Free template
Risk assessment matrix template (5×5)
A risk assessment matrix scores a hazard on two scales, how bad the outcome could be (severity) and how likely it is (likelihood), and multiplies them into one risk score. On a 5 × 5 matrix each scale runs from 1 to 5, so the score runs from 1 to 25, and the cells are colored by band so anyone can see which risks come first. This template has the matrix with a plain-language guide for each score, what to do at each band, and a risk register that scores each hazard with today's controls and again after the further action. The Excel version works out the scores and bands, flags overdue actions, and counts the register's risks in each cell of the matrix now and after action.
Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.
When to use it
When to use a risk assessment matrix
- To rank the hazards found in a risk assessment, a JSA or a safety walk, so the worst get fixed first.
- When the same scale is needed across areas, shifts or sites, so scores can be compared.
- To decide whether a task can go ahead with the controls in place, or needs more first.
- To show a review meeting how risks have moved after the actions.
How to fill it in
- 1
Agree the scales
Use the severity and likelihood guides on the sheet, or replace them with your company's. Everyone must score the same way.
- 2
List the hazards
One row per hazard in the register: what could happen and who or what could be harmed.
- 3
Score with today's controls
Severity for the worst credible outcome, likelihood for how likely that outcome is with the controls in place now. Multiply.
- 4
Act on the band
Low: keep the controls. Medium: reduce where you reasonably can. High: reduce before work goes on. Very high: stop.
- 5
Give each action an owner and date
Write the further action, who owns it and when it is due.
- 6
Score again
Once the action is in place, score the hazard again and check it moved to a lower band.
A filled-in example
Illustrative, not a benchmarkAn example: three rows from a warehouse risk register (illustrative scores).
- Forklifts reversing near pickers at aisle ends. Severity 4, likelihood 4: 16, high. Action: convex mirrors and a marked crossing. After: 4 × 2 = 8, medium.
- Wet floor at the dock door in rain. Severity 2, likelihood 3: 6, medium. Action: a canopy drain and a mat. After: 2 × 1 = 2, low.
- Racking upright damaged by a truck. Severity 5, likelihood 4: 20, very high. Action: the bay emptied and taped off the same day, the upright replaced. After: 5 × 1 = 5.
The matrix sheet showed three risks in the top right before the actions and none there after, and the medium forklift risk stayed on the list for the next step: separating walkways from aisles.
Common mistakes
Scoring the worst imaginable
If everything is a 5 for severity, nothing stands out. Score the worst credible outcome.
Everyone scoring differently
A 3 to one supervisor is a 4 to another. Use the written guide and score as a group.
Only lowering the likelihood on paper
A new sign does not turn a 4 into a 1. Score what the control really changes.
Never scoring again
Without the after score you cannot show that the action worked.
Treating the score as the answer
The score ranks risks. The point is the action that follows.
Download the template
Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.
Run this template in LeanSuite
In LeanSuite risk assessments are among the marketplace safety templates, every action on a hazard has an owner and a due date with delays flagged, and a floor-plan heat map shows where hazards cluster.
In the lean glossary
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FAQ
Risk assessment matrix template (5×5): common questions
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