Who is on it
- The employer or a representative — resources and decisions sit here.
- The safety specialist and the occupational physician — method and the health dimension.
- Worker representatives — the reality on the floor.
- Support staff — first aid, fire and evacuation duties.
- Workers representing each unit — every unit describes its own work.
External support may be brought in where the team lacks knowledge; that does not transfer the responsibility outward.
Why participation cannot be formal
What decides the quality of an assessment is not the method but the input. The person doing the work knows the shortcuts not written in the procedure, the equipment that half works, the real sequence of the task. If that knowledge never reaches the table, the resulting table assesses the procedure rather than the work.
How the team is run
- Scope is set: which unit, which tasks, over what period.
- The site is walked — the table starts on the floor, not at the desk.
- Hazards are grouped by source: machinery, substances, environment, work organisation, people.
- The method is applied and controls are written by the hierarchy.
- Controls are given owners and due dates.
Particular groups
Young workers, pregnant and breastfeeding workers, disabled workers and workers who do not speak the site language are assessed specifically. That may not mean a separate document, but it does mean separate lines.
The team does not disband
When the assessment is finished the team's job is not: following up controls, reassessing on change and reviewing after incidents belong to the same team.