October 15, 2018

sasadmin

Risk Assessment

Driven by ICAO Annex 19 Identifying, Assessing, and Mitigating Risk is at the epicentre of an effective Aviation Safety Management System (SMS)

The challenge is to ensure that Safety Risk Assessment is performed in a genuine way with tangible benefits as a measurable outcome. The consequence of a risk can usually be expressed in several ways and these will affect the assessment of severity and likelihood, requiring care competence and diligence on the part of the analysts

Delivering Effective Risk Assessment Requires?

When considering Risk the challenge will always be related to the subjectivity of the perceived exposure. Therefore a broad range of contributors to the Risk Assessment Process is highly beneficial including.

Subject Matter Experts who have the necessary and relevant technical experience to identify and adequately assess any risks

Effective support from other persons with broader experience to provide a degree of balance, such people can often point out the obvious which is overlooked by the people with the nose up tight against the issue.

Change Management Considerations

Risk Assessment should be introduced as part of the process of analysing routine changes within the business process.

Examples of changes could include changes to the size of an organisation. Other changes could relate to modification to core systems and business processes. Once the notion of automatic Risk Assessment follows the change then the business has made the transition to a proactively aware organisation.

It is essential that all involved persons have a full understanding of all conceivable risks have been identified.

Where risks potentially have multiple impacts for example related to the person and to property, so how do we differentiate between the various risks is of significant importance.

Of course, the dominant consideration is the need to recognise the potential injury to people as a primary consequence to mitigate when conducting an assessment.

An incorrectly identified risk may lead to the incorrect identification of the need for either current or additional mitigation.

Considering the Proposed Mitigations

An essential feature of the process is to consider how the proposed mitigation will impact the original risk assessment and whether the anticipated solution will provide a partial or full resolution.

Including a follow up to the risk assessment to ensure that the mitigations which have been proposed provide an effective solution in terms of their effect on the risk assessment.

All affected persons should understand the proposed mitigations in place and the reason behind them.

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Aviation Safety Management Systems Risk Assessment Considerations