What is an RI&E?
RI&E stands for risk inventory and evaluation. You identify which hazards and risks threaten the health and safety of employees, and you evaluate how serious those risks are and whether they are sufficiently controlled. The result is a document with an action plan.
Think of physical strain, working at height, hazardous substances, machinery, noise, work pressure and aggression. Which risks apply to you depends on your industry and your activities.
Who needs an RI&E?
In the Netherlands, every employer with staff must in general have an RI&E. Smaller companies sometimes benefit from simplified rules, and many industries have approved sector instruments. Whether your RI&E needs external review depends on the size of your organization and your industry. Always check the current rules for your situation; this article is not legal advice.
Step 1: identify the risks
Start with an overview of your locations, job roles, tasks and machines. Walk through the workplaces, talk to employees and use a fixed question list or template so you miss nothing. Employees often know best where things go wrong.
Record for each topic whether it is in order. When it is, note how it is arranged and how you can demonstrate it, such as a procedure, inspection report or photo.
Step 2: evaluate the risks
Now you determine how serious each risk is. A widely used method is Kinney & Wiruth, where you assess likelihood, exposure and possible effect, and derive a risk score. This lets you compare risks and decide what needs attention first.
Also look at who is exposed. A risk for a small group working with it daily weighs differently from a risk that everyone touches now and then.
Step 3: draw up the action plan
In the action plan you describe which measures you take, who carries them out and when they will be done. Work from the top down:
- Substitution: replace the hazard with something safer.
- Technical measures: for example guarding or extraction.
- Organizational measures: working agreements, instructions, planning.
- Personal protective equipment as the last line of defence.
Step 4: expert review and adoption
Where required, have the RI&E reviewed by a certified occupational health and safety expert. The employer then adopts it and informs or consults the employees or works council. Make sure you keep the final version and the related decisions.
Step 5: keep it up to date and evaluate
An RI&E is never finished. Revise it after significant changes, such as a new machine, a renovation, an incident or a new way of working. Also check periodically whether the measures work and whether the residual risk is acceptable.
An example: a warehouse with forklift trucks
Suppose you have a warehouse with forklift trucks, high racking and manual lifting. While identifying risks you notice that pedestrians and trucks share the same routes. You assess that as a high risk, because a collision is possible and the consequences can be serious.
In the action plan you choose measures at several levels: separate walkways (technical), a speed agreement and instruction for drivers (organizational) and a high-visibility vest (PPE). You link each measure to an owner and a deadline, and after a few months you check whether the risk has really dropped.
Common mistakes when preparing an RI&E
An RI&E that disappears into a drawer helps no one. Most problems arise not while preparing it, but afterwards.
- The RI&E is filled in by one person at a desk, without involving employees.
- Measures are in the plan but have no owner or deadline.
- Only physical risks are covered, while work pressure or aggression stay out of view.
- The RI&E is not revised after a new machine, a move or an incident.
- Evidence that something is in order is missing, so you cannot demonstrate it.
How to approach it in practice
Plan a fixed period for preparing the RI&E and involve a prevention officer, a supervisor and a number of employees from different departments. Begin with the most obvious risks and work outwards from there. A good RI&E is a living document that you improve step by step.
Then include the measures in your regular follow-up, so they are not separate from day-to-day work. Set a reminder for the review period and start a revision as soon as something changes.
Preparing an RI&E with BrydgeOne
With the Risk assessment & action plan module you go through these steps in one file. You choose a base template and add in-depth templates, assess risks with Kinney & Wiruth and choose measures with the STOP wizard, with an owner and deadline. Those measures flow automatically to Actions. For the review, you share a link that gives the expert read-only access for 30 days, without a login.
© 2026 BrydgeOne. General information, not legal or other professional advice. No rights can be derived from this article.