Making the most of your occupational health risk assessment

Occupational health (OH) allows you to take a proactive approach to preventing workplace illness and injuries, preventing absence and productivity issues before they destabilise your business.

Through a multi-disciplinary approach – spanning health surveillance, workplace risk management, employee education, and mental health support – occupational health identifies and addresses the underlying factors contributing to sick leave, turnover, and disengagement. 

Conducting an occupational health risk assessment is a first critical step. Carried out by a competent person, such as an experienced health and safety consultant, the risk assessment identifies hazards that could affect workers’ health and sets out measures to control them. In practice, this means turning findings into forward-looking action plans – covering safety measures, health testing, training, equipment, and working practices – to protect staff, raise standards, and drive consistent performance. 

This article helps you maximise the benefits of your occupational health risk assessment and understand the available testing options to keep your team fit, well, and fully productive. 

Risk assessments: Legal requirements and best-practice recommendations

As a UK employer, you have a legal duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 to safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of your team. You’re required to maintain your workplace to allow staff to carry out their roles safely. You must also provide appropriate training, clear information and instruction, adequate welfare facilities, and effective supervision in line with regulations such as the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002 and Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992. 

Begin with a conversation with your health and safety partner, discussing your safety goals and key compliance concerns. From there, take practical steps to maximise your risk assessment findings: 

• Tailor it to your environment – Consider the unique risks of a builders merchant setting. Health risks will typically spring from heavy or repetitive lifting, dust from timber, cement, and other building materials, paint fumes, yard noise, and hand tool use. 
• Involve your entire team – Consult yard operatives, retail staff, delivery drivers, and office workers about their everyday risks. This frontline feedback may highlight hazards that management teams aren’t aware of. 
• Look for long-term health risks – Identifying trip hazards and manual handling risks is essential, but don’t overlook the longer-range health concerns caused by toxic dusts, fumes, and vapour, repetitive strain injuries, and job-related stress. 
• Link your findings to staff training – Use the results of your risk assessment to inform your training content, tackling recurring hazards with refresher sessions. 
• Invest in practical controls – Action recommendations promptly, following guidance on safety measures such as local exhaust ventilation (LEV), face-fit testing for personal protective equipment (PPE), and manual handling aids. 
• Track accidents and near-misses – Train employees to report and record safety incidents and near-misses, cross referencing risk assessments to pinpoint patterns.
• Measure progress – Revisit health data, absence rates, and staff feedback after implementing safety controls. Similarly, review your risk assessment regularly, particularly when introducing new products, equipment, or processes. 

Common health assessments for builders merchants 

Depending on the nature of your operation, your risk assessment may call for regular health assessments. Your health and safety provider will advise on a tailored testing programme based on your findings. Target areas might include:   

• Hearing/Audiology – Checks for hearing loss, especially from noise exposure.
• HAVS (Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome) – Monitors hand-arm vibration damage from tools like grinders, sanders, and drills.
• Glucose and cholesterol – Screening for diabetes and heart risk factors.
• Drugs and alcohol – Detects potential substance abuse issues. 
• Fit-to-work letters – Confirms employees are healthy enough for their job, usually following an injury or illness. 
• Full fitness for work – Assesses whether employees are ready to return from sickness or extended leave.
• Blood pressure – Checks for hypertension and related health risks.
• Face-fit testing – Ensures respiratory masks fit correctly for optimum protection.
• Health surveillance medicals – Provides ongoing checks for workplace-related health problems.
• Musculoskeletal disorders – Identifies risks of back, joint, or repetitive strain injuries.
• Skin surveillance – Monitors skin conditions (such as contact dermatitis) from chemicals or irritants.
• Spirometry – Tests lung function, especially for dust or fume exposure.
• Urinalysis – Screens for kidney, metabolic, or occupational issues.
• Vision/Colour vision – Confirms workers can see safely for their role’s requirements. 

Learn more about occupational health with our free white paper 

Our free white paper – Occupational health: The business benefits of a proactive approach – explains the fundamentals of occupational health, alongside business benefits, legal requirements, and guidance on setting up a cost-effective programme. 

For practical action plans and specialist sector advice, download your free report. 

Prefer to speak to an Opus Safety consultant? Get personalised occupational health support on 0330 043 4015 or email hello@opus-safety.co.uk.