When organisations develop new processes or procedures or revise existing ones, there is great value in stress-testing the proposed new arrangements to ensure they will work as intended, and will not generate unintended adverse consequences. Procedural HAZOPs provide one way of doing this. Our new technical note outlines the process we use for procedural HAZOPs and the guidewords we recommend for such studies.
Read moreWe conducted a risk assessment for an extension to the runway of an international airport. Features of the assessment were the involvement of key stakeholders in the process, including important funding agencies, and sufficient time for probing discussions. With the help of effective facilitation, this gave the stakeholders confidence that nothing important had been overlooked.
Read moreThe Melbourne Business Agility Meetup explored Wardley Maps, where they might be useful and the challenges associated with putting them into practice.
Read moreThis case describes a business risk analysis and planning exercise for a ship chartering company (CharterCo) and its in-house IT team to consider the Cargo Plus Project. It describes a relatively simple process that clarified everyone’s understanding of the project and its objectives, identified key risks, and helped the project team set priorities for the next phases of the work.
Read moreDr Dale Cooper was invited to make a presentation on *Big risks in the tertiary sector* at the Unimutual annual conference in Sydney on 5-7 September. Unimutual is a mutual insurer, established in 1989 to provide protections unavailable from commercial insurance at the time for members affiliated with tertiary education. The presentation discusses what 'big risks' are, and scenario-based approaches for identifying them.
Read moreBroadleaf conducted a review of the implementation program for payroll systems in a group of six related service-delivery networks. Simple Excel structures were used to model the schedule and the uncertainty associated with it. The outcomes provided a structure for activity and manpower planning, as well as a basis for liaison and coordination between the implementation company and the networks.
Read moreThis case describes a root cause analysis of nonconforming imported products and materials, to identify the potential underlying or root causes for nonconformance, with a focus on what happens in the international supply chain. The case highlights the uses of root cause analysis, and the value of preparation and stakeholder engagement.
Read moreWe facilitated a risk assessment for a small biotechnology start-up company, using an expanded risk analysis process. The outcomes allowed the company to set priorities for dealing with the risks it faced, improving controls and implementing assurance activities. Significantly, half of the most important risks had beneficial consequences.
Read moreLinear developments such as pipe or cable laying, road or rail building, or tunnelling, present challenges not found in other forms of construction. Analysis of the risk to their schedules may require a different approach from that used for the analysis of general construction projects. In some situations, existing schedule modelling tools lack the means to represent the particular features of linear developments. However, these can be addressed, with appropriate expertise, using two modelling tools and exchanging information between them.
Read moreAn international food processing company needed to make strategic decisions about the effects of climate change on its operations and the value of its business. A risk management process was tailored for the specific context of climate change, using scenarios and climate-change drivers to structure the assessment. The case demonstrates the value of sound preparation, comprehensive briefing material and good facilitation for dealing with long-term risks and environmental uncertainty.
Read more