What this is
What is a hazard report?
What is a hazard report?
A hazard report is a leading-indicator record used in KnowSafe that captures something that could hurt someone before it does, rather than after an incident occurs. It is built against ISO 45001 cl.6.1.2 and is designed to be raised by anyone, in under a minute, using a photograph rather than a long description.
What's the difference between a hazard report and an incident report?
A hazard report is raised before anything has happened — it documents a condition or exposure. An incident report is raised after an event has caused harm, damage or loss. The two feed different halves of the same programme.
How is the risk band on a hazard report calculated?
It combines a likelihood rating and a severity rating into a single band — Acceptable, Investigate, Change soon or Change now. High risk is bad here: 'Change now' means the hazard needs action before work continues, not at the next convenient review.
Scope
When is a hazard report required?
This record exists to catch a hazard before it becomes an incident. Using it to log something that has already happened, or a condition that's really a maintenance job, produces a record that reports on the wrong side of the timeline.
Use this template when
- A hazard has been noticed that could cause harm, but nothing has happened yet
- A new record is needed; each one gets its own ID in the form CASE-2026-000
- You are running the Incident and Investigation programme and this is its leading-indicator step
- A linked record needs this one to exist: feeds Risk Assessment, CAPA
- The observation can be captured in under a minute with a photo, without waiting to write a full description
Do not use it for
- Unsafe Condition Report, which reports a specific physical problem — a damaged guard, a spill, poor lighting or a blocked exit — rather than a broader hazard.
- Unsafe Act Report, which reports a way of working that puts someone at risk, not a static condition.
- Stop Work Record, which documents that work was actually stopped, not that a hazard was noticed.
- Incident Report, which records something that has already happened, not something that could.
- Anything outside KnowSafe, which belongs in the workspace that owns that process
Compliance mapping
Which ISO 45001 cl.6.1.2 requirements does this satisfy?
ISO 45001 cl.6.1.2 covers hazard identification and the assessment of risks and opportunities — the clause references below map its sub-requirements onto the fields that actually capture them.
| Clause | Requirement | Where it lands |
|---|---|---|
| ISO 45001:2018 cl.6.1.2.1 — Hazard identification | Hazards must be identified proactively, on an ongoing basis, not only when something has already gone wrong. | The hazard |
| ISO 45001:2018 cl.6.1.2.1 — Hazard identification (routine and non-routine activities) | The location, area and task context of the hazard must be captured so the identification can be linked to the activity that produced it. | Where |
| ISO 45001:2018 cl.6.1.2.2 — Assessment of OH&S risks | Likelihood and severity must be rated and combined into a risk band before any decision is made on further assessment. | Risk |
| ISO 45001:2018 cl.6.1.2.2 — Assessment of OH&S risks | A hazard whose band or nature warrants it must trigger a full risk assessment, linked back to the register. | Risk |
| ISO 45001:2018 cl.8.1.2 — Eliminating hazards and reducing OH&S risks | Where the hazard can be corrected immediately, the fix applied must be recorded, not just the fact that one occurred. | Response |
| ISO 45001:2018 cl.10.2 — Incident, nonconformity and corrective action | Where the hazard cannot be fixed on the spot, a tracked action with an owner and priority must be raised. | Response |
| ISO 45001:2018 cl.5.4 — Consultation and participation of workers | The report must be raiseable by anyone, not routed through a supervisor first, to reflect that any worker can be the source of hazard identification. | Report |
What it does not cover
- Fixed Immediately marked Yes, which records that the immediate exposure was removed, not that the underlying risk band no longer applies.
- Full Risk Assessment Needed marked No, which is only defensible when the hazard category and risk band genuinely don't warrant one — not when the reporter simply didn't know a risk assessment existed for that area.
- Action Required marked No, which closes the record without a tracked action, but does not retrospectively justify itself if the same hazard is reported again.
- A Risk Band of Acceptable, which reflects the likelihood and severity ratings entered at the time, not a guarantee that conditions haven't changed since.
- Hazard Category left as one of the major-release options, which routes the record for urgent attention but does not itself notify emergency response — that has to happen outside the form.
Global
Hazard Report requirements by country
ISO 45001 is the backbone standard here, but what a hazard report needs to hold up to varies sharply by regulatory regime and by how seriously that regime treats leading indicators.
ISO 45001:2018 cl.6.1.2 and cl.8.1.2
A certification body expects to see hazards identified before they become incidents, and evidence that identified hazards were actually assessed and acted on.
A hazard report with no risk band, or one where Action Required is routinely No with no evidence of follow-up, reads as identification without assessment — a direct gap against cl.6.1.2.
OSHA General Duty Clause, 29 U.S.C. §654(a)(1)
OSHA doesn't mandate this exact form, but a documented hazard report closed as 'fixed' without a corrective record can become evidence the employer recognised a hazard and didn't fully abate it.
The Response section's action trail is what turns a hazard report from a liability into a defence — an employer who can show tracked follow-through is in a materially different position than one who can only show the initial report.
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, reg. 3 (risk assessment)
Regulation 3 requires a suitable and sufficient risk assessment, reviewed when circumstances change.
A hazard report that triggers Full Risk Assessment Needed is the practical mechanism by which a changed circumstance actually reaches the risk assessment register, rather than staying logged as an isolated observation.
How to complete it
How to complete a hazard report, step by step
Four judgement calls decide whether a completed hazard report actually functions as a leading indicator, rather than a paper trail for a near miss that got lucky.
Fixed Immediately should answer whether the specific exposure in front of the reporter was removed — moved, cleaned, isolated — not whether the underlying hazard is gone for good. A spill wiped up is fixed immediately; the leaking valve that caused it is a separate question.
Full Risk Assessment Needed shouldn't be answered purely on the reporter's judgement. A Risk Band of Change now, or a Hazard Category from the major-consequence list, should trigger Yes as a rule, regardless of whether the immediate exposure was cleared.
How Many People Exposed isn't scored, but it should weigh on whether Action Required is really No. A hazard with one person exposed and no action might be reasonable; the same hazard on a route forty people use in a shift usually isn't.
Area Owner has to be someone with the authority to actually fix or escalate what's reported, not whoever happens to be nearby. Routing a Change now hazard to someone who can't authorise a shutdown just adds a step before it reaches someone who can.
What auditors find
Most common hazard report findings
These are the patterns that show up most often when hazard reports are checked against what actually happened afterwards.
| Finding | Clause | What fixes it |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed Immediately marked Yes with Risk Band still recorded as Change now, and no further action logged. | ISO 45001:2018 cl.8.1.2 | Split the two questions in review: confirm the immediate exposure was removed, then separately assess whether the risk band still calls for a tracked action regardless. |
| Full Risk Assessment Needed marked No for a hazard categorised as Confined space or Ammonia release. | ISO 45001:2018 cl.6.1.2.2 | Force Full Risk Assessment Needed to Yes automatically for any hazard in the major-consequence categories, rather than leaving it to reporter judgement. |
| Action Required marked No on a hazard with How Many People Exposed above a meaningful threshold. | ISO 45001:2018 cl.6.1.2.2 | Require a documented reason whenever Action Required is No and exposure count is non-trivial, rather than accepting the field alone as sufficient. |
| Photograph field left blank despite being marked required, with the text description standing in for it. | ISO 45001:2018 cl.6.1.2.1 | Treat a missing photograph as an incomplete report for review purposes, even where the system allowed submission without one. |
| Hazard reports repeatedly raised against the same Area and Asset with no CAPA ever linked. | ISO 45001:2018 cl.10.2 | Trend hazard reports by Area and Asset ID, and force a CAPA on the third repeat rather than treating each report as independent. |
| Risk Assessment field left blank despite Full Risk Assessment Needed marked Yes. | ISO 45001:2018 cl.6.1.2.2 | Block closure of the hazard report until either the Risk Assessment link is populated or the Full Risk Assessment Needed answer is corrected. |
Case in point
Case in point: the ammonia hazard closed as fixed
A hazard report logged a hissing sound and a faint smell near a plant-room ammonia line. Fixed Immediately was marked Yes after the area was ventilated and the smell cleared, and Action Required was marked No on the strength of that.
Full Risk Assessment Needed had been left as No — the reporter didn't know a risk assessment existed for that line — and the report closed within the hour. Three weeks later the same line failed properly, during a shift when the earlier report had never been connected to an asset history because no CAPA or risk assessment had ever been raised against it.
The template
The template, field by field
The form exactly as it installs. Every field, option, score and conditional rule is editable, and the links to other templates come with it.
5 sections
- Reference
- SAF-013
- Archetype
- Record
- Record ID
- CASE-2026-000
- Scoring
- Risk band
- Direction
- High is bad
- Singleton
- No
- Basis
- ISO 45001 cl.6.1.2
- Links
- Feeds Risk Assessment, CAPA
- Tags
- Hazard, Leading
- Sections
- 5
- Fields
- 32
- Follow up fields
- 6
- Repeating sections
- 0
- Links out
- 5
Report
4 fieldsCase ID*
Auto sequence. Format CASE-2026-00000.
The record's own ID. Other templates point at this value.
Status*
Drives who this goes to next.
- Planned2 pts
- In progress2 pts
- Complete3 pts
- Deferred0 pts
- Open0 pts
- Closed3 pts
- Overdue0 pts
Date and Time*
Reported By*
Where
4 fieldsSite*
Site ID*
Format SITE-000.
Links to FDN-001 Site ID
Area*
The area within the site.
Exact Location
Drop a pin for anything hard to find.
The hazard
10 fieldsKeep It Quick
This should take under a minute. A photograph and a location beat a long description.
What Is The Hazard*
Photograph*
Almost always more useful than words.
Hazard Category*
Who Could Be Harmed*
How Many People Exposed
Asset
Asset ID
Format AST-0000.
Links to FDN-002 Asset ID
Task
Job ID
Format JOB-000.
Links to FDN-004 Job Task ID
Risk
6 fieldsHow Likely*
- Almost certain1 pt
- Likely2 pts
- Possible3 pts
- Unlikely4 pts
- Rare5 pts
How Bad Could It Be*
- Fatality1 pt
- Serious injury2 pts
- Lost time3 pts
- Medical treatment4 pts
- First aid5 pts
Risk Band*
- Acceptable4 pts
- Investigate2 pts
- Change soon1 pt
- Change now0 pts
Full Risk Assessment Needed*
Risk Assessment
Risk ID
Format RSK-2026-00000.
Links to FDN-012 Risk ID
Response
8 fieldsFixed Immediately*
- Yes2 pts
- No0 pts
What Was Done
Action Required*
Raise the action record, then enter its reference here.
- No2 pts
- Yes0 pts
Priority
- High0 pts
- Medium1 pt
- Low3 pts
CAPA ID
Format CAPA-2026-00000.
Links to FDN-014 CAPA ID
Action Owner
Area Owner*
Signature*
SAF-013 · record IDs look like CASE-2026-000 · Feeds Risk Assessment, CAPA
Open in KnowellaRun it with agents
From a document you fill in to a programme that runs itself
The form is the easy part. Keeping it current, routing it to the right owner and holding the evidence together is the work that actually slips.
Holds the hazard report library against your registers, routes each record to its area owner, and keeps the evidence trail together.
Picks up the Asset and Task links on a hazard report and checks whether the same equipment or job is showing up across multiple reports before it becomes a failure.
Flags hazard reports categorised as major environmental release or ammonia release for its own reporting obligations, alongside the safety response.
Coordinates the crew, rolls completion and exceptions into one view, and holds every write for your approval before it touches a record.
This template lives in KnowSafe — safety and compliance. Incidents, hazards, permits, inspections and the critical controls behind them.
Meet KnowSafe→Glossary
Hazard Report definitions and key terms
- Leading indicator
- A measure that predicts risk before an incident occurs, as opposed to a lagging indicator like an injury count that only shows up after one has.
- Risk band
- A combined rating of likelihood and severity, reduced to a small number of categories — here Acceptable through Change now — so different hazards can be compared at a glance.
- Extent of condition
- Whether the same hazard could exist elsewhere beyond the specific spot reported, distinct from whether this one instance was fixed.
- CAPA
- Corrective and Preventive Action — the tracked action record raised when a hazard can't be closed out on the spot.
- Full risk assessment
- A structured, documented risk assessment beyond the quick likelihood/severity rating captured on the hazard report itself.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about hazard report
Who can raise a hazard report?+
Anyone — it's deliberately not restricted to supervisors or safety staff, because the person most likely to notice a hazard is whoever is working near it.
Does a hazard report need a photograph?+
It's marked required for good reason: a photograph and a location beat a written description for almost every hazard, and the template is designed to take under a minute partly because of that.
What's the difference between Fixed Immediately and Action Required?+
Fixed Immediately records whether the specific exposure was cleared on the spot. Action Required is a separate judgement about whether a tracked follow-up is still needed regardless — the two can both be Yes on the same report.
When does a hazard report need a full risk assessment?+
When the risk band or hazard category warrants deeper analysis than the quick likelihood/severity rating can give — major-consequence categories like confined space or ammonia release should trigger one as a rule, not an exception.
How does a hazard report connect to CAPA?+
Where Action Required is Yes, a CAPA record is raised separately and its reference entered on the hazard report, so the leading-indicator record and the corrective action stay linked.
Can the hazard report template be changed?+
Yes. Every field, option, score and conditional rule is editable, and the links to other templates come with it. Most teams install it as it is, run it for a cycle, then adjust.
Keep going
Related templates and programmes
Industries this is written for
Programmes this belongs to
Used together in Incident and Investigation
Root Cause Analysis
Finds out why something happened rather than who was involved
Corrective and Preventive Action
The single action record used everywhere
Finding
Records a single deficiency picked up during an audit, inspection or check
Effectiveness Verification
Checks whether an action actually worked, some time after it was put in place
Just Culture Determination
Separates a system problem from a genuine choice to take a risk, using a consistent set of questions
Extent of Condition Review
Asks two questions after an investigation: where else does this same condition exist, and where else could this same cause bite us
More in Hazards
Unsafe Condition Report
Reports a physical problem such as a damaged guard, a spill, poor lighting or a blocked exit
Unsafe Act Report
Reports a way of working that puts someone at risk
Stop Work Record
Records that work was stopped because it was not safe to continue
Safety Suggestion
Captures an idea for making work safer or easier
Housekeeping Deficiency Report
Reports untidy or obstructed areas that create slip, trip and fire risk
Ergonomic Concern Report
Reports a task or workstation that causes discomfort, strain or awkward posture
Written and reviewed by
Siddarth Singh
Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Knowella
Certified Safety Professional and industrial and systems engineer with more than a decade inside food supply chain, freight and manufacturing operations. This page was written against the current text of the standards it cites, not against secondary summaries of them.
- Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Board of Certified Safety Professionals
- MBA, University of Chicago Booth School of Business
- MS and BS, The Ohio State University, Industrial and Systems Engineering
- Six Sigma Black Belt
Sources and last review. Reviewed 16 August 2026 against:
- ISO 45001:2018 cl.6.1.2 — Hazard identification and assessment of risks and opportunities
- ISO 45001:2018 cl.8.1.2 — Eliminating hazards and reducing OH&S risks
- ISO 45001:2018 cl.10.2 — Incident, nonconformity and corrective action
- ISO — International Organization for Standardization
This page is general guidance, not legal advice. Confirm requirements with your jurisdiction’s regulator.