2 Improve risk‐related training and education for occupational safety and health professionals so they can better understand the risk‐based decision‐making process and improve core risk assessment competencies.
3 Provide a platform for the occupational safety community to contribute to the development of new evidence‐based risk‐related policies, processes, and solutions. We seek ways to leverage the expertise of the occupational safety and health community in identifying and quantifying risk, advance risk‐related regulatory and legislative initiatives related to the management of risks, and identify relevant research related to understanding risks.
4 Provide a center of excellence for risk‐related information and tools relevant to occupational safety and health professionals This involves collecting and disseminating relevant risk‐related research, collaborating with the insurance, accounting, and financial risk management industries to promote an exchange of ideas, accessing real‐world practical experiences and applications, and facilitating outreach and collaboration with global nongovernmental organizations and academia.
1.2.4 Core Risk‐Related Competencies
There is a section on core competencies for risk management within ASSP’s original paper on the Risk Management Institute and the most significant points are paraphrased here. Reference is made in that paper to several standards that contain relative definitions and descriptions. They are mentioned in this chapter – Z10, 45001, the 690 series, and Z590.3.
It is suggested that safety and health professionals know how to effectively implement and maintain a risk management system, for which guidance is given in this chapter. However, we know from member and stakeholder feedback that there is an ongoing need for training and development to effectively implement risk assessment systems.
Obviously, safety practitioners would have knowledge of relative principles, basic guidelines, and common risk assessment techniques. Be cautious here. Elsewhere in this chapter it is suggested that having knowledge of five risk assessment techniques would be sufficient for most, but not all, situations that safety professionals will need to consider. As this chapter is being written, a study is in progress that mentions, in detail, 49 risk assessment techniques. Some are exceptionally complex. Whatever risk assessment techniques a safety and health professional chooses to apply should meet the needs of the organization and not be overly complex if that can be avoided.
Hopefully, safety and health professionals will become involved with engineers in design reviews where the most effective and economical risk avoidance or control can be implemented.
Overall, safety and health professionals need to become more skilled so that they can provide counsel on analyzing risk assessments, establishing acceptable risk levels, utilizing a hierarchy of control system, identifying serious injury, illness and fatality potentials, monitoring the effectiveness of risk control measures, and prioritizing risks.
Throughout, communication would be critical for all affected in all four stages of the operational setting: (i) preoperational, (ii) operational, (iii) post incident, and (iv) post operation.
1.2.5 Risk Assessment Education
The ASSP is the preferred source for education among safety and health professionals, providing valuable training and education on a variety of safety topics. As an example, our Risk Assessment Committee has established a program for safety and health professionals to earn a Risk Assessment Certificate, where they will learn to:
1 Implement the steps of the risk assessment process.
2 Conduct a risk assessment leading to the identification and prioritization of an organization’s hazards and controls.
3 Influence management to support risk reduction plans and efforts.
4 Measure the effectiveness of the risk assessment process and outcomes to support an organization’s objectives.
The Risk Assessment Committee website can be accessed at https://www.assp.org/advocacy/risk‐assessment‐committee.
Programs Related to Risk Assessment Offered by ASSP as of 5 May 2020.
1 Prevention through Design
2 Risk Assessment
3 Manage Risk Not Safety
4 Essential Risk Assessment Tools for Safety Professionals
5 Three Keys to Improving Risk Management
6 Setting the Scope and Limits of a Risk Assessment
An Example of a Guideline That Gives Risk Assessment Due Recognition
Entering https://corporate.exxonmobil.com/en/energy‐and‐environment/tools‐and‐processes/risk‐management‐and‐safety/operations‐integrity‐management‐system into the Internet will lead to a brochure on ExxonMobil’s “Operations Integrity Management System.”
Within that brochure, on page 1, there is a depiction of its Operations Integrity Management System. An adaptation of it follows (Figure 1.1).
Figure 1.1 Elements of Exxon Mobil's OIMS.
Element 1 in this 11‐point outline is what would be expected – “Management Leadership, Commitment and Accountability,” which is absolutely necessary. But note that “Risk Assessment & Management” follows item 1 immediately. That is an indication of the importance given to risk assessment within ExxonMobil operations.
And “Facilities Design & Construction” follows risk assessment immediately. That is another term for “Prevention through Design.” In the design and redesign processes, risk assessments would be made continuously as needed.
Safety professionals should not be surprised if other companies produce similar outlines as greater recognition develops that the most effective and economical method to deal with hazards and risks is to address them in the design and redesign processes.
ExxonMobil’s OIMS initiative pertains to all operational risks, including occupational, environmental, product, and public safety.
ANSI/ASSP Z590.3 – Prevention through Design: Guidelines for Addressing Occupational Hazards and Risks in Design and Redesign Processes.
This standard was previously mentioned in this chapter. It was approved by the ANSI on1 September 2011. Activities have been commenced to update this standard. Georgi Popov is the chair of the committee and Bruce Lyon is the vice chair – both principal authors of this book.
The core of prevention through design is risk assessment. Making risk assessments early in the design and redesign processes and continuously as needed throughout the life cycle of the system or product reduces the potential for incidents occurring. Logic in support of that premise follows:
1 Hazards and risks are most effectively and economically avoided, eliminated, or controlled in the design and redesign processes.
2 Hazard analysis is the most important safety process in that, if that fails, all other processes are likely to be ineffective (Johnson – p. 245).
3 Risk assessment should be the cornerstone of an operational risk management system.
4 If,