Key terms
Risk assessment: key terms
Plain-English definitions of the words used in the course. In the lessons, tap any underlined term to read its definition without leaving the page.
11 terms, United Kingdom version
- Competent person
- Someone with the training, knowledge and experience to carry out a task properly.
- Hazard
- Anything that could cause harm.
- Hierarchy of control
- The order of controls: eliminate, substitute, engineering controls, administrative controls, then PPE.
- New or expectant mother
- A worker who is pregnant, has given birth in the last six months or is breastfeeding.
- Principles of prevention
- The legal order of thinking about controls, starting with avoiding the risk.
- Reasonably practicable
- Reducing a risk as far as is reasonable, weighing the risk against the time, cost and effort of controlling it.
- Risk
- The chance that someone will be harmed by a hazard, and how serious the harm could be.
- Risk assessment
- A careful look at what could cause harm at work, who could be harmed, and whether enough is being done to prevent it.
- Risk matrix
- A table that rates risk by multiplying likelihood by severity.
- Suitable and sufficient
- A risk assessment that covers the significant hazards, everyone at risk and reasonable controls, and is kept up to date.
- Young person
- A worker under 18, who may be at extra risk because of inexperience.
These terms come from the United Kingdom version of the course. See what the course covers.