Risk assessment is 3,000 years old. The expertise barrier that stops most tradespeople producing a good one is much more recent.
It Started Long Before Anyone Called It a Risk Assessment
Babylonian merchants were using the Code of Hammurabi in 1750 BC to formalise risk-sharing contracts — one of the earliest written records of humans trying to manage hazard systematically. The Ancient Greeks built philosophical frameworks around weighing up danger. Not abstract theory: practical decision-making about whether a campaign, a crossing, or a trade route was worth the risk.
In the UK, the first factory inspectors were walking into coal mines and cotton mills in the 1800s doing exactly what we'd recognise as a risk assessment today — identifying hazards, working out who was at risk, recommending what needed to change.
When It Became Law
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 made risk assessment a formal legal requirement in the UK. Then in 1992, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations defined the standard: "suitable and sufficient."
The requirement is straightforward. Cover the real hazards. Be specific to the job. Have proportionate controls in place.
Where the Problem Actually Lies
The problem was getting there.
Most tradespeople don't lack intent — they lack compliance knowledge. A decorator doesn't know which hazards specifically apply to their job or what controls are expected for each one. So they copy-paste from last time. The document looks like a risk assessment. It just isn't suitable and sufficient for the work being done.
After 25 years reviewing these documents, that's the consistent gap. Not laziness. A genuine expertise barrier that no generic template ever fully closes.
What RiskCompli Does Differently
RiskCompli removes that barrier.
Describe the job. It drafts every relevant hazard specific to that work, with appropriate controls. It also cross-references every hazard against real UK legislation — HSWA, MHSWR, CDM, PUWER, WAHR, COSHH, DSEAR and more. That cross-referencing isn't a legal requirement. It's what takes a compliant assessment and makes it genuinely defensible — the kind you hand to a client, an insurer, or an inspector with confidence.
Comprehensive. Compliant. Done in minutes.
Try RiskCompli free at riskcompli.safecompli.co.uk
Ryan Hodson is a health, safety and compliance consultant with over 25 years of experience working with businesses across the UK. Visit www.safecompli.co.uk.