3 ways to automate an electrical safety risk assessment

#1 - Simple assessment

Who it's for: Single-site businesses recording the electrical safety risk assessment themselves, where you know the building's electrics and just need a clear, structured record.

What it is: An electrical safety risk assessment records each electrical hazard, the people it could harm, the controls in place, and any further action. This version is structured around the 7 areas a competent electrical safety review covers: the fixed installation, portable appliances, sockets and leads, high-load and wet-area equipment, the competence of whoever does the work, isolation and emergency arrangements, and ongoing maintenance and fault reporting. Each area is a small group of three prompts written for that area. Fixed installation and wiring asks you to identify the fixed installation hazards, decide who might be harmed and how, and evaluate the fixed installation risks and decide on precautions; Portable appliances and PAT testing asks about damaged casings and worn cords, and who is at risk if one fails; and so on through all 7, so every question tells you exactly what it's about. Keeping electrical systems safe is a legal duty under the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, which applies to almost every workplace with an electrical supply.

In practice: A single-site cafe owner works down the 7 areas. Under Portable appliances and PAT testing: the hazards (a cracked kettle lead, a chipped socket on the panini press), who's at risk (kitchen staff), and the precautions (visual check before every shift, PAT due next month, faulty items pulled from use immediately). Under Sockets, leads and extension leads: the lead behind the coffee machine confirmed single-run, not daisy-chained, and rerouted clear of the walkway. Three short answers per area, and the whole site's electrics get covered.

Why it works: The 7 areas match what a competent electrician or inspector expects to see covered: the installation and the equipment plugged into it, and the people and processes that keep both safe, not just the hazards someone happened to think of. And splitting each area into three prompts means nobody has to remember what a good answer contains; the structure asks for hazards, people, and precautions separately, which is what makes the record defensible.

Steps included:

• 7 assessment areas: the equipment and installation itself (1-4) and the people and processes managing it (5-7)
• Each area is a group of 3 prompts written for it: identify the hazards, decide who might be harmed and how, evaluate the risks and decide on precautions

#2 - With guidance

Who it's for: Businesses where a manager, not an electrician, completes the assessment and needs the method in front of them.

What it is: The same 7 areas and three prompts, but each area's group now carries its own written guidance: why that area matters and what to check before you answer. The fixed installation group carries the prompts about EICR dates and consumer unit condition; the isolation group carries the safe isolation procedure and what to do if someone gets a shock; the maintenance group carries how faults get reported and how quickly they get fixed.

What it adds to the simple assessment:

1. Guidance for every area, on screen exactly where you answer it
2. What to check before answering, not just a blank box
3. An assessment that's consistent whoever completes it

Why it works: Generic guidance at the top of a form gets skimmed once and forgotten by area 5. Guidance attached to each area gets read at the moment it's needed, so a manager who isn't an electrician still asks the right questions about PAT schedules, RCD protection, and safe isolation.

Steps included:

• The 7 assessment areas, each a group of 3 prompts
• 7 guidance notes, one per area: why it matters and what to check

#3 - With photo evidence

Who it's for: Businesses that want visual proof of each area's condition alongside the written record.

What it is: The same 7 areas and three prompts, but each area's group now carries a photo step. As you assess each area you photograph it: the consumer unit, the kettle lead, the extension lead behind the till, the isolator switch. The record shows the condition of each area at the time, not just a description of it.

In practice: A restaurant manager works through the assessment with their phone. At Portable appliances and PAT testing they photograph the PAT label on the coffee grinder; at Sockets, leads and extension leads, the lead run along the skirting board; at Fixed installation and wiring, the consumer unit with its test date visible. Every answer now has a picture next to it.

What it adds to the simple assessment:

1. A photo per area, captured as you assess it
2. Proof of conditions that holds up to an inspector, not just a written claim
3. A visual baseline to compare against at the next review

Why it works: A written assessment says the consumer unit was in good condition; a photo shows it. When the assessment is reviewed next year, the photos also show what changed. And because the photo step sits with its area, the evidence files itself against the right risk instead of landing in a camera roll.

Steps included:

• The 7 assessment areas, each a group of 3 prompts
• 7 photo steps, one per area: the hazard or the control in place, captured at the time

How to pick the right version

You don't need to know our product to choose. Every version here is the same 7-area assessment; the additions change who can run it and what the record proves.

Do other people run the assessment?

If you run it yourself and know the method, the plain steps are enough: #1. The moment a manager who isn't an electrician does it, the guidance needs to be on screen next to each area: #2.

Do you need photo proof?

A written assessment meets the duty; photos show the actual condition of each area. If a written record is enough, #1 or #2. If you want the consumer unit, the leads, and the isolator switch on camera next to their answers, #3.

Need both? Open the version that matters most in the playground and add the other's steps. That is how the product works anyway: every option here is the same assessment with steps added.

Related workflows

• Fire risk assessment - electrical fire risk is part of fire safety
• Work equipment risk assessment - powered equipment assessment
• Fridge temperature check - portable appliance check

Conclusion

Electrical hazards cause shocks and fires, and the Electricity at Work Regulations require you to identify them and keep the installation safe. An electrical safety risk assessment is how you show you've covered the equipment, from the fixed installation to portable appliances, and the people and processes around it, from competence to fault reporting. Every version above is the same 7 areas, each a group of three prompts; the additions put guidance or a photo inside every area's group. Pick the one your business needs and build on it in the playground.

→ Build your own electrical safety risk assessment on Pilla.