Recognizing that the rates of fatalities and serious injuries (FSI) have not declined in the same manner as lost-time or recordable injuries, the safety profession has been engaged in an urgent search for practical new approaches to better managing hazards that have the potential to result in fatalities or serious life-altering injuries. (Wachter, J.K. and Ferguson, L.H., Manuele, F.A., Krause, T.R and Murray, G.A.) This presentation describes an innovative new approach for fatality and serious injury risk assessment and reduction and explores the key success factors that were identified during its global roll-out in a large multinational company.
The solution integrates a uniform approach to risk characterization, prioritization, and management with a systematic evaluation of layers of protection (LOP) for all common hazard identification inputs, including incidents, near misses, and potential hazard reviews. Hazard risks are systematically prioritized and the layers of protection analysis results used to define the most effective and efficient mitigation strategy. A final hazard risk characterization is performed after mitigation is complete so that overall risk reduction can be quantified.
The process includes development of an inventory of FSI precursors – a list of high hazard activities, operations, and situations which have the potential to result in a fatality or life-altering injury. These potential hazards are taken through the risk assessment and reduction process along with all near misses and incidents.
