Identifying and Adding Hazards to a Risk Assessment

The Hazard Analysis phase of a risk assessment is where users identify the specific hazards associated with the job, process, equipment, or area under review.  Depending on how the Risk Assessment Template was configured, hazards may appear automatically or need to be manually added by the assessor.

This flexibility allows Serenity to support both structured risk review programs — where hazards are predefined and consistent — and dynamic assessments such as Job Hazard Analyses (JHAs), where hazards are identified during field observation.

Understanding Template Behavior

The way hazards appear in a new risk assessment depends on the “Pre-populate assessments with template hazards” setting defined in the associated template:

• If Pre-Populate is Enabled:
  All hazards listed in the template’s Hazard List tab are automatically added to each new assessment.
  Assessors must review each hazard to confirm applicability and evaluate risk levels. This approach ensures that standardized risk categories (e.g., Electrical, Ergonomic, Chemical) are consistently reviewed across similar assessments.

• If Pre-Populate is Disabled:
  Assessors are required to manually identify and add hazards during the assessment.

  • If the template includes a restricted hazard list, users may only select from that subset.

  • If no hazards are defined in the template, assessors can select from the full Hazard Library or create new hazards directly in the assessment.  This configuration is ideal for dynamic risk assessments like JHAs, where hazards are observed and documented for each unique job or task.

Adding Hazards Manually

If hazards are not pre-populated, the Hazard Analysis tab will initially be empty.  To begin identifying hazards:

1. Open the Hazard Analysis tab in the risk assessment record.

2. Click Add a hazard.

3. In the Add a Hazard window, you can:

   • Browse the existing Hazard Library organized by category (e.g., Electrical, Ergonomic, Hazardous Materials).

   • Use the search bar to quickly locate specific hazards.

   • Review each hazard’s description and applicability question to confirm relevance.

4. Select one or more hazards using the checkboxes, then click Add to assessment.

The selected hazards will appear in the assessment’s hazard list, ready for risk evaluation.

Creating a New Hazard

If a relevant hazard does not exist in the library, you can create a new one directly from the assessment:

1. On the Add a Hazard window, click Create a new hazard.

2. Complete the required fields:

   • Name: A concise, descriptive name (e.g., Heat Stress).

   • Category: Select the most appropriate hazard category (e.g., Thermal).

   • Hazard Description: Explain the nature of the hazard and potential outcomes.

   • Applicability Question (optional): Add a guiding question to help assess future applicability (e.g., Are workers exposed to high temperatures?).

3. Click Save to add it to the organizational hazard library.
   

By clearly identifying and adding hazards, assessors establish the foundation for effective risk evaluation and control planning.  Serenity’s flexible configuration ensures every risk assessment — from structured safety programs to task-specific JHAs — captures the right hazards at the right level of detail.