A risk assessment example is most useful when it looks like the place your people actually work, not a generic form filed away after an inspection. If you operate a warehouse, office, shop or service site in Germany, your assessment should show that you have identified real hazards, put sensible controls in place and checked that they work.
Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (Arbeitsschutzgesetz, ArbSchG), employers must assess workplace risks and take the necessary protective measures. The document is not the goal. Safer daily work is. Good documentation simply proves that you have followed a clear, repeatable process.
Risk assessment example: a growing warehouse
Imagine a company has opened a German fulfilment warehouse with 18 employees. Staff receive deliveries, store pallets in racking, pick orders, pack goods and use electric pallet lorries. A managing director may assume that a careful team and standard warehouse rules are enough. In practice, this site has several distinct risks that need to be assessed separately.
A risk assessment (Gefährdungsbeurteilung) starts by looking at work activities, not merely rooms or equipment. Receiving goods, moving pallets, working near vehicle routes, picking at height and clearing damaged stock all create different exposures. This approach helps you avoid a common weakness: recording “warehouse work” as one broad activity, with vague controls that nobody can apply.
The example below shows how part of the assessment could be structured.
| Work activity | Hazard and possible harm | Existing controls | Further action needed | Responsible person | |—|—|—|—|—| | Unloading deliveries | Pedestrians struck or crushed by a reversing lorry or pallet lorry | Marked delivery area and high-visibility clothing | Separate pedestrian route with barriers; brief delivery drivers on site rules | Warehouse manager | | Moving pallets | Unstable loads falling and causing injury | Pallets visually checked before movement | Train authorised operators; remove damaged pallets from use immediately | Shift supervisor | | Picking from racking | Falling goods or overreaching injuries | Staff use step stools in some aisles | Provide suitable access equipment; set safe loading limits and inspect racking | Operations manager | | Battery charging | Electrical shock, fire or exposure to battery acid | Charging point near storage area | Create a designated charging zone, provide emergency equipment and restrict access | Facilities manager | | Packing work | Repetitive strain and cuts from knives | Basic safety knives available | Review workstation height, rotate tasks and train staff in safe knife use | Team leader |
This is not a complete warehouse assessment. It is a practical illustration of the level of detail an employer needs. Each entry should make it clear what can go wrong, who could be affected, what is already being done and what must happen next.
Start with the work, then judge the risk
A useful assessment does not begin with a risk score. It begins with observation. Walk the site while work is taking place. Speak to the people who unload, pick, clean, maintain equipment or welcome visitors. They often know where shortcuts happen, which routes become congested and which controls exist only on paper.
You should consider employees, temporary workers, contractors, visitors and, where relevant, young people, pregnant workers or people with particular health needs. A control suitable for an experienced forklift operator may not protect an office colleague walking through the loading area for the first time.
Risk scoring can help you prioritise actions, but it should not create false comfort. A low-probability event may still require urgent attention if the possible harm is severe. Equally, a frequent minor injury can indicate that a task or layout needs redesigning. Your reasoning matters more than a coloured matrix.
Consider the hierarchy of controls
When selecting measures, first ask whether you can remove the hazard. If not, reduce exposure through physical or organisational controls before relying on personal protective equipment. For the delivery area, separating people and vehicles with a barrier is normally stronger than telling everyone to remain alert. High-visibility clothing still has a role, but it should not be the only protection.
The right measure depends on the site. A small retail stockroom may need clear storage limits and safe access equipment, while a busy logistics facility may need traffic management, racking inspections and formal operator authorisation. Copying another company’s form without adapting the controls is a fast route to gaps.
A three-step route from inspection to action
For employers new to German duties, the work becomes manageable when it is handled in a defined sequence.
1. Inspect and identify
Review work areas, tasks, equipment, substances and emergency arrangements. Check incident records, near misses and sickness patterns where available. You should also identify missing appointments or inspections, such as electrical equipment checks under DGUV V3 or racking inspections in line with DGUV 208-043.
Hazardous substances need their own attention. Where employees use cleaning chemicals, adhesives, aerosols or other controlled products, the assessment must consider the product, exposure route, storage, labelling and emergency action. Requirements under the Hazardous Substances Ordinance (Gefahrstoffverordnung, GefStoffV) may apply, alongside the relevant technical rules for hazardous substances (TRGS).
2. Set controls and assign owners
Turn findings into specific actions with an owner and deadline. “Improve warehouse safety” is not an action. “Install a pedestrian barrier at the loading bay and issue a written vehicle-route plan” is.
Some measures need specialist input. An occupational safety specialist (Fachkraft für Arbeitssicherheit, or SiFa) can support the technical assessment and help translate hazards into proportionate controls. A company doctor (Betriebsarzt) can advise where work involves health surveillance, ergonomic strain, night work or particular exposures. Their involvement should be practical, not a box-ticking exercise.
Training also belongs in the control plan. Employees need instruction that relates to their actual work, in a language they understand, before they begin relevant tasks and at appropriate intervals afterwards. Keep a record of the topic, date, trainer and attendees. If a process changes, the instruction may need updating too.
3. Document, communicate and review
Record the assessment in a form that managers can use. Keep evidence of inspections, maintenance, training, corrective actions and any decisions made. Documentation is particularly valuable after an accident, during an inspection or when an accident insurance institution (Berufsgenossenschaft, or BG) asks how you have addressed a deficiency.
Then review the assessment whenever there is a meaningful change. A new site layout, new machinery, different cleaning chemical, increased headcount, workplace accident or recurring near miss can all make an earlier assessment outdated. Even without a major change, regular review helps ensure that controls have not drifted.
What weak assessments tend to miss
The most common problem is generic wording. A document may identify “slips, trips and falls” but fail to say where the risk arises, who checks the floor condition or how leaks are reported. It looks complete until somebody needs to use it.
Another weakness is confusing policies with controls. A policy may say that staff must wear safety shoes, but the assessment should establish why they are needed, in which areas, how compliance is supervised and whether other measures are required. Personal protective equipment is rarely the whole answer.
Finally, employers sometimes assess normal operations but overlook exceptions. What happens during a late delivery, a fire alarm, a power failure, a damaged pallet, contractor work or a lone-working shift? These are often the situations in which arrangements are tested.
Make the example fit your business
A risk assessment should be proportionate, but proportionate does not mean minimal. A two-person office has different risks from a warehouse with shift work and vehicle movements. Both employers still need a current assessment, suitable instructions and clear responsibilities.
Captain Safety supports employers across Germany with site inspections, legally structured assessments, occupational safety specialist support, company doctor services, training and corrective work after a deficiency notice. If you are unsure whether your current document reflects your real operation, a professional review can identify the gaps before they become an incident or an inspection issue.
The best time to improve an assessment is while work is running normally. Walk the route your employees take tomorrow morning, ask where the work becomes difficult, and turn their answers into actions that protect people today.