Risk Assessment Template South Africa: Baseline Risk Assessment (HIRA)
A risk assessment template for South African mines, plants and construction sites. The baseline risk assessment (HIRA) lists every activity on a site, the hazards each one carries, who could be harmed, the controls already in place and a rating of the risk that remains; the issue-based assessment goes deeper into one significant risk, a change or an incident. It is the record the MHSA and the OHS Act require the employer to make.
Done once when a site, section or contract starts, reviewed at least yearly and after any incident, change of process, new machine or new substance.
Legal basis checked 26 October 2026
What is in the template
Assessment team
Columns: Name · Role · Employer · Signature · 8 rows per page
Include the supervisor of the area, at least one worker who does the task, a health and safety representative and, where the hazard calls for it, an engineer, an occupational hygienist or an occupational medical practitioner.
Risk register
Columns: Activity or task · Hazard · Who and how · Existing controls · Likelihood (1-5) · Severity (1-5) · Risk rating · Additional controls · Owner and due · 14 rows per page
Rate likelihood from 1 (rare) to 5 (almost certain) and severity from 1 (first-aid case) to 5 (a fatality or multiple fatalities); the risk rating is likelihood multiplied by severity. 1 to 4 is low (managed by routine procedures), 5 to 9 is medium (additional controls planned with an owner and a date), 10 to 16 is high (additional controls before the task continues) and 17 to 25 is extreme (the task stops until the risk is reduced). Rate the risk that remains with the existing controls in place. Additional controls follow the hierarchy: eliminate, substitute, engineer, administer, then PPE.
Issue-based risk assessment
- Trigger (a significant risk from the baseline, an incident, a change, a new machine or substance)
- Baseline row or activity it covers
- Team (as above, plus the specialists the issue needs)
- Method (for example task analysis, bow-tie or HAZOP)
- How the hazard can cause harm, and which controls are critical
- Additional controls, owner and due date
- Review date
One per significant risk, change or incident, on its own sheet. MHSA section 11(4) requires the hazards and risks to be reviewed periodically with the health and safety committee; an incident, a change of process or a new hazard is the usual trigger for an issue-based assessment between reviews.
Competent person sign-off
- Competent person (name and qualification)
- Significant risks needing an issue-based assessment (row numbers)
- Signature of competent person
- Approved by (mine manager or section 16(2) appointee)
- Date
- Communicated to employees on (date and method)
How to fill it in
- 1Break the site or section into activities and tasks, including maintenance, cleaning and non-routine work, one row each. Walk the area with the team rather than filling it in from a desk.
- 2For each activity, name the hazard and who could be harmed and how. "Conveyor" is equipment; "nip point at the tail pulley, hand drawn in while clearing spillage" is a hazard.
- 3Write the controls already in place, then rate likelihood and severity for the risk that remains with those controls, using the matrix in the note.
- 4For every medium or higher rating, record the additional controls, working down the hierarchy from elimination to PPE, with one owner and one due date.
- 5Have the competent person sign, get the manager's approval and communicate the result to the people who do the work. Significant risks get an issue-based assessment of their own.
A general template, not legal advice. Check it against the Act, the regulations and the codes of practice that apply to your site, and against your own safety management system. The MHSA section 11 requires the employer to identify the hazards to which employees may be exposed, assess the risks, record the significant hazards and risks, determine controls in the order eliminate, control at source, minimise, then personal protective equipment, and review the hazards and risks periodically with the health and safety committee. The OHS Act section 8(2)(d) requires the employer to establish what hazards exist and the precautionary measures needed; the Construction Regulations, 2014, regulation 9 require a risk assessment before construction work starts. ISO 45001 clause 6.1.2 covers hazard identification and the assessment of risks.
Legal basis checked on against: Mine Health and Safety Act, 29 of 1996, section 11(1) to (4); Occupational Health and Safety Act, 85 of 1993, section 8(2)(d); Construction Regulations, 2014 (GN R84 of 7 February 2014), regulation 9(1).
Convert this template into a digital form
Run it on an Android phone with no signal, attach photos as evidence, and every failed item raises an issue with an owner and a due date.
The same record in Inspecable
On paper the register is only as current as the last person who updated it. In Inspecable the same record keeps going:
- An AI baseline HIRA and a risk register, with Inspecable Mining switched on for your site, hold the same activities, hazards, ratings and controls as this form.
- Each additional control becomes a corrective action with an owner and a due date; closure is refused without a method, evidence and a signature.
- Critical-control verification in the safety management system checks that the controls the assessment relies on are in place, and compliance audits feed the same action register.
Questions
What is the difference between a baseline, an issue-based and a continuous risk assessment?
A baseline assessment covers every activity on the site once, to find the significant risks. An issue-based assessment goes deeper into one of those risks, a change or an incident. A continuous assessment is the check a worker or supervisor does before each task. Mines run all three under MHSA section 11, built on the baseline.
Who must do a baseline risk assessment?
The employer, through a competent person leading a team that includes the people who do the work. On a mine the MHSA section 11 places the duty on the employer; on a plant or construction site the OHS Act section 8(2)(d) and the Construction Regulations, 2014, regulation 9 do. The competent person signs it.
How often must a baseline risk assessment be reviewed?
At least once a year, and after any incident, change of process, new machine, new substance or change of layout. Record each review and the date of the next one on the form itself, so the history can be shown to an auditor or an inspector.
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