with the band shown, and the high and very high lines flagged for an owner and a date.
Can I print or export it?
Yes — Print / Save as PDF for the file, and Export CSV for the register. The template is deliberately short so it fills in a walkover, not an office.
Keep building
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THE HEALTH AND SAFETY is an education and knowledge network. The templates are free and open; the professional assessments and audits run through umer-hse.pro.
Safety disclaimer
These templates are practical documents, built to the UK baseline with the US equivalents named on each page. They do not replace a competent person assessment for high-risk work, a statutory assessment, or the advice of your insurer. Where a document has legal force — the fire risk assessment, the COSHH register, the permit to work — the responsible person owns it. Use the template as the preparation, and the competent person as the sign-off.