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Hierarchy of controls (STOP)

The hierarchy of controls, also known as the STOP principle, gives the order in which you tackle risks: substitute first, then engineer, then organise and only then personal protection.

Explanation

STOP stands for Substitution, Technical measures, Organisational measures and Personal protective equipment. The principle is that you tackle a hazard as close to the source as possible. That protects everyone at once and makes you less dependent on behaviour.

Substitution means removing or replacing the hazard, such as a less harmful substance. Technical measures are for example extraction, a guard or a lifting aid. Organisational measures cover working method, instruction, planning and demarcation. PPE is the last resort. Sometimes eliminating the hazard is named as a separate first step.

You use the order in the risk assessment, the TRA and when following up incidents. Dutch regulations also work from this order. If you choose a lower level such as PPE, you justify why a higher step is not possible. An instruction or a helmet alone is rarely enough when a technical solution is possible.

Example from practice

With a noisy machine you first look at whether a quieter machine is possible (substitute), then whether a sound screen helps (technical), then whether you can rotate the operators (organisational) and only then at hearing protection.

© 2026 BrydgeOne. General information, not legal or other professional advice. No rights can be derived from this explanation.

In BrydgeOne

Where you work with Hierarchy of controls

Risk assessment & action planAssess risks and set out an action plan. TRATask risk analysis per task step, with control measures and approval. ActionsFollow up corrective and preventive actions.
Knowledge base

Keep reading

How to prepare a risk assessment (RI&E): a step-by-step guideThe RI&E, the Dutch risk inventory and evaluation, is the foundation of your occupational health and safety policy. You map out the risks in your organization and what you do about them. This step-by-step guide helps you build an RI&E that is accurate, usable and kept up to date. TRA task risk analysis: steps, example and who approves itA TRA, or task risk analysis, is an analysis of one specific task that you prepare before the work starts. You split the task into steps, look for the hazards per step and choose control measures. Here you read how that works, with a worked example and an answer to the question of who approves a TRA.
Glossary

See also

PBMPersonal protective equipmentRI&ERisk Inventory and EvaluationTRATask Risk AnalysisResidual riskResidual riskAction planAction plan (risk assessment follow-up)

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