HIRA stands for Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment. It's a structured register that lists each activity, the hazards it presents, the risk rating before controls, the control measures, the residual risk after controls, and who is responsible. It's a required element of a construction health-and-safety plan.

Is a risk assessment required on a construction site?

Yes. Under the Construction Regulations 2014, a contractor must carry out a risk assessment for the construction work and put control measures in place. A documented HIRA is how that's evidenced, and it's commonly a returnable document in tenders.

How do I rate risk before and after controls?

Rate the inherent risk of the hazard first (Low to Critical), then apply your control measures and rate the residual risk. Good controls should visibly reduce the rating — that reduction is the point of the assessment. This generator lets you set both ratings per line.

HIRA risk assessment generator

Build a hazard identification and risk assessment register. Free · exports as .txt.

List each activity and its hazards, rate the risk before and after controls, and assign responsibility. Click the common construction hazards to add them with typical control measures already filled in.

Project

Assessor

Date

Common construction hazards — click to add

Activity	Hazard	Before	Control Measures	After	Responsible

Risk assessment

Free · downloads as .txt

Doing the assessment properly

Start from the programme, not from a list of hazards. Break the work into the activities in the order they will happen on this site: establishment, excavation, foundations, formwork and concrete, brickwork, roofing, services, finishes and demolition where it applies. For each activity, ask what could hurt someone, including people who are not your workers, such as the public, other contractors and the client’s staff.

The hazards that cause most serious injuries on building sites are falls from height, being struck by plant or vehicles, the collapse of excavations or temporary works, electrocution, and objects falling from above. Health hazards are easier to overlook: dust from cutting and chasing, noise, manual handling and heat. Each one deserves its own line, with its own controls.

Choosing controls

Work down the hierarchy of controls and stop at the first one that is practical: remove the hazard, substitute something less dangerous, isolate people from it with engineering controls such as guardrails and shoring, then use procedures, permits and training, and only then rely on PPE. A HIRA where every control is “wear PPE” and “toolbox talk” will not survive a serious incident investigation.

Keeping it live

Review the assessment when the work changes, when a new contractor arrives, after an incident or near miss, and at the intervals your health and safety plan sets. Record who reviewed it and when. The register is evidence that the risk was managed, so an out-of-date one helps nobody.

Questions

What is a HIRA?: HIRA stands for Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment. It's a structured register that lists each activity, the hazards it presents, the risk rating before controls, the control measures, the residual risk after controls, and who is responsible. It's a required element of a construction health-and-safety plan.
Is a risk assessment required on a construction site?: Yes. Under the Construction Regulations 2014, a contractor must carry out a risk assessment for the construction work and put control measures in place. A documented HIRA is how that's evidenced, and it's commonly a returnable document in tenders.
How do I rate risk before and after controls?: Rate the inherent risk of the hazard first (Low to Critical), then apply your control measures and rate the residual risk. Good controls should visibly reduce the rating — that reduction is the point of the assessment. This generator lets you set both ratings per line.

Aligned to the OHS Act (Act 85 of 1993) and Construction Regulations 2014. Export as plain text and format it in your company template. Need a method statement too? Use the method statement generator.