01
Identify credible hazards
Use structured hazard identification and evidence collection to move beyond generic hazard lists.
Expert-level online training
Advanced HIRA
Advanced HIRA
Professional Hazard Identification & Risk Assessment
Move beyond form completion and risk-score arithmetic. Build the professional judgement, evidence discipline and control-verification skills needed to conduct, review and govern credible HIRAs in a South African workplace context.
100% online • 18 hours 30 minutes • Expert level • Certificate of completion
Course feeR950
R950Course fee
18h 30mDuration
ExpertCourse level
53Professional lessons
OnlineStudy format
Professional HIRA practice
Risk assessment that supports real decisions
This programme is designed for experienced practitioners who need more than a basic introduction to hazard identification. It develops professional competence in South African HIRA practice, with emphasis on evidence, defensible management decisions, control effectiveness and professional judgement.
- Legal and governance foundations for professional HIRA practice.
- Advanced hazard identification, exposure mapping and event-pathway thinking.
- Baseline, continuous and issue-based HIRA methodology.
- Likelihood and consequence calibration with professional use of risk matrices.
- Hierarchy of controls, bow-tie thinking and critical-control verification.
- Professional documentation, incident-driven reassessment and management of change.
What you will develop
Practical capability for senior HSE work
The course is structured around the quality of professional risk decisions: understanding the work, defining credible event pathways, selecting effective controls, assigning ownership and verifying that controls perform in the field.
02
Evaluate risk professionally
Calibrate likelihood and consequence, use matrices with discipline and make transparent residual-risk decisions.
03
Strengthen controls
Apply the hierarchy of controls, critical-control thinking and verification to improve control reliability.
04
Govern the full lifecycle
Connect HIRA to action tracking, documentation, incidents, management of change, monitoring and continual improvement.
Who should enrol?
Designed for experienced practitioners
This is an advanced course for professionals who already carry, or are moving into, meaningful workplace risk-assessment and risk-governance responsibility.
Senior HSE practitioners
HSE managers
Safety professionals
Supervisors
Incident investigators
Risk-assessment professionals
Course package
Built for workplace application
- 53 professional lessons across course information and 13 modules.
- Module knowledge checks to reinforce key concepts.
- Case-study assessment focused on practical decision-making.
- 30-question final examination within the online learning environment.
- Nine downloadable HIRA tools for workplace application.
- Certificate of completion on successful completion.
Course InformationCourse Information
- Important Student Course Information
Module 1: Introduction to HSE, Legal Requirements and Professional HIRA Practice5 lessons
- 1.1 Professional HIRA in South African HSE Practice
- 1.2 South African OHS Legal Framework
- 1.3 Legal Duties, Roles and Accountability
- 1.4 Reasonably Practicable Risk Reduction
- 1.5 Due Diligence, Evidence and Defensible Decisions
Module 2: Advanced Risk and Hazard Concepts4 lessons
- 2.1 Advanced Risk and Hazard Concepts
- 2.2 Hazard, Exposure and Risk Relationship
- 2.3 Unsafe Acts, Unsafe Conditions and Latent Failures
- 2.4 Risk Tolerability, Uncertainty and Professional Judgement
Module 3: Advanced Hazard Identification4 lessons
- 3.1 Advanced Hazard Identification
- 3.2 Hazard Spectrum and Hazard Categories
- 3.3 Mapping People, Assets and Environmental Exposure
- 3.4 Hazard Identification Sources and Methods
Module 4: Hazard Identification Methodologies4 lessons
- 4.1 Hazard Identification Methodologies
- 4.2 Systematic Workplace Inspections
- 4.3 JSA / JHA and Task Analysis
- 4.4 Evidence Collection Before Scoring
Module 5: Risk Assessment Methodology5 lessons
- 5.1 Risk Assessment Methodology
- 5.2 Baseline, Continuous and Issue-Based HIRA
- 5.3 Calibrating Likelihood
- 5.4 Calibrating Consequence
- 5.5 Using a 5×5 Risk Matrix Professionally
Module 6: Risk Evaluation and Governance3 lessons
- 6.1 Risk Evaluation and Governance
- 6.2 Initial versus Residual Risk
- 6.3 Risk Escalation, Decision Rights and Risk Ownership
Module 7: Risk Control and Critical Controls4 lessons
- 7.1 Risk Control and Critical Controls
- 7.2 Hierarchy of Controls
- 7.3 Bow-Tie Thinking and Critical Controls
- 7.4 Critical Control Verification
Module 8: Conducting a Professional HIRA4 lessons
- 8.1 Conducting a Professional HIRA
- 8.2 Professional HIRA Lifecycle
- 8.3 Defining Scope and Boundaries
- 8.4 Building a Competent HIRA Team
Module 9: HIRA Documentation and Implementation5 lessons
- 9.1 HIRA Documentation and Implementation
- 9.2 Anatomy of a Professional HIRA Register
- 9.3 Action Tracking to Verified Closure
- 9.4 Document Control and Audit Trail
- 9.5 Communicating and Implementing Controls
Module 10: HIRA, Incidents and Management of Change4 lessons
- 10.1 HIRA, Incidents and Management of Change
- 10.2 Incident-to-HIRA Feedback Loop
- 10.3 Incident and Near-Miss Data as HIRA Input
- 10.4 Management of Change and SIMOPS
Module 11: Monitoring, Review and Continual Improvement3 lessons
- 11.1 Monitoring, Review and Continual Improvement
- 11.2 Leading and Lagging Indicators for Control Health
- 11.3 HIRA Review Triggers and Continual Improvement
Module 12: Advanced Practical HIRA Case Studies5 lessons
- 12.1 Advanced Practical HIRA Case Studies
- 12.2 Case Study: Planned Shutdown and Energy Isolation
- 12.3 Case Study: Chemical Loss of Containment
- 12.4 Case Study: Construction, Lifting and Work at Height
- 12.5 Case Study: Contractors and SIMOPS
Module 13: Final Assessment2 lessons
- 13.1 Final Assessment and Professional Readiness
- 13.2 Final Examination Roadmap
Professional application
Evidence, ownership and verification
The course treats HIRA as a management process rather than an isolated spreadsheet exercise. It connects assessment outcomes to work planning, engineering changes, maintenance, contractor control, permits, occupational hygiene, training, document control and management of change.
E
Evidence
Record the basis for important risk decisions and distinguish facts from assumptions.
O
Ownership
Clarify who owns the risk, who implements controls and who verifies critical performance.
V
Verification
Confirm that important barriers and controls exist, function and remain effective in practice.
M
Management system
Translate HIRA decisions into actions that become part of the operating system, not just the risk register.
South African context
Professional practice with legal awareness
The course includes South African legal and governance foundations and teaches practitioners to connect legal duties with operational risk decisions, practical controls and evidence of implementation.
Important professional note: The learning material supports professional practice but does not replace current legislation, an organisation-specific legal register, competent engineering advice, occupational hygiene assessment or specialist input where these are required. Current legal requirements and workplace-specific conditions always take precedence.
Advance your HIRA practice
Enrol in Advanced HIRA for R950
Study online, work through the course in sequence and build a stronger, more defensible approach to hazard identification, risk evaluation and control verification.
Frequently asked questions
Advanced HIRA course information
Who is this course designed for?
The course is designed for experienced HSE practitioners, HSE managers, safety professionals, supervisors with risk-governance responsibility, incident investigators and professionals with workplace risk-assessment responsibility.
How long does the course take?
Tutor LMS lists a course duration of approximately 18 hours and 30 minutes. The course is fully online and is completed through the OHS All 4 Skills learning environment.
What is the course level?
The course is set at Expert level and is pitched at senior-practitioner level rather than as an introductory risk-matrix course.
What is included in the course?
The course package includes 53 professional lessons, module knowledge checks, a case-study assessment, a 30-question final examination and nine downloadable HIRA tools.
Will I receive a certificate?
Yes. The Tutor LMS course lists a certificate of completion.
Does the course replace legal or specialist advice?
No. The course material supports professional practice but does not replace current legislation, your organisation’s legal register, competent engineering advice, occupational hygiene assessment or specialist input when those are required.