When Should You Review a Risk Assessment?

A review date is useful for organising work. It does not tell you whether the assessment still describes the job your team is doing today.

For contractors, a small change in access, equipment or coordination can make an earlier document less useful. The practical question is whether the conditions and arrangements described in it still apply.

Look for changes in the work

Build a short change check into the preparation for the task. Has the location changed? Is different equipment being used? Has the work sequence changed? Are additional people or another trade sharing the area?

Ask the people doing the work what has changed since the assessment was prepared. They may notice a difference that is not visible in the office record, such as a revised delivery arrangement or an entrance that is no longer available.

Record the change clearly enough that a reviewer can understand its relevance. “Site updated” explains very little; describe what is different and which part of the assessment it affects.

Use observations as a prompt

An inspection finding, a worker's concern, an incident or a near miss may reveal that an assumption needs checking. Treat it as information to examine rather than waiting for the next calendar reminder.

HSE's review guidance calls for checking that controls work and reviewing them where they may be ineffective or workplace changes introduce new risks. It also identifies worker concerns, accidents and near misses as reasons to consider a review.

A routine reminder can support that process, but it should sit alongside those change-based prompts.

Check the affected part in context

Begin with the relevant activity and control arrangements. Identify what has become uncertain and what information is needed to decide the next steps. Involve the person with suitable knowledge of the task and site.

For example, if the agreed access route is unavailable, check how that affects the work area, movement of equipment and coordination with the premises. A single changed detail may have implications elsewhere in the assessment.

Use the company's established arrangements to resolve uncertainty before proceeding with work that depends on it. Do not assume that changing a sentence in the record is enough to establish a workable control.

Write a review note that explains the decision

A useful review record includes the date, reviewer, reason for the review and information considered. Describe the changes made and any matters that remain unresolved.

When the existing assessment remains appropriate, record the basis for that conclusion. “Reviewed, no change” is much more useful when accompanied by a brief explanation of what was checked.

Identify any follow-up owner and completion point. Keep a planned measure distinct from one that has been checked on site.

Brief the people affected

Explain what has changed and how it affects the task. Focus on the practical arrangements the team needs to follow. Give workers a chance to ask questions or identify something the review has missed.

Update the relevant report and make the current version easy to recognise. Where earlier copies have been shared, use your document-control process to communicate the replacement and retain the history needed by your organisation.

A signature can record participation in a briefing; it does not replace checking that the team understands the change.

Make reviews manageable across sites

Allocate responsibility for maintaining each assessment and for responding when a change is reported. Use consistent names, dates and location details so a reviewer can find the right record quickly.

Look for recurring review reasons. If the same site detail is repeatedly missed, a better template prompt or preparation conversation may help future assessments.

RiskApp offers reusable forms, mobile assessment capture, team review workflows and PDF reporting. Explore the platform and organise a process that keeps the assessment connected to changing site conditions.