OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT
In practice, every employer needs an occupational health risk assessment. It is a structured look at the health hazards at work, who is exposed and how much, and whether the controls are adequate. Section 8 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (OHS Act) applies to every employer.
The assessment brings together, for one site, the separate assessments the regulations require for chemicals, noise, physical agents, ergonomics, biological agents, lead and asbestos. It then shows where monitoring, medical surveillance and training are needed, and which risks to act on first. We are based in Pretoria and work in all nine provinces.
WHY AN OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT MATTERS
Many occupational health risks develop gradually and are not obvious without a formal assessment. Left unidentified, they can lead to occupational illness, long-term health effects, absenteeism, lost productivity and higher compensation and medical costs.
There is legal exposure too. An inspector from the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) may arrive without notice and demand your records. That includes a dated risk assessment for each hazard that applies. Inspectors can issue prohibitions and written directions. A current health risk assessment shows that you have established the hazards and the precautions, as section 8(2)(d) of the OHS Act requires.
Section 8(2)(d) of the OHS Act requires every employer to establish the hazards to health or safety attached to its work, substances, plant and machinery, and the precautions needed. The Act sets no fixed interval, so review the health risk assessment together with the assessments each regulation requires:
• Chemicals: Hazardous Chemical Agents Regulations, 2021, regulation 5
• Noise: Noise Exposure Regulations, 2024, regulation 7
• Heat, cold, lighting, indoor air quality, vibration and non-ionising radiation: Physical Agents Regulations, 2024, regulation 6
• Ergonomics: Ergonomics Regulations, 2019, regulation 6
• Biological agents: Hazardous Biological Agents Regulations, 2022, regulation 6
• Lead: Lead Regulations, 2001, regulation 6
• Asbestos, once identified: Asbestos Abatement Regulations, 2020, regulation 5(1)
Each is repeated or reviewed at least every 24 months, and several require an immediate review after a change in process, equipment or controls. The noise, physical agents, ergonomics, biological agents and asbestos regulations require a competent person. Our free Compliance Gap Assessment shows which of these your workplace needs and which are overdue.
WHAT THE OHS ACT AND REGULATIONS REQUIRE
HOW WE CONDUCT AN OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT
We assess each health hazard per area and task, against the regulation that applies to it. Christo de Wet leads every assessment. He is an occupational hygienist registered with the Southern African Institute for Occupational Hygiene (SAIOH), ROH 0953, with 15 years of experience.
Before the visit, send us a job list, process descriptions and previous risk assessments and monitoring reports.
On site, we walk each area during normal work. We identify chemical, physical, biological and ergonomic hazards, group employees by area and task, and record who may be exposed and how. Using existing monitoring results, we estimate how much and how often each group is exposed. We evaluate the controls, with engineering controls ahead of personal protective equipment.
After the visit, we rank the risks and set out an action plan. The health risk assessment itself needs no approved inspection authority (AIA). Where it calls for noise, chemical, lead or asbestos monitoring, we can do that work. On mines and quarries, we work on surface operations only, under the Mine Health and Safety Act, 1996. Christo can take the section 12(1) appointment for those operations.
- • Every health hazard identified: chemical, physical, biological and ergonomic
• Employee groups by area and task, with who may be exposed and how
• How much and how often each group is exposed, based on existing monitoring results
• The existing controls, and whether they are adequate
• Risk ratings, ranked so you know what to act on first
• The monitoring each regulation requires, and an action plan for your medical surveillance programme
• A report written for management, SHEQ teams and auditors
What affects the quote: the time on site, which depends on the size of the site and the number of work areas or employee groups, and travel to site. Any monitoring the assessment calls for is a separate service with its own line item.
WHAT YOUR OHRA INCLUDES
- Is an occupational health risk assessment a legal requirement?
Yes. Section 8(2)(d) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 requires every employer to establish the hazards to health or safety attached to its work and the precautions needed. Separate regulations add risk assessments for chemicals, noise, physical agents, ergonomics, biological agents, lead and asbestos.
How often must a health risk assessment be reviewed?
The OHS Act sets no fixed interval. Review it together with the hazard-specific risk assessments, which are repeated or reviewed at least every 24 months. New chemicals, processes, machines, buildings, incidents or medical findings may require an immediate review.
Who may do an occupational health risk assessment?
The OHS Act does not say. The noise, physical agents, ergonomics, biological agents and asbestos regulations require a competent person for their assessments. None of the health regulations requires an approved inspection authority (AIA) for the risk assessment itself. For asbestos, an AIA must review and endorse the inventory and risk assessment at least every six years, unless an AIA did that work.
How does a baseline risk assessment relate to it?
A baseline risk assessment is the first, broad assessment of the hazards on a site or project, safety included, and shows which health regulations apply. The occupational health risk assessment then covers each health hazard per area and task. Ours can form the occupational health part of your baseline.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Free online tool: Compliance Gap Assessment. See what is due at your workplace
Occupational hygiene for manufacturing, engineering and foundries
Occupational hygiene for mines and quarries
Occupational hygiene for hospitals, clinics and laboratories
Occupational hygiene for warehousing, logistics and distribution
What is a baseline risk assessment, and when do you need one?
What is an occupational health risk assessment, and who needs one?
What must a noise risk assessment cover?
What must a chemical risk assessment cover under the HCA Regulations?
What must a physical agent risk assessment cover?
What does an ergonomics risk assessment cover?
What must a lead risk assessment cover?
What must an asbestos risk assessment cover?
What must a biological agents risk assessment cover?
What is an AIA inspection in South Africa, and which AIA do you need?
FREE TOOL AND ARTICLES
REQUEST A QUOTE
Send us your job list and process descriptions, and we will quote a health risk assessment for your site. Travel is quoted upfront, anywhere in South Africa.
