Risk Assessment

Risk assessment is the key element in workplace occupational safety and health (OSH) provision. It forms the basis for successful, systematic safety and health management.

A woman and a man with a laptop carry out a risk assessment in a warehouse
© iStock | AnnaStills

Since 1996 the German Occupational Safety and Health Act (Arbeitsschutzgesetz, ArbSchG) has placed a duty on all employers to conduct assessments of working conditions and the risks associated with them in order to identify the measures necessary for the protection of their employees.

These pages supply information about the factors that have to be taken into consideration in risk assessments, as well as offering practical guidance.

BAuA makes the online version of its Handbook on Risk Assessment (Handbuch Gefährdungsbeurteilung) available free of charge. A Key Indicator Method developed at BAuA can also be used for the risk assessment of physical workload.

Research Projects

Project numberF 2498 StatusOngoing Project Consideration of psychosocial risks in Occupational Safety and Health. Fundamental revision of the BAuA specialist book

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Research ongoing

Project numberF 2483 StatusCompleted Project Simplified risk assessment of incoherent high-power spotlights

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Research completed

Project numberF 2399 StatusOngoing Project Project cluster: Physical inactivity in the workplace - etiology, risk assessment & prevention, Project 1a Scoping review; Project 1b Systematic review

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Research ongoing

Project numberF 2391 StatusCompleted Project Interactive guidance for the measurement of physical agents within the scope of risk assessment

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Research completed

Project numberF 2358 StatusCompleted Project Psychosocial risk management in company practice

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Research completed

Project numberF 2339 StatusCompleted Project Psychosocial risk management in the EU: Context, strategies and implementation at establishment level - a comparative European study

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Research completed

Publications

Search results

Decent Ward Organisation - A Guide for Nursing Teams in Hospitals

baua: Guidance 2024

More and more people have to cared for by professional nurses every day. Thus, nursing work is an essential cornerstone of our …

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Awkward Body Postures

baua: Guidance 2023

Awkward work-related body postures still constitute an important, frequently occurring type of physical workload in daily …

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GHS memo card "Hazardous substances compact"

Memocard 2023

The GHS "Hazardous substances compact" memo card from the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) contains …

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Manual lifting, holding, and carrying - Risk assessment using the key indicator method

baua: Guidance 2022

The manual lifting, holding, and carrying of loads weighing ≥ 3 kg is a frequently occurring type of workload to which the human …

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Manual work processes - Risk assessment using the key indicator method

baua: Guidance 2022

Manual work processes are a type of physical workload characterised by uniform, repetitive movements and applications of force …

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