A hazard identification and risk assessment — HIRA for short — is the written thinking done before a task starts: what could go wrong, who could be hurt, how likely and how bad, and what will be done about it. This template does it the way a good assessor does on site. It takes one task, prompts you through the common categories of construction hazard so nothing obvious is missed, then builds a register with one entry per hazard, rated before and after controls. A hazard still rated High or Extreme after controls is flagged at the top of the report. You can fill it in here and download a finished PDF without creating an account.
Hazard, risk and the register
A hazard is something with the potential to cause harm: an open edge, a reversing excavator, a tin of solvent. Risk is the combination of how likely that harm is and how bad it would be. A HIRA lists the hazards in a task, rates the risk of each, and records the controls that bring it down.
The register is the heart of the document. One entry per hazard, not one entry per category — "falls" is a category; "fall through the unprotected stair opening on level 2 while carrying plasterboard" is a hazard someone can control.
The risk matrix used here
Likelihood has four steps, from Unlikely to Almost certain. Severity has four, from a first-aid injury to a death or permanent disability. Read across the matrix for the rating:
- Unlikely — Low, Low, Medium, High.
- Possible — Low, Medium, High, High.
- Likely — Medium, High, High, Extreme.
- Almost certain — Medium, High, Extreme, Extreme.
- Low: carry on with normal care. Medium: controls needed and checked. High: work should not start until the risk is reduced. Extreme: stop — change the method.
Choose controls from the top down
The hierarchy of controls puts the most reliable measures first: eliminate the hazard (build it at ground level, lift it in by crane), substitute something less dangerous (a water-based product, a lighter block), isolate people from it with engineering (guardrails, extraction, interlocks), then administrative controls (permits, procedures, training, signs), and only then PPE.
Each register entry asks which levels your controls come from. If every hazard ends up controlled by "toolbox talk and PPE", the assessment has not done its job — the higher levels were not considered.
Residual risk and the decision
After the controls, rate each hazard again. That residual rating is what the crew actually lives with. Any hazard still at High or Extreme is a finding in the report, and the assessment ends with an explicit decision: go ahead, go ahead once the added controls are in, or change the method.
Then brief it. The crew sign the last section to show they have been taken through the assessment. On the phone, speak while you walk, and the document writes itself — describe each hazard as you look at it and the register entry fills in.
Common questions
What does HIRA stand for?
Hazard identification and risk assessment. It is the process of finding the hazards in a task or workplace, judging the risk each one poses, and deciding on the controls needed to bring that risk down to an acceptable level.
Is a HIRA the same as a JSA or a SWMS?
They are close relatives. A job safety analysis breaks a task into steps and lists the hazards of each step. A safe work method statement, used in Australia, is required for specific high-risk construction work. A HIRA is the broader risk assessment that can sit behind either. This template can record the steps and still keep one register entry per hazard.
Who should carry out the risk assessment?
Someone competent in the work being assessed, together with the people who will do it. The crew usually know where the real risks are; an assessment written in an office without them tends to miss them.
When should a HIRA be reviewed?
Before the work starts, whenever the method, equipment, crew or site conditions change, after an incident or near miss, and at the review date you set. The form asks for that date at the top.
Why is the risk rating chosen by hand?
So it works the same everywhere the form is filled in. The matrix is printed beside each rating question; choose the cell where your likelihood and severity meet.