HIRARC and Task-Based Risk Assessment (TBRA) are often discussed as if they are competing systems. They are better understood as complementary ways to identify risks and select controls at different levels of detail.
What is HIRARC?
HIRARC—Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment and Risk Control—is a structured method promoted in DOSH guidance. Organisations often use it for processes, departments or recurring activities. A warehouse HIRARC may cover vehicle movement, manual handling, chemical storage and routine maintenance.
What is TBRA?
TBRA focuses on a particular task, sequence, location and set of conditions. The terminology and form vary by employer: some workplaces call it a Job Safety Analysis (JSA), Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) or task risk assessment. A TBRA should capture site-specific interfaces that a broad register may miss.
For example, the baseline register may say “lifting operation—suspended load”. The task assessment asks: Which load? Which lifting path? What obstacles, weather limitations, people, ground conditions and nearby operations exist today?
How do they work together?
| Question | HIRARC | TBRA |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Recurring activity or process | Specific job and conditions |
| Typical timing | System design and periodic review | Before the task and after change |
| Focus | Baseline hazards and controls | Job steps, interfaces and verification |
| Use with PTW? | Supports system controls | Can inform permit precautions |
Five steps for a good TBRA
- Define job boundaries and explain the intended outcome.
- Break the work into meaningful steps, including setup and reinstatement.
- Identify hazards for each step and any simultaneous work nearby.
- Select controls according to the hierarchy and assign verification responsibility.
- Brief the actual team, confirm understanding and revisit the assessment when conditions change.
Practical example: maintenance beside forklift traffic
The original HIRARC identifies pedestrian–vehicle collision risk. During maintenance, a contractor needs to remove a guard beside an active travel lane. The TBRA adds a temporary exclusion zone, confirmed traffic diversion, isolation boundaries, communication between operations and maintenance, and supervisor checks before work begins.
Simply copying the original HIRARC row into a task form would not identify those temporary interfaces. The job briefing should ask workers what will make them stop and who can authorise a restart.
Is a TBRA a separate statutory requirement?
Malaysia’s Section 18B of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 requires risk assessment and necessary controls. It does not prescribe TBRA as a universally named form. Employers should use a suitable risk assessment approach consistent with the law, relevant rules and contractual or site requirements.
Training that uses a real task
Effective HIRARC and TBRA workshops ask each group to assess one realistic job and defend its controls, instead of just completing a scoring table. Request a practical workshop.
Official references
DOSH Malaysia, Guidelines for Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment and Risk Control (2008), and Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 Section 18B.
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