Online Induction >> Take 5
Published 21/11/2024

What is a Take 5 and why is it important?

It's a critical step to ensure compliance with all the requirements before starting work in any workplace. Establish a risk management solution such as Take 5 forms to identify and resolve threats immediately. In risk management, every staff member is responsible and obligated to ensure their own safety and the safety of their colleagues. Take-5 assessment forms should be used to identify any hazards and list the possible control measures before any task is started.

Check out our Take 5 Safety Examples and Take 5 Templates right here:

What is a Take 5 form?

A take 5 form is typically a safety tool purposely designed for workers to identify health and safety hazards before starting any work in worksites. Contractors and workers can quickly mitigate exposure to hazards and other health risks when they conduct health and safety checks with the general Take 5 procedure, i.e., stop, look, assess, control, monitor. This 5-minute safety process is primarily done to prevent possible near misses, injuries, and accidents.

Take 5 safety forms are simple and effective methods of ensuring safety awareness in your workplace. They usually reduce the occurrence of incidents during work. You can use take 5 forms when:

- There is no safe work method statement (SWMS) for new jobs or tasks
- The JSA/SWMS has missing sections or steps
- Conditions change in the workplace
- There is a need to assess the job risks and evaluate the work condition prior.
- Required by the worksite rules

Every staff member understands that safety is important in the workplace. These forms ensure that all the employees in a particular site can identify potential hazards on the activities they are about to perform and implement preventive measures. Additionally, they are easy to use and manage.

A Take 5 might be something you include as part of your Online Induction so they know what to do and have access to capture Take 5's.

Example Take 5 Form and Template

Simply scan this QR code below to view a take 5 template



Try creating your own using our take 5 form builder here



- Create your own dedicated Take 5 registry
- Customise the form
- Distribute on mobile

The benefits of implementing a Take 5 form in your workplace are substantial and far-reaching. This simple but effective tool helps to promote a culture of safety, awareness, and accountability among employees. By encouraging workers to take five minutes to assess potential hazards and risks before starting their tasks, companies can significantly reduce the likelihood of accidents and injuries. Additionally, the regular use of Take 5 forms can lead to improved communication, increased productivity, and enhanced overall work quality. Ensuring that all team members are actively engaged in prioritizing safety through the use of Take 5 forms is a proactive step towards a safer and more efficient work environment.

What to include on a Take 5 safety risk assessment checklist?

Since a Take 5 pre-task assessment is done before work starts, ensure that you take at most 5 minutes to complete the form with the following points:

1: Stop-First, think about all the potential risks associated with the task about to be performed.
2: Look-Identify any hazards
3: Assess-The risks are assessed by the overall risk rating (score). Consider the associated damage and threats.
4: Control-Implement preventive measures to eliminate or reduce the likelihood of occurrence
5: Monitor-This helps in proper mitigation of the likelihood of damages or injuries in the worksite.


Generally, this assessment process involves rating the level of risk associated with a particular hazard. After that, controls are established to reduce the risks to acceptable levels or eliminate them. The likelihood of occurrence and impact of the hazard are the primary factors used to assess the risks identified.

The risk rating can either be high, medium, or low. For high risk-tasks, stop the work immediately, contact your supervisor before starting a medium-risk task, and speak with the person in charge about low-risk jobs. Also, the Take 5 checklist form should include questions such as: - What I'm about to do?
- Do I understand the task?
- Do I understand the procedure?
- Do I have the right tools?
- Do I have PPE?
- What can go wrong?
- What can I do to prevent it?
- Are there moving parts?
- Are there energy sources?
- How is the surrounding?

Any worker should stop and answer all the questions in the form before proceeding with their task. This serves to confirm you have gone through training, conversant safety procedures and that you have identified risks and hazards as required.

Currently, everything is digitalized, and so are Take 5 safety checks. You can implement a mobile solution for your organization to automate workflows and eliminate paperwork for easier information collection and documentation. Inspection apps are ideal for workers to manage safety at the site with just their mobile devices anywhere.

Take 5 forms are practical safety tools that continue to be popular every day. They have been established as effective safety awareness programs that can be used in any workplace. Implementing a unique process of setting time to think about the potential hazards associated with a specific task is significant in risk management in every organization. So, before your workers commence any hazardous task, ensure that they first complete the Take 5 safety assessment checklist!

Taking five minutes to assess the hazards, risks and potential harm

Take 5 for Safety involves stopping whatever task you're undertaking and taking five minutes to assess the hazards, risks and potential harm. By doing this, you can identify any potential problems before they become accidents or injuries. It doesn't take long - usually just five minutes once a day - but it can save lives and drastically reduce the number of workplace-related casualties.

Think of Take 5 for Safety as an opportunity to focus your mind on safety issues and assess the risks associated with an activity before proceeding. It's about making sure everyone can do their job safely and without risk of injury or illness - that way you get to go home safe at the end of the day!

Remember the important Take 5 goals
- Stop before doing the work activity and think for a moment before commencing the task
- Look around the work area, identify hazards and risks
- Assessing the risks and hazards
- Controls you need to put in place
- Monitoring

Try setting up an online Take 5

Create your first one from scratch or use one from our existing Take 5 tool