We are sometimes asked if we are really an international company. We did a quick summary recently: we have worked on the ground in 40 countries; we have worked with companies and on projects located in 55 countries; and members of our team worked in another 12 countries before they joined Broadleaf.
Read moreA rail operator was investigating options for improved locomotive fuel management, one of which included programmable logic controllers (PLCs). While the proposed PLC technology had a widely installed industrial base, none had been fitted to the company’s locomotives at the time of this study and local industry knowledge of applications like this was limited. We conducted a risk assessment of the new technology at an early stage of the design, ensuring stakeholders’ concerns were captured and acceptance for the technology was gained before the company made a major investment in production.
Read moreOrganisations use root cause analysis to learn lessons from both successes and failures, and then to develop plans that will improve performance. Broadleaf's new tutorial describes consistent and systematic methods that can be adopted for learning lessons and generating improvements. It describes two methods: fishbone analysis, and cause and effect analysis.
Read moreMy good friend and former colleague at the University of Southampton, Professor Emeritus Chris Chapman, has written a new book, 'Enlightened Planning', published by Routledge on 10 July 2019. I was delighted to accept the invitation from Chris to write an endorsement for his book. Dale Cooper
Read moreThis case study describes risk assessment activities to support a large capital project in the mining sector, first to assist in selecting a technology option and later as an input to the Board’s decision on granting formal project sanction and Notice to Proceed. It demonstrates the value of comparative risk assessment, a staged approach to setting priorities for addressing uncertainty, and the role of risk management in supporting project decisions.
Read moreOur friend and business collaborator, Dr David Hillson, also known as The Risk Doctor, has written a new book, 'Capturing Upside Risk: Finding and Managing Opportunities in Projects', published by Routledge on 1 August 2019. Dr Dale Cooper, Director of Broadleaf, was pleased to write the Foreword for David's book.
Read moreBroadleaf's new tutorial describes bow tie analysis. This is a simple process for identifying where new or enhanced controls may be worthwhile. It is a core part of risk treatment planning, particularly where there is a high level of risk or where control effectiveness is assessed as low.
Read moreDr Dale Cooper was invited to make a keynote presentation to the annual conference of AURIMS, the Australian Universities Risk and Insurance Management Society, held in Melbourne on 3-5 April 2019. The theme of the conference was 'The Future of Universities: Adapting to Change, Innovation and Disruption'. The topic of the presentation was 'Big risks in the tertiary sector'. A copy of the presentation is available.
Read moreThis case study describes a range analysis of the cost of two options for the acquisition and implementation of an asset management and maintenance system for a utility business, under an agile delivery approach. It demonstrates a straightforward quantitative approach to comparing options that generated far more insight than could be obtained from a simple comparison of the initial quotes from software vendors.
Read moreBroadleaf is developing a series of tutorials on aspects of controls, control design and control assurance. The first three were published in December; the fourth is in preparation; we hope to make it available next month. The fifth tutorial, published this month, discusses how to develop an assurance program.
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