Choosing RI&E software: what should an RI&E tool be able to do?

Why carry out the RI&E digitally?

An RI&E (the Dutch risk inventory and evaluation) with an action plan is mandatory for employers with staff. The Dutch Labour Authority (Arbeidsinspectie) checks that both exist and are complete. Problems usually start after the document is written: the RI&E sits in a Word or Excel file in a folder, while risks, workplaces and measures keep changing. It is finished on paper but outdated in practice.

Working digitally solves four problems. The RI&E stays current, because you adjust a risk or measure instead of creating a new document. The action plan gets an owner, a deadline and a status. The expert review runs through one file. And the reporting for the works council, an auditor or the inspectorate comes from the same data. If you work with ISO 45001, the standard expects you to identify hazards and assess risks (clause 6.1.2). A digital RI&E helps you collect evidence for that.

Recognised sector RI&E instrument or your own RI&E: what is the difference?

A recognised sector RI&E instrument is a questionnaire for a specific sector, developed by employer and employee organisations from that sector. Certified core experts review the content before the instrument is used, and the Steunpunt RI&E (the national RI&E support centre) mainly checks the recognition procedure. The aim is that companies in a sector have a pre-assessed instrument with which they can carry out an RI&E themselves. Recognised instruments are listed on rie.nl.

You build your own RI&E yourself, for example in Excel, in software or with an adviser. That leaves room to fit your own workplaces, machines and projects, and it often suits organisations that work at changing locations better. The downside: for your own RI&E the review obligation applies, even if you are small. A software tool is also not automatically a recognised instrument. Ask suppliers which instrument sits behind the tool and check this yourself.

When must a certified core expert review the RI&E?

In most cases the RI&E and the action plan must be reviewed by a certified expert, such as a certified occupational health and safety core expert. An exception applies to organisations with at most 25 people employed (people, not FTE) that use a recognised sector instrument that belongs to their sector. Organisations with at most 40 hours of staff per week in total also need not have the RI&E reviewed, under conditions. Without a recognised instrument the review obligation therefore applies to a small company too.

If you have a works council or staff representation, it has a right of consent on the RI&E. This article is not legal advice. The current rules, including who may review and how to check certification, are available from the Dutch Labour Authority, the Steunpunt RI&E (rie.nl) and rijksoverheid.nl.

New recognition procedure in 2026: what does it mean for your choice?

According to trade media, a renewed recognition procedure for sector RI&E instruments has applied since 1 June 2026. Sectors develop an instrument together with collective-agreement parties, core experts review the content and the Steunpunt RI&E handles the application. A recognition is valid for a limited period, and the separate recognition route for sectors without collective-agreement parties has been abolished. Existing recognitions remain valid until their end date. When you choose, record the recognition status of the instrument and check it on rie.nl at every revision of the RI&E.

What should a good RI&E tool be able to do?

A good RI&E tool follows the steps of the RI&E itself: take inventory, assess, plan measures, review and revise. The difference with a form to fill in lies in the follow-up and the repetition. These are the functions that matter in practice, regardless of brand or price tag:

• Take inventory per department, location, job or workplace, with a fixed questionnaire or template instead of a blank screen
• Assess risks on a clear scale that you define yourself, for example Kinney & Wiruth or a risk matrix, so the assessment stays traceable later
• Choose measures following the occupational hygiene strategy: first remove or replace the hazard, then technical and organisational measures, and only then personal ones
• An action plan with owner, deadline, status and reminders, so follow-up does not depend on a loose Excel list
• Evidence for what is in order, such as an inspection report, procedure or photo
• Review by an expert, for example through a read-only link, with the advice recorded in the file
• Version control and repetition: adoption, a review period, revision after changes and a retained history
• Report and export for the works council, an auditor or the inspectorate
• Links with incidents, inspections and actions, so signals from daily practice update the RI&E

RI&E in Excel or Word, with RIE software or through an adviser

Excel or Word works for a small organisation with one location and a manageable risk profile. It is flexible and cheap. It becomes difficult with several locations, more people contributing and follow-up: versions diverge, an action plan reminds nobody of a deadline and evidence sits in other folders.

A tool gives structure, follow-up, version control and reporting, but needs set-up and an owner. A tool alone does not produce a good RI&E: quality depends on who takes inventory and how carefully. An adviser or safety professional brings expertise, an independent view and can carry out or guide the review. That expertise is valuable for complex risks, but the follow-up after the advice remains your task.

In practice many organisations combine the options: an expert for the inventory or review, and a tool to monitor the action plan and its repetition. So first determine where your bottleneck lies. If it is expertise, choose an adviser. If it is follow-up and overview, a tool weighs more.

Selection checklist for RI&E software

Take these questions into a demo and ask the supplier to answer them with your own situation, for example one department of your company. A general demonstration says little about how it works with your risks. Note the answers per supplier, so you can compare them side by side afterwards.

• Which instrument sits behind it: a recognised sector instrument, a general instrument or your own questionnaire, and can you verify that on rie.nl?
• Can you adapt the questionnaire and the assessment scale to your own workplaces and projects?
• Can you work per department, location or job, and assess risks per job?
• Does every measure get an owner, deadline and status, and is follow-up monitored?
• Can an external expert look along without a licence, and can he record his advice?
• Is the old version kept after a revision, and can you see what has changed?
• Can employees view the adopted RI&E without being able to change it?
• Which reports and exports exist, and can you take all your data with you if you stop?
• Does the tool work on a phone or tablet for walk-rounds on site?
• How does the tool link to incidents, inspections and actions?
• What does it cost over three years, including set-up and support?

Common mistakes when choosing and using RI&E software

Most mistakes are not in the software but in how the RI&E is used. A tool makes a good way of working easier, but does not fix a poor one. The RI&E obligation also does not disappear by introducing a system: the employer remains responsible for the content. Watch out for these pitfalls:

• Treating the RI&E as a one-off document that you adopt and file away
• An action plan without an owner or deadline, or measures that nobody follows up
• Not repeating the RI&E after a renovation, a new machine, a reorganisation or a serious incident
• Choosing on the length of the feature list instead of what your employees really use
• Only filling in office risks and forgetting work pressure, aggression or work on site
• Not checking a supplier's claim that the instrument complies with the law
• Letting the expert look along only when everything has already been filled in

How to approach the choice of an RIE platform

Do not start with the suppliers but with your own situation. Record how many locations, departments and employees the RI&E covers, which review route applies to you and who will manage the RI&E. That prevents you from choosing a tool that is too light or far too heavy. A small organisation with one location has different requirements than a project organisation with many workplaces. After that you work towards a choice in five steps.

• Make a shortlist of two or three options based on the checklist above
• Have each supplier work out one of your own departments, with real risks and measures
• Let the expert who reviews check whether he can do his work in the tool
• Test with one or two shop-floor employees whether walk-rounds on site are workable
• Compare the total cost over three years and record the recognition status and export options in the quotation

How BrydgeOne supports this

In the Risk assessment & action plan module you carry out the RI&E digitally in a single file. You choose a base template and add in-depth templates per theme or machine type. For every item you record how it is controlled and with what evidence. You assess risks with Kinney & Wiruth, per job or department, and choose measures with a STOP wizard, with owner and deadline.

Measures from the action plan flow automatically to Actions, and the status is synced back. For the review you share a link that gives the occupational health expert read-only access for 30 days, without a login. After a new machine, an incident or an expired review period you start a revision.

Serious incidents and repeated rejections in Workplace inspections signal that a revision may be needed, and in Risks & opportunities you promote RI&E risks to the central register. Whether a recognised sector instrument applies to you and whether review is required, you check yourself with the Steunpunt RI&E.