Risk Assessment in SteadyOn

Risk assessment is the process of evaluating the likelihood and severity of harm from a hazard. SteadyOn uses a standard 5×5 risk matrix to calculate a risk level from two inputs: likelihood and consequence.

The risk matrix

SteadyOn uses a 5×5 matrix. The risk level is determined by the intersection of likelihood and consequence:

	Insignificant	Minor	Moderate	Major	Catastrophic
Almost Certain	Medium	High	High	Very High	Very High
Likely	Low	Medium	High	High	Very High
Possible	Low	Medium	Medium	High	High
Unlikely	Low	Low	Medium	Medium	High
Rare	Low	Low	Low	Medium	Medium

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Likelihood definitions

Rating	Meaning	Example
Almost Certain	Expected to happen — has happened before and will again	Daily manual handling task with poor technique
Likely	Will probably happen in most circumstances	Wet floor near a busy sink
Possible	Might happen sometime	Loose handrail on a seldom-used staircase
Unlikely	Could happen but not expected	Electrical fault in new, well-maintained equipment
Rare	May only occur in exceptional circumstances	Lightning strike at outdoor worksite

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Consequence definitions

Rating	Meaning	Example
Catastrophic	Death, permanent total disability	Fatal fall from height
Major	Permanent partial disability, long-term illness	Loss of finger, back injury requiring surgery
Moderate	Medical treatment, temporary disability	Sprained ankle, laceration needing stitches
Minor	First aid required	Bruise, small cut
Insignificant	No injury or negligible harm	Near-miss with no harm

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Risk level meanings

Level	Meaning	Action required
Very High	Unacceptable risk — immediate action required	Stop the work until controlled; notify management
High	Significant risk — priority action needed	Implement controls within days
Medium	Moderate risk — manage and monitor	Implement controls within weeks
Low	Acceptable risk with controls in place	Monitor; review at scheduled intervals

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Residual risk

When you add control measures to a hazard, the risk changes. SteadyOn lets you record both:

• Initial risk — the risk before any controls are applied
• Residual risk — the risk that remains after controls are applied

For example, a Very High risk hazard might be reduced to Medium after engineering controls are installed. Recording both gives you a before/after picture and demonstrates that your controls are effective.

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What risk assessment is NOT

Risk assessment is a tool to support decision-making, not a compliance checkbox. Common pitfalls to avoid:

• Rating everything as Low — if your register is full of Low risks, it loses credibility in an audit or investigation
• Copying from another organisation — your risk register should reflect your actual workplace
• Never reviewing — risks change when processes, staff, or equipment change. Set review dates and honour them
• Completing without worker input — workers often know the actual likelihood of harm better than managers. Include them in the assessment

A good risk assessment creates a shared understanding of what the real risks are in your workplace and what you are doing about them.

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Legal context (NZ)

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, you must manage risks so far as is reasonably practicable. “Reasonably practicable” is a legal test that weighs:

• The likelihood of the hazard resulting in harm
• The degree of harm that could result
• What the person concerned knows (or ought to know) about the hazard
• The availability and suitability of ways to eliminate or minimise the risk
• After assessing the above, the cost of eliminating or minimising the risk

SteadyOn’s risk matrix captures the first two factors. Your control measures capture the rest. Together, they build the documented case that you have met your duty of care.