Lesson 2.2 · 7 min

Identifying and assessing hazards

Open in the coursewith narrated slides, a checklist to tick off and a quiz

At a glance

Where hazards come from. Machines and tools, chemicals and radiation, noise and vibration, stress and time pressure, indoor climate and lighting, posture and loads.
Rate every hazard. Identified doesn't mean assessed. Every hazard must be rated, with the principles of prevention as the yardstick.
Bring in experts where needed. Where needed, suitable experts must be brought in: safety specialists, occupational physicians, and also chemists, ergonomists or occupational psychologists, for example.
Hazard, protection goal, measure. For every hazard it should be clear which protection goal applies and which measure achieves it.
Whoever knows the place knows most. Workers know their own workstations best. The employer remains responsible for the result.

In detail

Where hazards come from

The Labour Inspectorate names, for example, these causes of hazards and health strains (Labour Inspectorate): machines and tools; chemicals and radiation; noise and vibration; stress and time pressure; indoor climate and lighting; posture and handling loads. The list is open: all hazards to safety and health must be identified, in particular in the seven areas of § 4(1) ASchG.

Assessing

The Labour Inspectorate expects a thorough hazard analysis at the workstation, in which every hazard is rated (Labour Inspectorate). The yardstick is the principles of prevention § 7 ASchG, which must be applied when identifying and assessing hazards § 4(1) ASchG. § 4 itself prescribes no particular method; what matters is that the necessary measures follow from the assessment § 4(3) ASchG.

Experts

Where needed, suitable experts must be brought in to identify and assess hazards and set measures § 4(6) ASchG. The work can be given to safety specialists and occupational physicians, and to other suitable experts such as chemists, toxicologists, ergonomists and in particular occupational psychologists. In workplaces with up to 50 employees, the safety specialist and the occupational physician come for regular site visits anyway § 77a ASchG; see lesson 4.1.

The chain hazard – protection goal – measure

The Labour Inspectorate advises that the assessment, usually in the "measures sheet" of the document, should show the causal chain hazard – protection goal – measure (Labour Inspectorate). What that can look like, with made-up examples from an office:

Hazard	Protection goal	Measure
Tripping over cables at a desk	Clear walkways	Fit a cable duct; secure the cables until then
Back pain from carrying boxes of paper	Moving loads without awkward postures	Buy a trolley; training on lifting and carrying
Constant interruptions by phone and customers	Being able to concentrate	Phone duty in rotation; fixed times without interruptions

With the workers

Under the act, the employer is responsible for the result. But the Labour Inspectorate stresses that things only improve when everyone affected takes an active part, and that workers know their own workstations best (Labour Inspectorate).

Checklist

The hazards are identified for every workstation.
Every hazard is assessed, not just listed.
Every hazard has a protection goal and a measure.
Where our own knowledge wasn't enough, we brought in experts.
The workers took part.

Quiz

What does § 4 ASchG require of the hazard assessment?

That only the AUVA may carry it out
That it happens only once, when the business starts
That it applies the principles of prevention in § 7 and leads to the necessary measures
A points scale from 1 to 10

Show the answer

The answer is C: That it applies the principles of prevention in § 7 and leads to the necessary measures. § 4(1) ASchG requires the principles of § 7 to be applied when identifying and assessing hazards; under subsection 3, the measures must be set on that basis.

Sources

This lesson's statements rest on:

Not legal advice. What counts is the Workers Protection Act (ASchG) and its regulations in the Federal Legal Information System (read on 4 October 2026). Rules for areas outside the ASchG, such as agriculture and forestry or the public service, and special rules for particular substances or sectors are not covered. Not an offer of the Labour Inspectorate, the AUVA or the Chamber of Commerce.