Pre-Activity Risk Reviews: A Critical Part of Complex and Hazardous Activities

As businesses grow, they often face new challenges that require them to undertake activities that are difficult, complex, or hazardous. These activities may involve the use of new equipment, personnel, or locations, and they may carry significant risks that could lead to health, safety, environmental, quality, or financial issues. To mitigate these risks, companies need to perform pre-activity risk reviews, which are a critical part of any risk management program.

What are Pre-Activity Risk Reviews?

Pre-activity risk reviews are performed by the supervisory team during the activity planning stages. Their purpose is to identify activity-related issues that could occur before, during, or after the work. These reviews are different from field-level safety reviews, which are undertaken by workers before they start a task. The pre-activity risk review is easily done and typically takes slightly more than an hour (time requirements vary with activity complexity).

During the pre-activity risk review, the supervisory team evaluates the risks in terms of likelihood and consequence, with the consequence being assessed from four different perspectives: Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE); Cost; Quality; and Corporate Liability. The analysis is performed for each of the three activity phases involved – before, during, and after.

Why are Pre-Activity Risk Reviews Important?

Pre-activity risk reviews are important for several reasons. First, they help identify potential issues before they occur, allowing companies to take proactive measures to mitigate the risks. Second, they help ensure that all necessary personnel, equipment, training, layout, materials, permits, approvals, and other elements are in place and ready prior to starting the activity. Starting the activity when any of these items are missing puts the activity in jeopardy and significantly increases the risk of issues associated with the activity. Third, they help identify any new signage, procedures, safety barriers/protocols, and other factors that may be needed to ensure the activity results do not cause issues in ongoing operations.

Performing pre-activity risk reviews also has significant benefits for companies. If an issue does occur, the company is ready with a plan ‘B’, and the impact on customers, employees, and the bottom line is minimized. If a company has a plan and contingencies in place for key risks, the likelihood of having an injury, downtime, or a quality problem with the output is minimized. Pre-activity risk management reviews go a long way to making this happen.

The Essential Link Between Risk Management and Quality Management

Implementing Pre-Activity Risk Reviews

To perform each analysis, the supervisory team looks at the activity execution plan and forecasts what could go wrong based on experience and knowledge. Each potential issue is assessed using the likelihood categories to determine its likelihood rating. Next, the consequence is assessed by rating the probable outcome if the issue does occur. The consequence is assessed from each of the four risk perspectives. Likelihood and consequence for each perspective are combined in the risk matrix to determine the level of risk, or criticality, of the risk. If the risk is considered significant, actions are identified to reduce the likelihood, consequence, or both. The actions are assigned to different personnel and tracked to ensure they are completed.

The challenge with pre-activity risk analysis, and risk management in general, is managing the process. Spreadsheets are very impractical and are not geared for use outside of the office. TRM Advantage is a low-cost, simple, mobile-friendly App that is designed specifically for risk management. Implementing a risk management program centered around TRM Advantage will give any risk management effort a strong basis for success and a tangible return on investment.

Conclusion

Pre-activity risk reviews are a critical part of any risk management program. They help companies identify potential issues before they occur and ensures that all necessary personnel, equipment, training, plans, and specifications are available before starting. When the team is fully prepared for the work and has mitigated things that may go wrong, the work goes faster, costs less, meets quality requirements, and no-one gets hurt.