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  • Upgrading control systems in an oilfield

    This case describes a risk assessment associated with a technical program to upgrade equipment and control systems across a major oilfield. It demonstrates the relationships between program, project and headline risks, and the value of generic key elements for structuring risk management activities. It also notes that a program risk assessment may help to identify and focus attention on improvements to broader aspects of organizational performance, far beyond the program that initiated the discussion.

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  • Options for mine ventilation

    This case describes a fast, high-level review of mine ventilation options. It used Kepner Tregoe analysis to focus on the ability of the options to achieve project goals, providing clarity and a sound rationale for management decisions. If straightforward approaches are sufficient, then there is no need to over-complicate the process or invest effort in greater detail.

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  • Gas-fired power station cost and schedule uncertainty

    This case study outlines a quantitative analysis of the contingency required to address cost and schedule uncertainty associated with building a new gas-fired power station. The project was well into the delivery phase, when attention had shifted from planning and forecasting the work to day-to-day execution. The analysis was a means of reviewing whether the established cost and schedule targets remained realistic. It drew the team’s attention away from immediate pressures to identify areas where additional effort and attention were needed to ensure longer-term success. Among other things, the case demonstrates the importance of addressing schedule uncertainty when estimating the capital costs of a project.

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  • Broadleaf and the coronavirus crisis

    Broadleaf is still at work! The Broadleaf team works from home offices, so we are facing little internal disruption to our work from the current coronavirus crisis. We remain available by telephone and email, but we’ve adjusted our face-to-face interactions with our friends and clients. We have adapted our ways of working to fit in with the new business environment in which we must all operate.

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  • Coronavirus and related case studies

    We have added two topical case studies to our web site. The first case describes how a simple yet rapid vulnerability analysis helped the management team of a university residential college to develop a comprehensive protection strategy when confronted by an evolving coronavirus threat. The second case describes work we conducted some years ago to develop a suite of spatial models of epidemic and pandemic influenza, aimed at helping policy makers explore a range of scenarios and interventions for the control of an outbreak.

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  • Developing a scientific instrument

    This case outlines qualitative and quantitative analyses of the uncertainty associated with a high-profile project to develop a scientific instrument. The case demonstrates the value of qualitative and quantitative analyses when they are conducted at an early phase of a project.

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  • Range analysis – summary of good practice

    This tutorial is drawn from Broadleaf’s long experience with project range analysis, also referred to as quantitative risk analysis or probabilistic risk analysis. It describes some key lessons about project range analysis, and what constitutes good practice. The material covers the analysis of both costs and schedules; the same principles apply to both.

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  • Providing water for a mine

    There has been discussion recently about the importance of water in mining activities, including the impact of mining on water sources, the associated effects on approvals for new mines, and the implications for mine water management. In this case study, a preliminary hazard and operability (HAZOP) study of a mine expansion project identified potentially major risks associated with a large water pipeline near a village. A simple scenario-based risk assessment, conducted quickly by a small team, generated a range of improvement options for pipeline design and construction. Simple approaches can generate excellent results when used appropriately. It is important not to short-cut the risk management process by eliminating any of the steps, but the steps themselves can be tailored according to the project’s scope and need.

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  • Climate change in a rural shire

    There has been a lot of discussion about climate change recently, so we've prepared a relevant case study from our archives. It outlines a risk assessment that examined the effects of climate change on a rural shire in Australia. The case demonstrates the use of climate scenarios, and risk assessment over short-term, medium-term and long-term time horizons. It uses an extended risk analysis template as a continuing record of important supporting information for justifying treatment responses, some of which may relate to risks with impacts only in the far distant future but that require action in the short term to avert problems or to build resilience.

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  • Upgrading refineries for clean fuels

    This case illustrates the value of qualitative and quantitative risk analyses in refinery upgrades that had to be completed within the strict time constraints imposed by tight shutdown windows. Schedule impacts drove the qualitative assessment, and a quantitative analysis of uncertainty associated with the schedule was completed. Several forms of sensitivity analysis were used to highlight where additional project effort might be worthwhile.

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