Risk Assessment Guidance & Template

Instructions for Contract Holders:

The information contained in this document, will help understand and assess the HSE Risk of
your contract.

Assess and analyse HSE risks

Categorise each contract as Low HSE Risk, Medium HSE Risk or High HSE Risk corresponding
to the highest risk inherent in the contract scope as follows:

1. Identify all Hazards associated with activities in the contract work scope, covering but not
limited to the following:
Nature of the work - work methods, staffing, materials, equipment, tools to be used and
associated hazards e.g. lifting, working at heights, transport, etc;
Nature of the product or service i.e. is the contractor required to perform an HSE critical
activity (such as the design HSE-critical equipment) as opposed to a hazardous activity
(such as working at height);
Location of the work - vicinity of shops, schools, hospitals, offices, houses;
environmentally sensitive locations (beaches, coral reefs, fishing areas, etc), and
associated hazards e.g. H2S, asbestos, chemicals and heat;
Local constraints;
Number of concurrent operations or contractors on site;
Potential consequences environmental harm, injury, illness, asset damage, impact on
local societal sensitivities, reputation with Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) or
Governments, etc.

To minimise the assessment effort and to ensure consistency please refer to the relevant
hazards encountered in Appendix A- Hazards and Effects Management Process guidelines
(HEMP).

2. Assess the HSE risk of each Hazard using Appendix B - Risk Assessment Matrix (RAM).

3. Document the HSE risk assessment in the table below.

Contract Risk Assessment: (HEMP study)
Please complete the template to help you perform a contract risk assessment. This exercise is not supposed to be an exhaustive or comprehensive
assessment as such effort should be directed towards identifying the higher risk activities and their more
Contract Name Contract Work Assessed*
Scope Risk
(High / Medium/
Low)
Activity Hazard Threat Effect Consequence Likelihood Risk *Ranking
(If hazard was to be (Severity rating (Frequency - (letter & Number)
realised / released) number ) letter)

N.B. For guidance please refer to Appendix AHazard and Effects Management Process (HEMP) and B Guidance for Using the RAM
 Appendix A Hazards and Effects Management Process (HEMP)
To help guide you, we have listed some activities and hazards that, can be considered when
determining the contracts risk. This list should only be used as a guide, as it does not include all
hazardous activities.

Activity Hazard
Driving/ Transport Dust, road condition, weather, 3rd parties, animals/camels, vehicle
maintenance/condition, driver competence & fitness, load restraining,
driving permit, driving hours, speed, mobile phone use
Material handling, Lifting, Manual handling, spills, fall of load, crane/ forklift failure, sling failure,
loading, unloading air winch failure
Use of hand tools Home made, wrong for the job, wrong size or type
Storage of tools Tool racks, stoppers, conditions, securing mechanisms
Use of machines & Unsecured objects, earthing, un-authorized personnel, moving/ rotating
Equipment parts, noise, vibration, hot surface (high operating temperature),
slippery surface/ trips, compressed air failure, hydraulic power failure
Waste Domestic, medical, batteries, drilling, exhaust fumes
Electrical work Equipment failure, lockout failure, overloading circuit/ cables, incorrect
voltage/ frequency, high voltage.
Working at heights Slips/ trips/ falls, falling objects, condition of ladders, condition and
presence of railings, loose gratings
Pressure testing Release of pressure, release of test fluid, not following manufacturer
guidelines, excessive pressure, stored energy, material failure,
connection failure, calibration failure
Welding, cutting, grinding No gas flash back arrester, gas leaks, unsecured cylinders, welding or
cutting near flammable fluids, fumes, open flame, arcing, UV light,
heat stress, electrical failure
Painting Exposure to paint, painting at height
Confined spaces Lack of Air, H2S
Dealing with chemicals Crude oil & diesel, paints & coatings, oils & greases, solvents, acids,
mud chemicals, completion chemicals, cement, cement chemicals,
shock cards, storage, shading
Cooking Sharp objects, manual handling, steam, smoke, boiling water, boiling
oil, hot surface, slippery surface/ trips, chemicals, electrical appliances,
food contamination, water contamination, flies/ insects, rodents
Accommodation/ Fire, smoking, slippery surface, tripping, electrical appliances,
desert environment flies/insects, spiders, rodents, snakes, scorpions, heat, cold, winds, dust
Gases at surface Hydrogen sulphide, hydrocarbons
Explosives Storage (Security, nonsegregation of explosives, premature
detonation) and transportation (compatibility, shock/stress loading,
nonsegregation of explosives, premature detonation), gun loading &
laying down (e.g. trapped pressure), gun misfire.
Radioactive sources Radioactive sources, storage and transportation
Well intervention Hydrocarbons at surface, high pressure, hydrogen sulphide, ionising
(in addition to above radiation, naturally occurring radioactive materials, ignition sources,
activities) tubular, drill pipe and BHA handling, elevated objects, working out of
direct sight (e.g. in the cellar)
Entry into Confined Spaces Lack of air, H2S
Moving Equipment under Incorrect voltage /frequency, sparking/ earthing
Power Lines
Etc. Etc.


Appendix B Guidance for Use of the RAM
The starting point for a RAM assessment is an understanding of the Hazard in its context (activity,
location etc.), or an understanding of the particular incident being considered.
HSE Risk Assessment Matrix

An assessment consists of the following steps.

Step 1 Identify potential consequences

Identify the consequences that could develop from a release of the Hazard under the prevailing
conditions. Ask the question: What could happen if the controls dont work or they fail?
For example, the operation of a pump in crude oil service involves the potential for a release of crude
oil in the event of a pump seal failure. Some of the consequences that could result are:
a) Leak of crude oil into the drain system and then into the sea.
b) Ignition of the crude oil resulting in a small fire around the pump.
c) Inadequate fire fighting and escalation of the fire to the point where other process equipment fails
and a major fire and explosion occurs.

Step 2 Estimate the Severity of each potential Consequence

For each of the identified consequences assess the Severity (0 - 5) in the four Consequence categories -
people, assets, environment and reputation (PAER).
In the crude oil pump example above, for the consequence in which crude oil leaks from the pump seal
and flows through the drain system into the sea, there could be impacts in 3 Consequence categories -
asset, environment and reputation.

Step 3 Estimate the Likelihood

For each of the potential consequences make an estimate of the Likelihood of the Consequence in terms
of the Likelihood levels A to E. The Likelihood level should be judged from past experience, by asking
the question: How often in the past has a hazard release resulted in a Consequence similar to the one
that we are considering? The approach is one of applying history to predict the future.
The estimate of Likelihood should be based on the Likelihood of the particular Consequence under
consideration, not on the Likelihood of the Hazard being realised or incident occurring. In the example
above an estimate should be made of the likelihood of the crude oil pump seal leak resulting in oil into
the sea, not the likelihood that the pump seal will leak.

Step 4 Estimate the risk rating

For each potential Consequence determine the risk rating for each of the applicable PAER categories in
terms of the product of the Consequence Severity and the Likelihood. The risk ratings (up to 4 for each
potential Consequence) can be plotted on the matrix to provide a visual representation of the risk
profile of the hazard release scenario under consideration.