POWRA via WhatsApp: the point of work risk assessment without paperwork
The final check before work starts, on the phone your team already carries. Via WhatsApp, with photos, and a complete record in your dashboard straight away.
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E-lia customerWhat is a POWRA?
A point of work risk assessment (POWRA) is a quick risk check that workers carry out themselves, at the place of work, just before starting a task. Does the situation still match what was planned?
A POWRA takes two to five minutes and ends with one decision: start the work or not.
Read exactly what a POWRA involves, or download the free POWRA form.
The five questions of a POWRA
- Do I understand the task: what am I going to do, in what order and with whom?
- Do I know the hazards around me, including above and beside me?
- Do I have the right PPE and the right, inspected tools?
- Is the work area safe: barriers, set-up, lighting, isolated?
- Can I get away safely if something goes wrong?
Why stick with paper POWRA cards and Word documents?
Printing forms, deciphering scrawled handwriting and typing everything into Excel: a paper POWRA comes with far too much admin.
And the completed card always goes missing just when you need it for an inspection.
From paper to a WhatsApp flow
- Fully digital: no more paper checklists.
- Flexible start: started by the worker or sent as a push notification.
- Real-time view: act on issues straight away.
How it works: free POWRA demo
Try it yourself and see how smoothly a digital POWRA via WhatsApp runs. Nothing to install, instantly clear.
- Get a POWRA on your phone straight away
- See how easy it is to fill in
- Quickly see if it is right for your organisation
Request your WhatsApp demo now
All the benefits of POWRAs with E-lia
Digital & exportable
Nothing left lying around. Every completed POWRA is stored safely in E-lia and you export it in one click for a client, the HSE or your auditor.
Flexible start
Your workers start a POWRA themselves as soon as a task begins, or you send one out as an admin with a push notification.
Real-time view
Completed assessments appear live in your overview, so you see straight away where a risk lies and can step in.
Evidence for clients, HSE & ISO 45001
Show principal contractors, the HSE and your ISO 45001 auditor that a risk check was carried out and signed off before the work started.
Ready to modernise safety at work?
See why more and more companies manage their POWRAs with E-lia. Quick to set up, results from day one.
- No extra app or account needed
- Up to 70% less admin
- Evidence ready whenever you are asked
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From the blog
Read more about the POWRA
Performing a POWRA: checklist & real-world examplePausing to check the risks just before the work starts: that is a POWRA. A checklist, a practical example and tips…
How do you organise POWRAs for subcontractors and external workers?Standardise the process, make it multilingual and keep every record in one place, external workers included.
Digital workplace inspection: form, checklist & appA toolbox talk instructs, an inspection checks. Find out what an inspection form should contain and how to follow up digitally…
Frequently asked questions about the POWRA
What does POWRA stand for?
Point of Work Risk Assessment. You will also hear it called a dynamic risk assessment or a Take 5, and Dutch and Belgian contractors call it a POWRA.
It always comes down to the same thing: the very last risk check that workers carry out themselves, at the point of work, just before they start.
Who carries out a POWRA?
The worker who is going to do the job, for themselves. Only the person standing there at that moment can see what is different from the plan.
Working as a team? Then everyone does their own check, and any issues are discussed together before the start.
What is the difference between a task risk assessment and a POWRA?
The task risk assessment (often part of your RAMS) is drawn up in advance by the planner or HSEQ manager, for the task in general. The POWRA is done by the worker themselves, at the point of work, just before starting.
In short: the task risk assessment works out what could go wrong, and the POWRA checks whether that matches reality. More in this article.
Is a POWRA a legal requirement?
UK law does not use the term POWRA. Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 you must assess risks, and a point-of-work check shows that your risk assessment holds up on the day. Many principal contractors and clients ask for it.
Principal contractors, the HSE and ISO 45001 auditors look not only at the procedure on paper but at whether it is applied in practice. Paper cards cannot show that.
When do you carry out a POWRA?
For every new task, and again whenever the situation changes: a different location, different weather, another trade working alongside or different tools after the break.
In practice that means several POWRAs a day per worker.
Do we have to keep using our paper POWRA cards?
Not at all. With cards you cannot see whether they are actually used, and you cannot prove it to a client.
With E-lia the same questions are in WhatsApp, with a QR code at the workplace or in the van. We copy the content of your current card exactly.
Why WhatsApp and not a POWRA app?
Most POWRA apps fail at the same point: downloading, signing up, updates. With subcontractors and agency workers it simply does not happen.
Via WhatsApp there is nothing to install or remember: scan, answer the questions, done. That is how our customers reach around 95% of their workers.
What do you see when someone answers ‘no’?
You see it straight away in your dashboard, with photo, time, location and name.
That way you can step in before the work starts, and anyone reviewing your records sees not just completed forms but also what was done with them.