Do we need a risk matrix? – part 2
In the December 2018 newsletter I asked a simple question – do we need a risk matrix? In that blog I detailed the example of a water corporation that had assessed the risk of: unplanned release (loss of containment) of water from a dam as being Major (Consequence) and a Rare (Likelihood), which meant that, […]
Is this the un-mitigatable risk?
I, like many other strawberry lovers in Australia, was horrified when the first case of a needle found in a strawberry was reported in mid-September. It was quickly followed by another and then another. Early on, it seemed isolated to one farm and one type of fruit, with speculation of involvement by a disgruntled employee […]
Keep you hands off our sausage sandwiches
What is it about the humble sausage sandwich that it seems to be the source of such enormous risk – and, it needs to be said, a great deal of criticism – usually against the organisation that has made the decision. I will look at two such examples where the bastion of the Saturday morning […]
Who let the dogs out
Here we go again. On 4th September the Daily Telegraph reveals another ‘Mad Monday’ showing Canterbury Bulldogs players in various states of disrepair and some of them in various states of undress. That this occurred is bad enough – that it occurred in a public location was nothing short of disgraceful. The definition of insanity […]
Risk Tip # 14 – Disruption Related Risks
Introduction Many of your organisations, no doubt, have a Business Continuity Plan and, if it is like so many that I have experienced, the plan will detail: Where the alternate site is if we are unable to access our offices (in the case of fire or flood or other reason)? What do we do if […]
Downstream/Unintended Consequences of Risk Minimisation Decisions
In January two Canadians lost their lives after mishaps with charity clothing bins. This brought the total deaths from misuse of clothing bins to four in the last five years which prompted the City of Vancouver to ban the use of the bins on private land. As reported in the Vancouver Sun: [The] decision came […]
Do we need a risk matrix?
Lately I have been thinking (dangerous I know); is the risk matrix truly useful to communicate the level of risk? For example, does a High Risk actually mean the risk is high? When we look at the psychology of risk, you can understand management being on tenterhooks when told there is a ‘High Risk here’ […]
Rod’s Risk Rant – this is not an accident!!!!
As a professional risk manager, I am nearly lost for words at what took place in New York on 9th October 2018. A group of people heading to a birthday celebration had booked a party bus which, unfortunately, broke down. In its place, a limousine was ordered, and all of the revellers piled into the […]
Flagging my risk management in South Korea
Rod’s reach has now extended to South Korea, working with the Green Climate Fund (GCF). The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is a fund established within the framework of the UNFCCC as an operating entity of the Financial Mechanism to assist developing countries in adaptation and mitigation practices to counter climate change. The objective of the Green Climate Fund is to “support projects, programmes, policies […]
Mixed messages
The impact of incentives, targets, and/or punitive measures on the management of risk When we go to work, we expect to come home. But tragically that’s not always the case. I rarely refer to cases that involve a fatality or fatalities out of respect for families but I’m compelled in this blog to go to […]
