Guide

Office risk assessment: what does it look at?

An office looks low-hazard, but its hazards are quiet ones: posture, screens, lighting, electricity and evacuation.

Confirm the hazard class first

The depth of the assessment and the renewal interval follow from the workplace's hazard class. The class depends on the activity code and is not guessed; read it from the hazard class query tool on this site.

Quiet hazards

Injury is rare in an office; discomfort is common. Sitting at a screen all day loads the neck, shoulders and lower back; desk height, screen distance and how adjustable the chair is change that load directly. Poor lighting, or glare on the screen, feeds eye strain and headaches.

What gets missed

Extension leads plugged into extension leads, heaps of cable, a fire exit locked or blocked, a cabinet not secured against tipping, an empty first-aid cabinet. None of these needs expensive control, yet they are the first things seen in an inspection and in an accident.

The psychosocial side

Workload, deadline pressure and uncertainty are measurable risks in an office. An assessment content with a list of physical hazards misses that workplace's real burden.

In Optifora

The risk assessment module gives this setting's hazard list as a starting point; you correct it with what you see on site, score it, and tie the control to a task with an owner. When the renewal date approaches, the reminder arrives on its own.

  1. Set the class and scopeConfirm the hazard class from the activity code and write down the areas to be assessed.
  2. Walk the siteWalk every area at the hour the work is done; ask the workers what they struggle with.
  3. Record the hazardsRecord every hazard you see, with its location and the number of people affected.
  4. ScoreScore with the method you chose; write down diverging views with their reasoning.
  5. Tie controls to tasksGive every control an owner and a date; re-score the residual risk once it is in place.
  6. Put renewal in the calendarEnter the interval the class requires; if there is an accident or a change, renew without waiting.

Manage this in Optifora

Optifora is not a single program but a compliance platform assembled from modules. The catalogue states which module is ready today and which is on the roadmap.

See what Optifora is