An understanding of risk management principles and practices

I have undertaken a certified training course in the principles of risk management as defined in Australian Standard AS4360.
Risk management is an interactive process consisting of well-defined steps which, taken in sequence, support better decision-
making by contributing to a greater insight into adverse events and their impact. The steps in the risk management process
involve defining the risk context, identifying the hazards that apply, estimating the consequences and likelihood of each hazard,
assessing the risk presented, developing control measures for risks, assessing the effectiveness of the controls, and monitoring
the effectiveness of the risk reduction measures.

I have applied risk management principles to occupational health and safety risks on projects that I have been involved with.
The first step in the risk management process was identifying the risks that workers on the project would be exposed to. I
assessed this by inspecting the site and observing the hazards that existed there. For each of the hazards that I identified, I
assessed both the likelihood and consequences of the risk. Likelihoods were assessed using a five point scale between “Almost
Certain” and “Very Unlikely”. Similarly, the consequences of each hazard were assessed on a scale between “Negligible” and
“Severe”. I used the guidance in my company’s risk management guidelines, along with my assessments of the consequences
and likelihood of each hazard, to determine the overall risk rating for each hazard. For each hazard, I thought of possible
control measures.

Examples of possible control measures that I thought of included guards on machinery to protect workers from injury and sun
exposure protection measures. Implementation of several sun exposure protection methods at once, including wearing long
sleeve clothing, hats, sunglasses, and sunscreen and provision of shaded areas, are a good example of the multiple barrier
principle to manage risk. For each hazard at the site, I assessed the effectiveness of the control measures. I documented the
recommended control measures in the safety plan for the project. I returned to the site on a weekly basis during the project to
monitor whether the control measures were still in place and to check whether any new hazards had presented themselves.
Where new hazards occurred, I implemented risk management process on those new hazards.

©2012. This document is for personal use only and may not be shared or uploaded to the internet.