Risk Assessment Policies are a great tool to help business define and determine areas of risk or vulnerability, both to their staff and customers. A well-defined policy can help improve workplace safety as well as identify and reduce potential negative impacts of events ranging from natural disasters to data breaches. While Risk Assessments are an excellent tool in all areas of business, depending on your industry, you may be under an OSHA requirement to have a policy implemented.


The key components of the policy should include hazard identification, exposure assessment, and consistent monitoring status. Areas of hazards that are common to most workplaces include things such as slip & trips, stress, and manual handling of office supplies / equipment. Areas to consider adding include disaster recovery, Information Technology systems, Accounting/Payroll, Fraud, and Financial areas.


The questions to ask include
“what are the hazards?”
“who might be harmed?”
“what are you already doing to control the risk?”
“what further action should be taken?”
“who is responsible for the further action?” and
“when will the follow up action be taken?”


Your policy should clearly outline the analysis steps, who will conduct them, and then provide a scoring mechanism to rate the level of risk. Identifying areas of potential harm both to people and assets will strengthen your business operations and help retain quality employees by insuring a safe environment.


The attorneys at Waldron & Schneider have assisted clients through the development and implementation of Risk Assessment Policies and would love to help implement your plan.


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