Who's at Risk?

Core idea: Risk assessments often list hazards but miss the most important element — the people who are exposed. This episode teaches supervisors to make risk assessments people‑centered by identifying primary, secondary, and bystander exposures every time they evaluate a task.

Key points

• Define who’s at risk:

  • Primary: the person performing the task.

  • Secondary: coworkers assisting or working nearby.

  • Bystander: contractors, visitors, drivers, or the public who could be affected.

• Why it matters: Failing to name who’s exposed leads to incomplete controls and missed hazards; many incidents happen because someone outside the immediate task was overlooked.

• Quick cues to identify people at risk: proximity, task role, vulnerability (inexperience, fatigue), and transient presence (contractors, delivery drivers).

• Simple habit to adopt: On every Hazard Snapshot or pre‑task check, name one person in each category and pick one immediate control to protect the highest‑exposed person.

• Supervisor script: “Who’s doing this, who’s nearby, and who could walk through here — name them now and tell me one control we need.”

• Practical example: During a lift, the primary is the crane operator, the secondary is the signal person, and the bystander could be a delivery driver; immediate control is an exclusion zone and a spotter.

Takeaway: Shift risk assessments from hazard lists to people‑centered checks. Naming who is at risk makes controls clearer, faster to apply, and far more effective.