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11/12/08

MSD Risk Assessment and Mitigation Model

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MSD continually evaluates accidents, injuries and near misses, both to understand each incident, and to determine if any patterns emerge that  could inform Division policy or procedures. An evaluation of near misses in 2007-8 strongly suggested that lapses in attention during routine tasks and failure to integrate safety into all aspects of research planning and execution were common themes. This fire fits these patterns.

Division personnel, particularly students and postdocs, are not always considering safety in all aspects of their work, especially routine and familiar work. In part, this reflects a lack of formal mechanisms by which to review safety in all aspects of work. In response to this determination, the Division has developed an approach to risk assessment and mitigation based loosely on the safety analysis "Probabilistic Risk Assessment" model. This approach provides form and process to an otherwise somewhat amorphous system of identifying hazards and developing mitigations. When planning new work, the researcher is asked to:

  1. Conduct brainstorming (preferably with another person or group) to identify all possible things that could go wrong, without regard to probability or consequences
  2. Determine which of these failures is credible and may occur, eliminating only those that are judged essentially impossible
  3. Determine the consequence of each failure mode. Failures that may cause injury or significant equipment damage must be mitigated.
  4. Take positive steps to eliminate the hazard or at a minimum reduce the likelihood of each failure
  5. Take positive steps to mitigate the consequences of each failure

The process stresses the importance of mitigating both the probability and consequences of failure, as prior Division experience has demonstrated that good faith efforts to reduce the probability of failure are not 100% successful. The product of this exercise is a set of controls that will protect people from injury, even if the unlikely failure does occur.

 

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