Point of work risk assessment
POWRA, take 5, last-minute risk assessment
A short recorded check by the gang at the work location, immediately before starting, that the conditions match the RAMS and the controls are in place, with authority to stop if they are not.
The point of work risk assessment, known on different sites as a POWRA, a Take 5 or a last-minute risk assessment, is a card or app form completed by the person in charge of the task at the workface before starting: is the RAMS in date and briefed, is the access safe, are the services isolated, is the exclusion zone in place, is the plant checked, is the weather within limits, is anyone else working above or below, is the emergency route clear, has anything changed. Any "no" stops the start until it is fixed or the supervisor decides. It takes two minutes and it is signed.
It bridges the gap between the RAMS written in the office and the conditions on the day, and it puts the decision to proceed in the hands of the person who can see the workface. Principal contractors increasingly require it for every task; SiteLynx records it on the phone with the RAMS it relates to. The record of a POWRA that identified a problem and stopped the work is one of the strongest pieces of evidence a contractor can hold.
Where it comes from
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 reg.3(3) and reg.5.
- Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 reg.15(2): planning, managing and monitoring the work.
Questions people ask
Is a POWRA the same as a permit to work?
No. The permit is a formal authorisation by someone other than the person doing the work, for high-risk tasks. The POWRA is the gang's own check at the workface for any task. High-risk tasks have both.
Point of work risk assessment, handled on a phone
SiteLynx puts the RAMS, permits, inspections, audits, plant checks and records behind every term in this glossary on the crew's phones, signed on site, with a PDF at the end. 14 days free, no card.
Start free trial