There is no question that an effective safety and loss control program not only enables an organization to meet its moral and legal obligations to provide a safe and healthy workplace, but also enables an organization to deliver shareholder value and achieve financial objectives by preventing losses from occurring. In order for safety and loss control programs to become highly effective and deliver world-class performance, it is necessary to develop and implement safety management processes which seek to systematically identify and mitigate risks. Organizations which have been effective in integrating risk management (assessment and mitigation) methodology into their safety management processes are progressive in their approach to safety management, and are more likely to deliver sustainable safety performance.
This paper will outline the basic concepts of risk, and provide a practical approach to proactively identify, assess, and mitigate risks. Additionally, this paper will outline how risk assessment methodology can be integrated with continuous improvement methodologies such as Six Sigma and LEAN to drive continuous improvement in safety performance by reducing inherent risks in work systems or business processes.
