Pre-task risk assessments are everywhere—from construction and logistics to manufacturing and energy—as a frontline tool for managing risk before work begins.

But are they really helping?

In many organisations, pre-task assessments have become a meaningless ritual:

• Workers skip them or fill them in after the job
• Experienced staff see them as a chore—not something that helps them think
• And after an incident, people often say: “The signs were there… but the form didn’t help us see them.”

Research confirms these problems—and shows that most pre-task tools fail to improve awareness, foresight, or team understanding of risk.

The issue isn’t the intent—it’s the design.
These tools were built around the wrong mental model of work. They assume all risks can be known in advance and managed through a single moment of planning.

But in the real world, safety depends on more than foresight. It requires constant evaluation, ongoing awareness, and timely decisions—especially when conditions change.

That’s where Cognitive Systems Engineering (CSE) and Safety Resilience offer a way forward.

In this free live webinar, human factors and CSE specialist Ian Pemberton shows how we can transform the pre-task risk assessment into a cognitive work tool—one that’s easier to use, better aligned with how people actually think, and far more effective at supporting real safety in the flow of work.

• Workers not filling out pre-task risk assessments—or completing them after the work has already started?
• A culture of ambivalence—where these tools are seen as compliance exercises rather than opportunities for insight?
• That sinking feeling after an incident: “They did the form… but it didn’t help prevent this.”
• No clear path to improve the process without just adding more bureaucracy?

If this sounds familiar, this free webinar is for you.