Risk Management Introduction

What is Risk Management?

Risk management is a system for dealing with the likelihood that a future event will cause some kind of harm to your people and your business. Risk management provides strategies, processes and tools to monitor, recognize and deal with a risk event.

Scope of Risk Management

Risk management affects virtually every aspects of every business today.

This includes, and is not limited to:

• physical injury or illness 
• environmental damage
• critical equipment failure
• security breaches
• corporate fraud
• regulatory compliance
• public relations
• customer satisfaction.

A solid risk management plan enables you to enhance safety, minimize lawsuits, meet regulatory compliance standards, make better business decisions and enhance asset management.

The cost to implement a risk management plan is always less than the potential costs involved if your business does not manage risk. Consider the loss of business revenue, damage in credibility, litigation fees and other expenses.

Obligations

Employers have a legal obligation to:

• Identify any foreseeable hazards that may arise in the workplace
• Assess the risk of harm arising from the identified hazards
• Eliminate the hazards or, if not reasonably practicable, control the risks by implementing risk mitigation measures [risk controls]

This process is commonly referred to as the risk assessment process.

Requirements

Risk assessments are required for:

• Fixed and mobile plant
• Any other item of equipment and its use in the workplace – e.g. tools of trade
• General workplace processes – individual processes rather than cumulative/multiple processes that would form part of a job safety analysis [JSA]
• Specific workplace hazards such as noise, dust, manual handling, hazardous substances, working alone, height work [risk of falls], confined spaces, excavation/trenching, hot work, overhead power, other electrical or gas power, etc.

Risk assessments must be undertaken in consultation with employees/operators and/or health and safety representatives.

Risk assessments need to be periodically reviewed and updated in consultation with employees. Improvements should be implemented wherever practical.