Hazards

Use the Hazards module to record workplace hazards, assign accountability, document controls, and monitor whether the risk is still active, overdue for review, reduced to an accepted residual level, or fully eliminated.

This module is suited to ongoing hazard management rather than one-off event reporting. It helps teams keep a clear record of what the hazard is, who is responsible for it, what controls are in place, what the current risk looks like, and when the hazard needs review.

What you can record

Each hazard can include:

• the Reporting Person
• the Accountable person
• the Date Reported
• an optional Location
• a hazard Type
• a Brief Description
• detailed hazard information in Details
• optional Temporary Controls
• one or more Control Strategy selections
• the planned or current Controls
• Initial Risk Rating and Residual Risk Rating
• linked follow-up work through Associated Actions
• an optional Next Review Date
• review notes in Comments

In the current configuration, the required fields for creating a usable hazard record are:

• Reporting Person
• Accountable
• Date Reported
• Brief Description
• Details

Reporting Person and Accountable both default to the current user, and Date Reported defaults to today.

Hazard workflow

The configured workflow uses these statuses:

• Open: the active working state for a hazard
• Overdue: the review date has passed and the hazard still needs attention
• ALARP: the hazard has been reduced to an accepted residual level in this workflow
• Eliminated: the hazard has been removed

Although a Draft step still exists in the workflow definition, new hazards are currently configured to start in Open.

The standard progression is:

1. Create the hazard and save it in Open.
2. Add the hazard details, controls, and risk ratings.
3. If the Next Review Date passes, the record can move to Overdue automatically.
4. When the residual risk is accepted in this workflow, use Save as Risk as Low as Practical to move it to ALARP.
5. If the hazard is fully removed, use Save as Eliminated.
6. Use Re-open or Mark as Open when the hazard needs to become active again.

If an overdue hazard is given a Next Review Date that is no longer in the past, the workflow can return it to Open.

Eliminated is configured as an archived workflow step, so eliminated hazards may be treated more like completed records in active views while still remaining available for history and reporting.

Key fields

Reporting and ownership

• Reporting Person: who reported the hazard
• Accountable: the person responsible for managing the hazard
• Date Reported: when the hazard was logged
• Location: where the hazard applies, if needed

Date Reported is validated as today or earlier, so it is intended to reflect the current date or a past reporting date rather than a future one.

Hazard details

• Type: the hazard category
• Brief Description: the short summary shown in lists and notifications
• Details: the main description of the hazard, circumstances, and risk context
• Temporary Controls: short-term controls already in place while longer-term treatment is arranged

The configured Type list supports a broad range of categories, including examples such as Environmental, Manual Handling, Electricity, Machinery, Noise, Weather, and General Hazard.

Treatment and risk

• Control Strategy: the higher-level treatment approach; this field supports selecting multiple strategies such as Elimination, Substitution, Isolation, Engineering, Administration, and PPE
• Controls: the actual controls used or planned for the hazard
• Initial Risk Rating: the starting risk level before further treatment
• Residual Risk Rating: the remaining risk level after controls are considered

The risk-rating fields are configured to show the rating together with likelihood and consequence details, which helps distinguish the overall score from the factors that produced it.

Review and linked records

• Associated Actions: linked action records used to manage follow-up work; the field supports creating a new linked action directly from the hazard with Log New
• Next Review Date: the next date the hazard should be reviewed
• Comments: an ongoing history-style log for review notes and updates

Creating a hazard

To create a new hazard:

1. Open the Hazards module.
2. Create a new record.
3. Confirm or update the Reporting Person, Accountable, and Date Reported.
4. Add a clear Brief Description.
5. Record the full hazard details in Details.
6. Set the hazard Type and Location if relevant.
7. Add any immediate Temporary Controls.
8. Select one or more Control Strategy values, describe the planned or implemented Controls, and complete the risk ratings.
9. Add a Next Review Date if the hazard needs future monitoring.
10. Save the record.

Managing hazard treatment

Once a hazard has been created, you can use the module to:

• update the accountable person if ownership changes
• refine the hazard description as more information becomes available
• document temporary and longer-term controls
• reassess the residual risk after controls are introduced
• create or link Associated Actions to track follow-up work
• add review notes to Comments
• move the record to ALARP or Eliminated when appropriate

This makes the module useful both for immediate hazard logging and for longer-running monitoring until the hazard is either controlled to an accepted residual level or removed entirely.

Reviews and overdue hazards

Next Review Date drives the configured review cycle.

When a review date is approaching or has passed, the module configuration supports reminder and follow-up notifications. In practice, this helps the accountable person keep active hazards under review rather than allowing them to sit unchanged.

If a hazard becomes Overdue, common next steps are to:

• review whether the controls are still suitable
• update the residual risk rating if conditions have changed
• set a new Next Review Date if continued monitoring is needed
• reopen or continue linked actions if treatment work is still underway
• move the record to ALARP or Eliminated if the hazard has been resolved to that point

Notifications and updates

The current configuration includes email notifications for events such as:

• a new hazard being created
• the accountable person being changed
• a hazard moving to Overdue
• a hazard being marked ALARP
• a hazard being marked Eliminated
• a hazard being reopened
• review reminders one week before and on the review date
• summary review reminders grouped for accountable people
• comment-driven stakeholder updates

These notifications are intended to keep the accountable person and other interested people aware of changes that affect treatment and review.

Lists and tracking

The configured record list surfaces key hazard information such as:

• workflow status
• Brief Description
• Type
• Initial Risk Rating
• Residual Risk Rating
• Accountable
• document number
• attachments

This makes it easier to scan active hazards, spot review pressure, and identify which records still need treatment or follow-up.

Tips for better hazard records

• Write Brief Description values so they are understandable in lists and emails without opening the record.
• Use Details to capture the actual hazard and exposure clearly, not just the control response.
• Separate Temporary Controls from longer-term Controls so short-term actions do not get confused with the final treatment plan.
• Keep the Residual Risk Rating current when controls change.
• Use Associated Actions when the work needed to treat the hazard should be assigned and tracked separately.
• Set realistic Next Review Date values so overdue hazards reflect real review gaps.