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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Exertion of Whole-body Forces

baua: Guidance 2024

The exertion of whole-body forces is a type of physical workload that occurs in many sectors and jobs. For example, sometimes …

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Manual Pushing and Pulling of Loads

baua: Guidance 2024

The manual pushing and pulling of loads is a type of physical workload commonly experienced by workers. Usually, especially when …

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Proposal and practicality of an alternative blue-light hazard risk assessment method for high-intensity white-light sources at workplaces

Article 2024

Objectives: It is prescribed to determine blue-light hazard (BLH) weighted radiances, LB, for an assessment of spotlights with …

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Relationship between occupational health and safety organization and risk assessment

Article 2024

Using data of the German subsample of the European survey of enterprises on new and emerging risks (ESENER) 2014 and 2019, this …

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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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Coarse Screening of Physical Stress

Article 2023

The complete article can be purchased in German at the website of the Journal "Arbeitsmedizin, Sozialmedizin, Umweltmedizin", …

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Consideration of mental stress in occupational medical practice

Article 2023

Background: Occupational health physicians have the task of advising and supporting employers in the assessment of working …

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Consideration of psychosocial factors in risk assessment

Cooperation 2023

The German Occupational Safety and Health Act (Arbeitsschutzgesetz) requires employers to design work in such a way that …

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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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Interaction Design for Hybrid Intelligence: The Case of Work Place Risk Assessment

Article 2023

The complete article "Interaction Design for Hybrid Intelligence: The Case of Work Place Risk Assessment" is a chapter of the …

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Interactive Work - Consideration of Specific Psychosocial Factors in Workplace Risk Assessments

Article 2023

The complete article can be purchased in German at the website of the Journal "Arbeitsmedizin, Sozialmedizin, Umweltmedizin", …

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Leadership in the Focus of Interest - Special Requirements for the Practice of Leadership and Recommendations for Risk Assessment of Psychosocial Stress

Article 2023

The complete article can be purchased in German at the website of the Journal "Arbeitsmedizin, Sozialmedizin, Umweltmedizin", …

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Mental Stress: New Recommendations of the GDA

Article 2023

The complete article can be purchased in German at the website of the Journal "Arbeitsmedizin, Sozialmedizin, Umweltmedizin", …

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Risk Assessment of Manual Work Processes - Which Tools and Information are available

Article 2023

The complete article can be purchased in German at the website of the Journal "Arbeitsmedizin, Sozialmedizin, Umweltmedizin", …

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Work Design in the Context of Psychosocial Risk Assessment

Article 2023

The complete article can be purchased in German at the website of the Journal "Arbeitsmedizin, Sozialmedizin, Umweltmedizin", …

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Workplaces with lead exposure

baua: Guidance brief 2023

Are you responsible for risk assessments? Or do you advise your employer or companies in this respect? Do you also have to …

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BAuA recommendations for action on SARS-CoV-2

baua: Fokus 2022

The BAuA recommendations for action on SARS-CoV-2 are intended to provide guidance on when infection protection measures should …

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Designing Work to Reduce Time and Performance Pressures. Challenges and Approaches in the Context of Psychosocial Risk Management

Article 2022

High work intensity (WI) is experienced by employees as time and performance pressure (TPP). It is considered a key psychosocial …

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EMKG - Workplace and Chemicals

baua: Guidance brief 2022

The Easy-to-use Workplace Control Scheme for Hazardous Substances (EMKG) is offered by the ederal Institute for Occupational …

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Information overload at the workplace - Health complaints in a longitudinal analysis of the BAuA working time survey

Article 2022

Background: Mental stress is of great importance in our working world as it can have an impact on strain and thus also on …

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Key workplace OSH players in managing psychosocial risks

Article 2022

The complete article can be purchased in German at the website of the Journal "Fachzeitschrift ARBEIT, Zeitschrift für …

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Manual lifting, holding, and carrying

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

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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Psychosocial Risk Management in Company Practice

Article 2022

The complete article "Psychosocial Risk Management in Company Practice" can be downloaded at the website of the Journal "

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Psychosocial Safety Climate - Psychosocial Safety Climate: Validating the German Questionnaire

Article 2022

To date, there is no German translation of an instrument to assess psychosocial safety climate (PSC) - a specific component of …

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Risk communication for protection against hazardous substances in the workplace

Article 2022

Hazardous substances are ubiquitous in the world of work. Employees from all sectors are exposed to different risks when working …

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A risk estimate of a SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection among grocery and drugstore retail employees

baua: Fokus 2021

Approximately 780,000 employees work in grocery and drugstore retail in Germany. Due to its systemic relevance, this sector was …

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EMKG-Wheel Set

Wheel 2021

The “EMKG - Workplace & Chemicals” provides the know-how to assess the risks for activities with hazardous substances and to …

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Implementation of 2013/35/EU in Germany - Risk Assessment based on Exposure Limit Values

Article 2021

The complete article "Implementation of 2013/35/EU in Germany - Risk Assessment based on Exposure Limit Values" can be …

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