Risk Assessments and Safe Systems of Work
Write task risk assessments with scored hazards and controls, keep them reviewed, and set out step-by-step safe systems of work
On this page
Risk assessments record the hazards in a piece of work, how likely and how serious they are, and what you do to control them — and safe systems of work turn that into step-by-step instructions for the crew.
Premium
Risk assessments and safe systems of work are part of Premium, along with the rest of H & S.
Where do I find risk assessments?
Click H & S in the top bar, then Assessments. It has four views: Risk assessments, Safe systems, PPE and COSHH. Risk assessments opens first. Four figures sit at the top: Assessments, Active, Under review and Review overdue.
Search by title, category or activity, and filter by status — Draft, Active, Under review or Archived. The list shows who assessed each one, its Initial and Residual risk scores, and its Next review date (in red once it's passed).
How do I write a risk assessment?
Click New assessment. The form is split into sections — work down it in order.
In Describe the actual work, select relevant task, machine or product records and answer the work questions. Record what will actually happen, quantity, duration, possible exposure, people affected, existing controls and site conditions. Blank answers stay unresolved; a product name or safety data sheet does not supply these answers for you.
Selected records are checked again when you generate suggestions or save. If they have changed, refresh and review the context. Assisted assessments remain drafts until the separate human review is complete. Manual completeness checks remain available when AI suggestions are unavailable.
Let AI draft it
TurfWise can suggest hazards and controls as you write, draft a whole safe system of work from its title, and turn a finished assessment into a toolbox talk. See Let AI help with risk assessments.
Basic Information
Give it a Title (for example "Pesticide Application - Fairways"), a description, and a Category — Chemical Application, Machinery Operation, Manual Handling, Working at Height, Electrical or Lone Working. Add the Activity Type (spraying, mowing, lifting…), the assessment and review dates, and a status.
Risk Scoring (1-5 Scale)
Score the risk before controls and after controls. Likelihood runs from 1 (Rare) to 5 (Almost Certain) and severity from 1 (Negligible) to 5 (Catastrophic). TurfWise multiplies them for you and shows the band as you go.
People at Risk
Say who could be harmed — staff, contractors, golfers — and roughly how many.
Approval & Authorization
Enter who assessed it and, if it's been signed off, who approved it and when.
Hazards, controls and PPE
Add each hazard under Identified Hazards. Under Control Measures, add what you do about them, with an optional priority and responsible person. List anything under PPE Required.
Legislation and templates
Optionally add UK Legislation References. Tick Save as template for future use if this is a standard task you'll assess again. Then click Create Risk Assessment.
What do the scores mean?
Each score is likelihood multiplied by severity, so it runs from 1 to 25:
- 1–4 Low
- 5–9 Medium
- 10–16 High
- 17–25 Very High
The residual score — after your controls — is the one an inspector will read first. It should always be lower than the initial score.
How do I review or correct an assessment?
Open the assessment and click Edit to update its contents. Then use the assessment review panel to check every hazard and control against the saved version and record your review reason. If an item needs changing or removing, save that source edit before approving. A later edit requires a review of the new version. An imported draft follows the same separate approval process.
Hazards and controls are set when you create it
The Edit page covers scoring, dates, approval and status. The list of hazards, control measures and PPE is written when you create the assessment, so take your time on it.
From the assessment page you can also Delete it — you'll be asked to confirm, because it can't be undone.
How does the crew see risk assessments?
Every assessment that's Active or Under review is available to your team in the TurfWise mobile app, where each person confirms they've read it. Drafts and archived assessments aren't shown.
If you change an assessment after someone has confirmed it, it goes back on their list to re-confirm. You can check who's confirmed what under H & S > Team > Read & signed — see Read & signed.
What are safe systems of work?
A safe system of work (SSOW) is a step-by-step procedure for doing a risky task safely — the steps, the PPE, the warnings and what to do if it goes wrong.
Open H & S > Assessments > Safe systems. You'll see how many procedures you have and how many are high, medium and low risk. Click any procedure to read its Procedure steps, Required PPE, warnings and emergency actions.
Adding a procedure
Click Add procedure
Give it a Title, such as "Chemical Handling & Application".
Choose a category, icon and risk level
Categories are Chemical Safety, Machinery Operation, Working Arrangements, Physical Tasks and Emergency Response. Set the Risk level to Low, Medium or High.
Write the procedure
Add the Procedure steps in order, then the PPE required, the Warnings and the Emergency actions. Use + Add step (and the matching buttons) to add more lines.
Save, then add pictures
Click Create procedure. To add reference images, open the procedure again and edit it — images can only be added once it's saved.
Each procedure has Export as PDF, Edit procedure and Delete procedure buttons — print one off for the shed wall, or send it to a contractor.