// Tool 04
Safety & Environmental Risk Matrix
Find out what your biggest risk is before it finds you.
Order & safetyWhat it is and when to use it
Without a structured review, an owner usually finds out what their worst operational risk is after it already happened — an injury, a fine, a spill, a shutdown. This matrix walks every task or area, scores likelihood and severity, and points a limited safety budget at the two or three risks that actually matter.
Worked example
Click or tap the plate to enlarge it.
Download the blank template (PDF)One page. Print it and fill it in with your own numbers.
What goes on the sheet
- Task/area/process evaluated
- Hazard identified, by category: mechanical, chemical/environmental, ergonomic, electrical, fire
- Who or what is exposed: operator, community, environment, equipment
- Existing controls, and likelihood / severity scored 1-5 each (severity includes environmental impact, from contained on-site spill to reportable release)
- Risk score (likelihood × severity) and color-coded risk level (low/medium/high/critical)
- Recommended additional controls, following the hierarchy: eliminate, substitute, engineering control, administrative control, PPE
- Owner, target date, residual risk after controls
In a business like yours
- Pool service company: chemicals, ladders and driving scored side by side, so the top risk gets fixed first.
- Restaurant kitchen: hot oil, knives and wet floors ranked by likelihood and severity.
- Small shop floor: which machines need a guard or a lockout before the next hire starts.
Illustrative examples, not client cases.
// Talk to David
This is one of the 19 tools in our loss diagnostic.
In the diagnostic we pick the ones that fit your leak and put a dollar figure on what it costs you. 30 minutes to see if it makes sense.
// Order & safety
