Category: Risk Assessment

Introduction

Risk assessment is a procedure that we always carry out on daily either unknowingly or knowingly. The main purpose of this paper is examine how risk assessment is done at home or in working setting especially when we handle hazardous materials.

It is recommended that the storage and handling of inflammable and hazardous materials must be done with care and caution; otherwise it can prove to be fatal. Some of the procedures for carrying out risk assessments for personal safety have been outlined in the rest of the paper, mainly touching on three tasks.

The first task is that of painting. Paints are some of the hazardous materials people handle on a daily basis. In particular, oil based paints have been proven to be flammable and hazardous to human beings. Before using these paints it is important for the user to carry out thorough risk assessment to ensure that health and safety precautions are in place at home, especially where children and pets are involved (Berman, 2001).

The following measures must be observed; the first step is to make sure that paint is kept in a sealed container to prevent air from getting into the container. Secondly, It is appropriate to pour out a little amount of paints in another container to make sure that there are no paint drops from the container to prevent any spillage or dropping on to the surface (Kunreuther & Patrick, 1991).

Thirdly, the remaining paints must be properly stored in a sealed container and kept away from children or pets. Incase the paints has been taken from the original container, the new container must be properly sealed and marked so as to prevent any accidental use by somebody else. It has been proven that dried out paints can potentially cause fire (Berman, 2001).

The second task is that of changing car oil. When changing car oil it is also important to protect yourself and your home environment from any spillage. The correct risk assessment should include the following tasks. First; check out whether there is any leakage from the tank so as to avoid any spillage. Secondly; in case of any spillage on the ground it is important to remove that oil together with soil (Kunreuther & Patrick, 1991).

For any spillage on the ground or solid surfaces, the spillage needs to be soaked with absorbent materials like fibers or sawdust which will be collected into a separate container. Thirdly; while changing oil from the car, it is paramount that the car is properly parked on a level area to avoid it going forward or backwards.

Fourth, while handling oil, one is advised to wear protective clothing and safety glasses to prevent oil from getting in the eye. Fifth, the discarded oil must be poured into a proper container and kept or dumped in proper waste area where children and pests cannot get to.

The third task is disposing of hazardous materials which are common in most work settings. Clinical wastes are extremely dangerous and are often referred to as ‘biohazard’ because they contain contaminated substances and infectious materials that are harmful to human beings (Watfa, 2007).

In relation to the disposal clinical waste, it is recommended that personal health and safety measures are followed. Most clinical waste such as needles, syringes, drugs or body fluids are harmful both to human bodies and the environment.

This requires proper measures for risk assessments which include the following; first; it is important to put all the clinical wastes in a properly marked container, different colored bags or bin that have been labeled.

The handler must wear globes to avoid any toxic or contaminated material from getting into the skin. Secondly; when cleaning the clinical work areas, one must use proper detergents and sanitizers and other recommended bleach solution to sterilize the work place after the disposal of the wastes (Reis et al, 2006).

The cleaner must also wear protective clothing to prevent the skin from getting into contact with the wastes. Thirdly, there must a properly designated area for keeping the waste materials from the clinic practice where nobody can get access to. Only the designated and properly trained and qualified personnel should be allowed to handle such materials.

Fourth, there must be a special vehicle for transporting such materials from the clinic practice to the designated dumping places. The persons handling such materials must also keep personal hygiene by wearing protective clothes and wash their hands with proper detergents to avoid contacting or spreading any viral infections to other people (Reis et al, 2006).

The environmental experts argue that every organization must provide an adequate space for storing hazardous materials and wastes. In relation to bio-hazardous wastes, Sullivan & Krieger argue that there must be a clear separation between ‘human and hazardous materials’.

In addition, the areas where wastes are being processed must separate from the ordinary work setting. It is also important that all staff, patients and visitors do not come into contact with clinical wastes (Sullivan & Krieger, 2001).

In conclusion, this paper has largely focused on the need for carrying out every risk assessment when it comes to handling hazardous materials. By and large, it is important that every body should observe personal health and safety when dealing such materials or cleaning equipments either at home or work place. This is meant to prevent the worker or user from personal accidents, cross contamination or even contracting viral

Reference List

Berman, A. J. (2001). The healthy home handbook: Eco-friendly design. London: Frances Linco

Kunreuther, H., & Patrick, R. ( 1991). Managing the Risks of Hazardous Waste. Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, 33(3)

Reis, P., & Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. (2006). Understanding health care facility safety. Oakbrook Terrace, Ill: Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare

Sullivan, J. B., & Krieger, G. R. (2001). Clinical environmental health and toxic exposures. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Watfa, N. T. (2007). Safety in the Use of Chemicals at the Workplace, in Chemical Safety: International Reference Manual (ed M. Richardson). Weinheim, Germany: VCH Verlagsgesellschaft mbH.

Introduction

In the course of the day to day activities, man is faced with numerous challenges right from the areas in which they live to the areas in which they live. These challenges in most of the cases always lead to a danger that is posed to the people who are exposed to these risks; it is therefore very important to identify the substances to which if one is exposed, there is a possibility of their health being affected.

The risks that. Occupational risks are those risks that are experienced at the workplace; one of the distinct characteristics of the occupational risks is that they are the risks that are likely to face the workers in the working environment (Chen et al., 2006). Therefore the occupational risks are calculated based on the total time of exposure that has been identified for the identified risks.

In the determination of the human health risks at the workplace it is also very important to consider the nature and extent of the damage that might be caused by exposure to these risks at the workplace; the ecological risk assessments are meant to consider the health risks in relation to animals and insects (Chen et al., 2006).

They are used to determine the extent to which the human health may be affected by the exposure to these insects as well as extent to which the health of the humans is affected by these risks. The major difference that exists between the occupational risks and the ecological risk assessment is the human exposure to occupational hazards can be considered over a given period of time per day whereas the ecological exposure for the insects and animals may be different.

One of the substances that have been classified as a health hazard at the workplace is Silica dust; silica is found in many of the materials that human beings interact with in the course of their day to day activities. It is worth noting that although Silica as a substance is not harmful, Silica dust has been known to cause many health problems such as silicosis which is an occupational disease.

Occupational risks are the risks that result from exposure to the identified health hazard while at the work place; this hazard is easy to quantify because it is usually based on the time in which the exposed person is at the workplace.

However non-occupational exposure to silica dust does occur and it is not easy to quantify; this may be due to sand storms or desert dust, dust from factories, or industrial activities which involve the use of silica as a raw material (Berry, Rogers & Yeung, 2004). In this case the people living in the surrounding area may end up being affected by the silica dust.

Silica has often been identified due to fact that prolonged exposure to Silica dust can cause silicosis as well as lung cancer, in some cases, this exposure can also lead to increased chances of contacting a kidney disease. The occupational exposure to the silica dust has been found to be most prevalent in the foundries, the ceramic industries, brick making, the quarry industry, construction industry and stone Masonry.

Acceptable Exposure Limits for Silica Dust

The exposure limits for silica dust that are acceptable at the workplace for silica dust has been set at 0.1 mg/m³. It is worth noting that this exposure limit is for the respirable crystalline silica (RCS). This has been set as the Workplace Exposure Limit (WEL) which the workers can be exposed to in the course of their work at the workplace (Chen et al., 2006).

In this regard therefore, the concentration limits for silica dust at the workplace ought not to exceed these limits at the workplace at any one given time. In essence therefore the concentration of silica dust at the workplace should be kept as low as possible for the benefit of the workers.

It is very important to be able to identify the materials that contain the crystalline silica and one of the methods that can be used in the identification of these substances is the material safety data sheet. This is a requirement so that all the materials that contain crystalline silica ought to be accompanied by Material Safety Data sheets; these will help in the identification of Silica as a hazardous substance.

This data sheet should contain information on the name of the product, the chemical and physical properties of the product as well as the health hazards that are related with the use of the product (Berry, Rogers & Yeung, 2004). There should also be clear instructions on the safe use of the products and the name of the manufacturer or importers and their contacts should be clearly shown so that it is possible to contact them in case a clarification is required.

Assessment of the risks related to Silica Dust Exposure

It is very important to assess all the possible risks that are associated to silica dust at the work place and this involves the use of Material Safety Data Sheet, this not only gives information on the health risks that are associate with the silica dust, but also the controls that can be put in place to deal with these emissions.

After this the next step involves an examination of the work processes that involve the use of the materials that contain silica; this examination will help to determine the extent to which the workers are exposed to the dust that contains the respirable crystalline silica (Berry, Rogers & Yeung, 2004). The next step involves acting on the results of the assessment on the levels of exposure.

After the assessment it is very important to ensure that it is important to come up with a risk assessment record; this record is critical in determining and listing down all the risks that are related to the health of the workers, it also lists down the significance of the risk, the best way to control the risk and the means for carrying out monitoring and health surveillance for the workers.

The last step might involve a process of monitoring the whole process. The process of monitoring will involve a process of sampling to come up with a comparison between the conditions to which the worker is exposed and the allowable exposure limits that are permitted by the regulating authority.

Conclusion

It is important to address the problem of health hazards at the workplace; silica dust is both an occupational and non-occupational health hazard which needs to be clearly addressed. This is to ensure that the health of the workers at the workplace and any others who might be exposed to the silica dust is addressed effectively.

Silica dust causes silicosis, lung cancer and in some cases kidney problems. However, with a proper risk assessment as well as risk monitoring process for the silica dust it is possible to control and address the issue of silica dust as a health hazard.

References

Berry, G. Rogers, A. & Yeung, P. (2004). Silicosis and lung cancer: a mortality study of compensated men with silicosis in New South Wales, Australia. Occupational Medicine (Lond), 54, 387.

Chen, W. Yang, J. Chen, J. & Bruch, J. (2006). Exposures to silica mixed dust and cohort mortality study in tin mines: exposure-response analysis and risk assessment of lung cancer. American Journal Industrial Medicine, 49(2), 67.

There are several risks that such company as Target can be exposed. First of all, it is possible to speak about the changes in labor legislation. The government of the United States or Canada can introduce new laws requiring Target and other large retailers to raise minimum wages for the employees.

This change can strongly affect the financial performance of this organization. Currently, the company faces various lawsuits related to their alleged failure to compensate their employees properly and offer them adequate medical insurance (EOWLD¹ unpaged). Thus, it is possible that these legal conflicts can eventually give rise to new laws. Canadian citizens do not receive healthcare coverage directly from the employer, it is provided by the government (Greenberg, 63).

However, the cost of the coverage is reflected in the taxes that private companies pay. Therefore, rapid increase in these health coverage costs can result in extra expense for Target. The company has to be ready for these changes in legislations; otherwise they can lose their positions in the market.

Secondly, this management of this company should remember that economic recession forces people in Canada to choose less expensive products, and as a result, retailing companies have to lower the prices and enter price competition.

This competition will be very difficult for Target, especially if we consider its rivalry competition with Wall-Mart (Rowley, 175). Finally, one should also take into account that some Canadian customers may give preference to local retailers rather than foreign ones. Therefore, by opening new stores in Canada Target may not achieve the expected profits.

The contingency plan can include several important steps. For example, the company should develop new compensation plan which reflect the possible changes in labor laws in Canada. Admittedly, this change can affect the profitability of this corporation at the beginning but without it they will not be able to operate in this country.

The second important step is to expand the range of their products. Currently, this company offers high quality products to middle-income people (Rowley, 175). They should also sell the merchandise that will affordable to people of lower income. Additionally, this corporation should establish close partnership with a variety of Canadian suppliers in order to make their supply chain more cost-effective.

Finally, this organization has to make sure that it is viewed by Canadian customers as a responsible corporate citizen. In part, Target can do it by retaining the employees of Zellers Inc, the retailing company that they acquired. Overall, these strategies can avert possible risks or at least minimize their impacts.

Strategy Map and Balanced Scorecard

At this point, it is necessary for us to illustrate the future goals of Target Corporation by means of this strategy map. They are closely connected to the company’s intention to open new stores in Canada. They are as follows:

Financial Perspective

1. To increase the profitability of the Canadian department stores acquired by Target by 10 percent at the end of 2012.
2. To increase the sales volumes of these stores by 5 percent at the end of 2012
3. To reduce the operational expenses by 5 percent at the end of 2012.

Measurement

Overall, the management of this company should take measurements on a quarterly basis. They need to focus on three criteria sales rates, net income, and operational expenses of those Canadian stores that merged with the company. Such approach will enable them to track their progress.

Customer Perspective

1. To make sure that the company is viewed by Canadian customers as company that values corporate social responsibility.
2. To develop methods of attracting new customers, for example, by improving the quality of services.

Measurement

The company can adopt several research methods to evaluate and measure Canadian clients’ perceptions. For example, they can conduct online surveys prompting the customers to assess Target in terms of their prices or service quality. The results of these customer surveys will be the milestones showing where these customers have a favorable opinion about the company.

Internal perspective

1. To reduce the stock out rate to a minimum.
2. To establish more close alliances with a variety of Canadian supplier.

Measurement

The management can evaluate this aspect of performance by counting the number of stork-out within a month. These measurements must be taken each month, and they will serve as the key milestones for the management. The second objective can be measured by the number of business partners that Target has in Canada.

Learning Perspective and growth

1. To make sure that the best practices are quickly dissimilated and adopted across the company.
2. To improve the skills of every employee by offering training programs to the personnel.

Measurement

The management can evaluate learning and growth in Canadian stores by measuring the amount of time it takes different department stores to assimilate the best practices of the Company. These measurements must be taken each month, and they will serve as the key milestones for the management. Furthermore, the management should conduct assessment of employee’s performance every month.

The first aspect that has been identified in the strategy map is financial perspective. At this point, the main objective is to reduce the operations costs and increase sales by five percent in Canadian stores. This goal can be achieved by offering products to people of various incomes. Secondly, the management can achieve this goal by optimizing the supply chain.

The second aspect, which can be equally important to Target Corporation is the customer perspective. As it has been said, the company must demonstrate that they really act as a responsible corporate citizen that will benefit Canadian customers. They can attain this objective in several ways.

First, the management must eliminate labor law violations in the workplace. Such controversial incidents can really damage the reputation of this organization and prevent it from expanding in the United States or Canada. Secondly, they can do it by retaining the employees of former companies such as Zellers Inc.

Thirdly, one should not overlook internal process perspective. The main objectives are to minimize stock out rates and establish partnerships with Canadian suppliers. The stock out time can be minimized by using more accurate demand-forecasting methods. Finally, the management should foster learning and growth in the organization. This perspective is probably also vital for the success of Target Corporation. The key task is to make sure that ideas and best practices are quickly disseminated across the company.

They need to work on the improvement of worker’s skills. This is why they should offer training programs to the members of the staff. Finally, the company needs to offer stimulus to well-performing and talented employees. For example, they can give monthly awards the best employees. Later, the management should track their performance on a monthly basis. This assessment will show whether these bonuses and training programs contribute to better performance.

These are the strategies that Target should pursue in order to achieve success in Canada.

Works Cited

Greenberg, Warren. The Health Care Marketplace. London: Beard Books, 2002. Print.

Rowley, Laura. On Target: How the World’s Hottest Retailer Hit a Bull’s-Eye. NY: John Wiley & Sons, 2004. Print.

The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. “Ricardo Vazquez v. Target Corporation”. 2009. Web.

Footnotes

¹ the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.

Introduction

Risk is imminent in any industry that a business organization may be operating. As a result, it is incumbent upon the management to put in place measures that will ensure adequate prevention of any possible risk. Risk management process has been defined as a process through which an organization plans and executes organizational activities with the aim of reducing or even avoiding effects of risks.

It is important, however, to note that it is capital and income of organizations that are shielded against risk. It should also be noted that for a typical risk management program to be effective, various vital components must be taken into consideration.

Risk identification

To begin with, it is important to note that one will be fight a futile war if the enemy is not known. Consequently, it is paramount that any risk management program begins by identifying which risks are most likely to occur and therefore affect the business. It is only after identification of the risk that it can be feasible to investigate causes of the risk.

The risk identification step should also include the identification of events or activities of the organization that are most likely to trigger risks. The manner in which management may chose to carry out the risk identification process usually depends on the business environment, culture as well as the regulations in place.

Risk Assessment

Risk identification enumerates the risks that can occur, but does not say anything about the most prevalent or the most severe risk. However, for proper risk management it is important for the firm to know which risks can easily occur and which ones have the highest effects on the company assets or income. Consequently, risk assessment to categorize the possible risks according to their probability of occurrence and severity of impact is crucial.

It is imperative to note that risk assessment also involves determination of the assets that are vulnerable incase a given risk occurs. However, risk assessment has one draw back which is its inability to precisely determine the pace at which various risks can occur. This is due to the unavailability of reliable statistics hence a higher degree of inaccuracy. Nevertheless, this component of risk management program is vital in assisting management to prioritize its actions.

Risk Handling

Risk handling involves the process by which strategies to tackle each risk are formulated and implemented. In addition, it includes the prioritization of the strategies in order to cater for the most crucial assets. The ultimate goal of any risk management program is to avoid any risk to the organization. However, it is practically impossible that risks can be completely avoided by any organization no matter how perfect the risk management program may be.

As a result, the programs aim to avoid the risk if possible or transfer the risk whenever necessary to institutions or people well placed to take the risk. Nevertheless, there comes a time when the firm cannot avoid some risks. In such a scenario, the management may choose to mitigate the effects of the risk or accept the risk either partially or in full. Whichever the strategy that a firm may choose, its priority should be to safeguard the organization’s capital, assets and income.

Conclusion

Risk management is not an easy or direct process as many may have wished it to be. Besides being influenced by uncontrollable conditions, it is clouded by a lot of uncertainties which leads to inaccuracies in decision making. Nonetheless, it is a crucial part of organization procedures and has to be undertaken. Therefore, it is upon the management of any organization to ensure that efforts are made to get the most appropriate risk management program implemented.

Introduction

The paper represents a model of risk management, which has to be employed in the process of network reorganization, which is connected with the creation of a new J. Smith & Associates division in Scottsdale, Arizona. The prevention of the potential difficulties, which may arise in the project, has to be correlated with the essential aims of the reorganization. Thus, one has to note that the task of the company team is to ensure that 500 employees, who are currently working in the company, receive the opportunities to provide the required services to the customers and to communicate with each other within the workspace.

Risk matrix

The illustration of the probable risks can be suggested with the help of a risk matrix, which assesses the likelihood and consequences of the possible difficulties. In the given project, the risks of networking reorganization are connected with several factors (Table 1).

Table 1. Risk Matrix

The primary indicator of the planning effectiveness concerns ensuring data safety. Since the company already has its functioning history, the information losses can damage work infrastructure. The consequences of this risk may be compared to those, which followed power line breakage in New Mexico, in 2000. The catastrophe resulted in microchips’ damage, which evoked a disruption of numerous cash flows, information, and ended up with $400 million sales loss for the major companies (Chopra & Sodhi, 2004).

However, the risk may be avoided if the management of the company takes care of copying the data, which is gathered in the transferred systems and supplies, and saving it in the separate files. If data transmission is impossible, it might be beneficial to sustain system reliability tests before accomplishing reorganization operations. In the former case, the occurrence of the risk is reduced to “unlikeable” level, the latter one poses more threats and can be estimated as “occasional.”

Risk associated with the use of the installed service

The second critical risk of networking reorganization refers to the use of the installed service. Since the essential goal of facilities’ transfer concerns comfortable and safe employment as well as a successful performance of customers’ needs, it is critical making sure that the new systems would function appropriately. The risk, which may arise, refers to the fact that, quite often, changing locations for network systems evokes connectivity disruptions or hostname confusion.

The consequences of this type of risk encompass logging in problems, which may stimulate customers’ dissatisfaction with the services. The occurrence of the risk may be estimated as “likely.” Nevertheless, it is possible to avoid the risk if the work team performs diligent testing of the domain names on every transferred system as well as evaluates the functioning of DSL and VPN names. Finally, testing the connectivity of ICMP facilitates the operation of hostname verification, which precludes any potential confusion (Jigeesh, 2012).

System maintenance risk

Finally, the third critical risk of model implementation refers to system maintenance. The experts claim that computer systems are extremely vulnerable to disruptions in the first days after the implementation, due to the alternation of network signals and code positioning. That is why, the systems, which are transferred in the project, have to be placed under constant surveillance. Moreover, it is beneficial to sustain regular monitoring tests.

For instance, the verification of the basic TCP and UDP commands may enhance the productiveness of the coding systems. Nevertheless, it is critical noting that the essential risk, which is connected with system maintenance, refers to network breakages, which often occur in the course if testing. Disconnections may result in operational failures, which threaten service delivery. Due to the frequent breakages, the occurrence of the risk may be characterized as “likely.” The method of risk avoidance includes performing the verification procedures in non-working time so that to ensure network safety.

Conclusion

The sustainability of risk preventions is critical in any company project since a successful implementation of the modifications defines corporation’s success. In the discussed case, one can deduce that the efficient performance of prevention operations can lead to cost justification, which means that networking reorganization has to bring financial benefits, which could not have been met in the previous project; productivity: reorganization contributes to the increase of information technologies’ productivity; barriers’ breaking: the alternations help the company team to reach the goals, which could not be attained in the old model of system functioning; communication: since the primary aim of network systems’ functioning is providing customer services, risk management elaborates the quality of inter-corporation communication (Performing a security risk assessment, 2010).

Conclusively, the risk assessment proves that network organization can be successfully implemented if the management team sustains prevention of difficulties on three critical levels, which are implementation, monitoring, and evaluation since the outlined levels predetermine the successfulness of reorganization.

References

Chopra, S., & Sodhi, M. (2004). Managing risk to avoid supply-chain breakdown. Web.

Jigeesh, N. (2012). Selection of Project as Important Beginning for Information Technology Project Management. IUP Journal of Operations Management, 1(1), 41-49.

Performing a security risk assessment. (2010). Web.

There is no use denying the fact that the modern world depends on the industry as it has never depended in its history. People are not able to survive without various goods which are produced by different plants and factories. That is why, great attention is given to the development of this very sector. People invent new ways to produce some goods which are more efficient than the previous ones. However, very often these ways are dangerous and can lead to unexpected results. With this in mind, another issue which should control the level of security develops along with the industry.

It is risk management, which main aim is to determine the main risk factors that could lead to the appearance of some emergencies and create conditions, under which these possibilities could be minimized. Taking into account great potential harm which could be made in case of any accident, it is possible to say that this very issue becomes especially important. Resting on these facts, it is possible to choose a certain industry and use the risk management approach in order to obtain the idea about the main peculiarities of its functioning and the ways in which the level of risk could be reduced. Taking into account modern tendencies, oil refinery industry is chosen for the analysis as it is one of the most topical and fast developing spheres nowadays, which, though, is rather dangerous and can create a great threat to the environment in case of emergency.

With this in mind, it is possible to outline the main goals and objectives of the given paper. First of all, the general characteristic of the industry should be provided in order to understand the main peculiarities of the process of production and be ready to analyze them. The main ideas obtained with the help of this analysis could influence the process of recognition of the main weaknesses of the chosen industry. Furthermore, this analysis is extremely vital in terms of risk management. There is no use denying the fact that this issue should take into account all weaknesses of the industry, including external and internal factors and make assumptions resting on the information obtained from this very analysis. Thus, it is possible to say that another goal of the given work is to understand the main aspects of functioning of the issue of risk management.

Having stated in the first part of the paper the fact that this tool is extremely vital now, it is possible to come to the attempts to analyze it and apply to the oil refinery industry. Thus, another part of the given paper is devoted to the literature review with the help of which the information connected with the given sphere could be obtained and the answers to some questions found. The literature review is based only on credible sources which provide trustworthy information. Besides, the above mentioned steps should help to obtain clear vision of the problem of risk assessment in oil refinery industry and suggest certain steps which could help to reduce the level of risk. Moreover, some possible aftermath of accidents in the given industry should also be outlined in order to realize the great importance of this problem.

Thus, it should be said that according to Siljeholm (1997) oil refinery industry is rather dangerous sphere of human activity which can lead to some serious and unexpected aftermath. The author outlines several factors which influence the appearance of some risks. The first factor is the hazardous character of organic contaminants which are the result of an oil refinery (Siljeholm, 1997). These contaminants could make serious harm to the environment, especially in case of their unexpected insertion to soil or subsoil waters. That is why, the author outlines the necessity of deep analysis of risks connected with the given industry. However, he is not the only researcher who underlines hazardous and environmentally unfriendly character of the oil refinery. Bhattacharyya & Shekdar (2003) in their research paper state the fact that phenols and heavy metals, that remain after the process of refinery of crude oil, are very dangerous pollutants, which could make the state of environment significantly worse.

The authors cogitate about the fact that people, who work in the given sphere, are also endangered by these reagents and the question of safety at work appears. Oil sludge, which is generated in the process of refinery, is very hazardous and has a pernicious effect on the health of people and state of the environment (Bhattacharyya & Shekdar, 2003). Under these conditions, the issue of risk management is extremely vital as not only the environment, though, the life of people could also be ruined. That is why, the tools to control the state of security and find some threats are suggested by the authors of the work. Moreover, it is also obvious, that in the age of digital revolution, some engineering solutions should also be applied to the oil refinery industry. Da Silva, Alves and de Franca (2012) in their work suggest the review of technological solutions which could be used to control the state of the plant, or factory, which refines crude oil. Being sure that “the activities of the oil industry have several impacts on the environment due to the large amounts of oily wastes that are generated” (Da Silva, Alves and de Franca, 2012, p. 1016), the authors underline the fact that the choice of the approach towards the risk management depends on physical and chemical peculiarities of the processes which are performed.

Thus, they tend to create some universal technology which could be applied under various conditions and which could monitor the state of the whole process. Moreover, this very technology could be taken as a very efficient risk management tool as it should take into account and analyze all potential risk factors, such as thr escape of wastes, danger of fire, or pernicious influence on the health of workers (Da Silva, Alves and de Franca, 2012, p. 1016). The authors tend to prove the idea that the implementation of technologies in the process of risk management could help to reduce the number of accidents significantly. The first and the most important advantage of technologies is the fact that they could help to exclude the human factor from the process of refinery and risk management. Great significance of the human factor is proved by MacKenzie, Holmstrom and Kaszniak (2007) in their paper, in which they analyze the accident at BP Texas City refinery which happened on March 23, 2005. Taken this case as the basis for their investigation, researchers tend to prove the idea that some actions of unit operators could be taken as rather ambivalent and should be given more attention because of their role in the accident (MacKenzie, Holmstrom and Kaszniak, 2007).

In the course of their investigation the authors prove the fact that the human factor had a pernicious influence on the whole situation and led to the disastrous results. With this in mind, it is possible to say that there is the idea that the exclusion of the human factor can lead to the significant improvement of security in the sphere. Shiff (2012), performing a spatial risk analysis of oil refineries in the USA, also includes the human factor in the list of main causes of accidents. He uses statistics to prove his idea and, moreover, the author also shows the main methods used by him in the process of analysis. Underlining the fact that risk analysis plays an important role in managing the whole industry and in its development, the researcher provides reliable information which shows that the plants and factories, which devoted great attention to the issue of risk management, had much better history of accidents. Moreover, Shiff suggests his own vision of the remedies which could be used to control the state of affairs in the industry. Technology is one of the main ways to get rid of the majority of risk factors according to Shiff (2012).

Thus, it is possible to say that implementation of new hardware should be followed by the development of new software which, in its turn, should be able to improve the efficiency of Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA). QRA is the methodology which aims at determining all risks that appear in the process of production and refining of crude oil. Implementation of a new software could help to guarantee that “all possible accident scenarios are taken account of so that potential sources of high risk are not omitted from the overall risk picture” (Improving Refinery Safety using Quantitative Risk Assessment and the Role of Software, n.d., p. 2), which is extremely vital for the efficient functioning of QRA and the whole organization. The thing is that large quantities of data, which is used by QRA in order to find the most problematic spheres and create various solutions, could be processed by a computer much faster than by any other mean. With this in mind, it is possible to say, that the future of QRA and the whole issue of risk management is closely connected with the specialized software which could replace the old practices and exclude the human factor from the list of main risks. Oil refinery industry, being one of the most important industries nowadays, should be modernized according to this pattern, as its wastes and accidents, which appear almost every year, damage environment greatly and have a pernicious influence on the health of people.

Taking into account the above mentioned information, it is possible to say that QRA could be taken as one of the main tools which should be used to determine risk factors and get rid of even theoretical threat. Using the case study connected with the Texas City Refinery accident (Saleh, Haga, Favaro, & Bakolas, 2014) as the background for the research, it is possible to outline several peculiarities connected with the methodology and the main ways of risk analysis. First of all, it should be said that the qualitative methods could be applied here to determine the level of safety peculiar to the given object. In the given case study “the absence of observability or ability to diagnose hazardous states in the operation of the refinery” is mentioned as one of the causes of this accident (Saleh et al., 2014, p. 121). That is why, it is possible to suggest that implementation and usage of the main principles of QRA and qualitative risk analysis of the most important and problematic spheres could have helped to prevent the accident. Creation of risk rating scales, which demonstrate the most dangerous aspects of the factory’s functioning and constant evaluation of the staff working there can be taken as the main methods of risk assessment which should be applied under these very conditions. That is why, analysis of the case study could be accomplished in accordance with these assumptions.

With this in mind, having outlined the main ideas and facts connected with the issue of risk assessment and its peculiarities in the oil refinery industry, it is possible to make a certain conclusion. First of all, it should be said that the chosen industry is potentially very risky and the threat of contamination of the environment in case of emergency is extremely high. That is why, it is vital to be able to determine the main risks and be able to create procedures which could decrease the level of threat. Under these conditions, the issue of QRA obtains great significance, however, it should also be reconsidered in order to be able to use the software which could process various aspects of security at the same time. There are several main threats which are the escape of wastes, danger of fire, pernicious influence on the health of workers or risk of explosion and each of them could have an irreversible effect on the environment. Resting on these facts, it is possible to recommend the further investigation of the chosen sphere in order to find the best possible risk assessment approach.

References

Bhattacharyya, J., & Shekdar, A. (2003). Treatment and disposal of refinery sludges: Indian scenario. Waste Management and research, 2(3), 249-261. Web.

Da Silva, L., Alves, F., & de Franca, F. (2012). A review of the technological solutions for the treatment of oily sludges from petroleum refineries.Waste Management and research, 30(10), 1016-1030. Web.

Improving Refinery Safety using Quantitative Risk Assessment and the Role of Software. (n.d.). Web.

MacKenzie, C., Holmstrom, D., & Kaszniak, M. (2007). Human Factors Analysis of the BP Texas City Refinery Explosion.Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 51(20), 1444-1448. Web.

Saleh, J., Haga, R., Favaro, F., & Bakolas, E. (2014). Texas City refinery accident: Case study in breakdown of defense-in-depth and violation of the safety–diagnosability principle in design. Engineering Failure Analysis, 36. 121-133. Web.

Schiff, Z. (2012). A spatial risk analysis of oil refineries in the United States. Web.

Siljeholm, J. (1997). A Hazard Ranking of Organic Contaminants in Refinery Effluents. Toxicology and industrial health, 13(4), 527-551. Web.

Investing in oil drilling projects is often fraught with a great number of risks, primarily, the ones that are related to the environmental issues (Agwu, Ilori, & Nwachukwu 2013). A recent discovery of oil deposits in Croatia has led to a train of dilemmas regarding the further exploration of the existing opportunities. Starting the drilling process and investing into the project might seem the most adequate step to make, yet the current problems related to the possible environmental hazard and the necessity to avoid the risks such as covering for the damage made to the areas in the vicinity caused by drilling offer a lot of food for thought and room for doubt.

The disposition of the oil deposits aggravates the situation. As a recent study of the subject matter shows, the close proximity of the alleged drilling sites to the Adriatic Sea makes the dilemma nearly unsolvable (Bernardini, David, Perkovic, & Tarchi 2014). Regardless of the possible environmental hazard, a range of scholars (Bernadini et al. 2014; Loncar, Leder, & Paladin 2012) point to the fact that the further exploration of the area is bound to lead to impressive outcomes.

The choice of a multitask program, which will allow addressing the environmental issues and at the same time reduce the possible losses to the minimum must be viewed as an option in the specified scenario. By focusing on investing in technology and qualified workforce, as well as enhancing precaution measures, investors will be able to avoid the key risks, as well as gain great

Seeing that the environmental threat regarding the possibility of an oil spill in the Adriatic Sea is the essential risk at present and that it outweighs the rest of the concerns, addressing it is the most sensible investment decision. Avoiding the chance of an oil spill by improving the quality of the tools used for the drilling process, particularly, purchasing the ones that have a higher precision rate, must be the primary objective for investments at present. An increase in the accuracy of the drilling process will allow for reducing the risk of an oil spill and, therefore, the loss of the investments made in the process, to a minimum. As far as the current investment options are concerned, the acquisition of the tools such as X Drilling Tools (Welcome to X Drilling Tools, 2015) should be viewed as a possibility, since they have the highest accuracy rates and, therefore, allow for preventing the risk of an oil spill in the area

The above-mentioned risk concerning the drop in the state economy and, therefore, the conflict with the Croatian entrepreneurs and government members, will also need to be addressed. Even if the investors put a strong emphasis on the security measures and reinforce the strategies against oil spills in the area, tourists may still feel insecure about the possibility of an environmental hazard. As a result, great drops in tourism rates will be expected in the country. Seeing that the Croatian economy thrives on tourism as one of its crucial industries (Omerzel & Jurdana 2015), losing tourists will mean a slow but certain demise of the state economy.

The risks in question may be addressed by incorporating traditional and modern media as the means of raising awareness regarding the safety of the methods used by oil drilling companies in Croatia. Thus, the tourism rates will be kept at a decent level, therefore, creating premises for a sustainable economy in the target area. The specified choice will also presuppose investing in a qualified labour force since the decisions made by inadvertent people lacking competence in the subject matter may lead to dire results and huge losses caused by oil spills.

One must admit, though, that the process of drilling for oil in Croatia is fraught with numerous risks, which may jeopardize the success of the campaign. Particularly, the fact that exploring the opportunities for oil drilling in Croatia presupposes facing significant obstacles posed by private and public entrepreneurships in the tourism sector. As a recent study shows, the rates of tourists’ visits to Croatia have dropped significantly since the discovery of oil in the specified country (Sustar 2012). The specified consequence can be viewed as rather expectable, as the tourists’ concerns about the possible environmental hazards in the target area are quite understandable and far from being groundless: “Cruisers burn so called Bunker or No. 6 Heavy Fuel Oil.

This is probably the dirtiest fuel available with confirmed serious environmental impacts such as acidification ad health-respiratory impacts such as asthma or increased risks of lung cancer” (Hrvoje 2011, p. 111). Therefore, arguments against the further promotion of oil drilling in the area are expected from the local entrepreneurs in the tourism and hospitality industry. Thus, the risks of the oil drilling project finally collapsing under the pressure of the stakeholders mentioned above are quite tangible (Wills, 2013).

Apart from the threats to the local businesses and the state economy, the environmental and technical risks related to the area in question deserve to be brought up. Particularly, one must bear in mind that the process of drilling in the Adriatic Sea may lead to oil spills and, therefore, pollution of the area in question. The course of actions taken after the alleged oil spill does not invite many opportunities for assessing immunotoxicity of the area, not to mention the damage to the environment and the endemics thereof: “Possible ecological impacts from the immunotoxicity may include impaired disease resistance and increased parasitism that could lead to slower population recoveries” (Barron 2012, p. 319).

Hence, the investors may lose a significant amount of money when compensating for the damage made to the species and their habitat in the designated area. Moreover, the very process of drilling may be put to a halt by the local environmental protection agencies, which will impede the chances of the investors to retrieve any interest from investing in the project.

Although the threats listed above are rather impressive and need to be taken into account when viewing investments into the Croatia oil drilling campaign as a possibility, one must admit that the positive outcomes of the investment are still far too significant to be overlooked. Therefore, the risks in question will have to be managed with the help of the latest technology and the usage of modern equipment.

While the adoption of the above-mentioned risk management strategies does not guarantee complete avoidance of the two major risks mentioned above, these approaches will still pave the way for the investors to explore their options in Croatia without suffering major financial damages. Therefore, it can be assumed that promoting the oil drilling project in Croatia can only be viewed as reasonable once the stakeholders are ready to invest in the purchase and a consistent update of high quality equipment, as well as competent workforce, who will adopt a responsible attitude to the process and facilitate safety in the workplace by adhering to the existing safety guidelines.

Building awareness regarding the safety of the oil drilling process carried out with the help of state-of-the-art equipment is a challenging task in the era of information technology. Once a certain threat is introduced to social networks and the people using it, a hype regarding the issue is created immediately and is rather hard to address. Once the process of oil drilling in Croatia commences, the people viewing the state as a tourist destination may feel the need to express their concerns via modern media; given the number of the users of the specified IT facilities, the issue may be blown out of proportions Therefore, there is a certain number of risk in investing in the project due to the possibility of tourism rates drop.

Since the opportunities for mining, which Croatia has to offer to foreign investors, are beyond impressive, one should consider the Croatian oil depositions a very good investment option. Managing the risks by investing in the inventory and the skilled labour force, one is likely to attain impressive results in the designated area without suffering any damage. Financing the project and adopting an elaborate strategy in the choice of the human and inventory resources, therefore, must be viewed as the primary investment decision to be made by the businesses interested in exploring Croatia as an oil resource. Therefore, the Croatian oil deposits can be deemed as a rather promising option as long as the investors take the needs of the local residents and the specifics of the state economy into account.

Reference List

Agwu, O A, Ilori, M O,& Nwachukwu, S U 2013, ‘Utilization of drilling fluid base oil hydrocarbons by microorganisms isolated from diesel-polluted soil’, Soil & Sediment Contamination, vol. 22, no. 7, pp. 817–828.

Barron, M G 2012, ‘Ecological Impacts of the deepwater horizon oil spill: Implications for immunotoxicity’, Toxicologic Pathology, vol. 40, no. 2, pp. 315-320.

Bernardini, A, David, M, Perkovic, M, & Tarchi, D 2014, ‘Towards an operational use of space imagery for oil pollution monitoring in the Mediterranean basin: A demonstration in the Adriatic Sea’, Marine Pollution Bulletin, vol. 54, no. 4, pp. 403–422.

Hrvoje, C 2011, ‘Cruising tourism environmental impacts: Case study of Dubrovnik, Croatia’, Journal of Coastal Research, vol. 61, no. 1, pp. 104–113.

Loncar, G, Leder, N, & Paladin, M 2012, ‘Numerical modelling of an oil spill in the northern Adriatic.’,Oceanologia, vol. 54, no. 2, pp. 143–173.

Omerzel, O D, & Jurdana, J D 2015, ‘The predictors of innovativeness in the tourism industry: a comparative study between Croatia and Slovenia’, Tourism in South East Europe, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 75–88.

Sustar, K 2012, ‘The contemporary development of tourism in Croatia. Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management in Opatija. Biennial International Congress’, Tourism & Hospitality Industry, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 429–446.

Welcome to X Drilling Tools 2015. Web.

Wills, J 2013, ‘US environmental history: Inviting doomsday. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

The use of qualitative or quantitative approaches to assessing risk depends on the situation and objectives of the risk assessment exercise. The quantitative methods provide a figure to measure risk, and this can be in monetary terms, which allows project planners to know the exact cost of risk. There can be a consistent generation of numbers used in critical controls of a project, and the numbers will create a report that project managers can use in decision-making (Mitchell 1995).

An example of efficient use of quantitative risk analysis approaches would be in a facility that maintains customer records in a confidential format. Such a facility would have an external web server for manipulating and storing records. Only authorized personnel in the organization can access and manipulate the record. When assessing the risk of the webserver in terms of security, a quantitative approach can be very useful. It would map out the risk in terms of its monetary value. An organization would look at the cost of replacing specific records that are sabotaged, and then use those unit costs to evaluate the cost of the overall damage to the web server that would have the organization come up with new records. Besides, an estimate of the time that it will take to bring the webserver back online would be useful as a quantitative parameter. The business will then match the time with the typical revenue generated in the same period in ordinary circumstances. The cost of replacement and the downtime would then provide a measure of the monetary value that the business stands to suffer should the security or damage risk event occur on the webserver. The weakness of a qualitative approach is in its difficult to interpret when there are too many parameters being measured and reported (Project Management Institute 2013).

On the other hand, qualitative approaches to risk assessment work differently, often presenting issues like the probability of occurrence and concentrating on the severity of the risk event. The success of a qualitative approach is determined by the ability to comprehend the vulnerable parts of the system and avoid the risks. The qualitative approach provides descriptions of the risk and the relation of the risk to the overall outcome and objectives of the project (Project Management Institute 2013). With the qualitative approach, it is easy to dismiss high probability risks that are not very significant to a business. For example, if a security breach to a web server is very likely to occur, but it would not mean disruption of business or significant loss of information and money, then it can be dismissed as a low risk-high probability event. A weakness of qualitative approaches is that it can reject related risks and fail to capture chain events that lead to a catastrophic outcome (Meredith & Mantel 2012).

In a typical situation, it is better to begin risk assessment with a qualitative approach for its descriptiveness, and then when the high risk and highest probability events are captured, analysts can go on to employ quantitative methods to determine the exact implication of the identified high-risk events (Simons 1999). This approach saves both time and resources used to assess other resources. Overall, the hybrid approach leads to the avoidance and proper management of high impact catastrophic risks.

Reference List

Meredith, JR & Mantel, SJ 2012, ‘Project activity and risk planning, Section 6.5 Project risk management’, in JR Meredith & SJ Mantel, Project management: A managerial approach, 8th edn, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ, pp. 250-260.

Mitchell, VW 1995, ‘Organizational risk perception and reduction: A literature review’, British Journal of Management, vol 6, no. 2, pp. 115-133.

Project Management Institute 2013, ‘A guide to the project management book of knowledge (PMBOK Guide)’, in Project Management Institute, Project risk management, 5th edn, Project Management Institute, Newton Square, PA, pp. 309-354

Simons, RL 1999, ‘How risky is your company’, Harvard Business Review, vol 77, no. 3, pp. 85-95.

Two major approaches to risk assessment (RA) exist: qualitative and quantitative (Kliem & Richie, 2015). The qualitative method implies evaluation of risks, their interactions as well as assessment of their probability and impact. One of the major goals and benefits of the approach is the possibility to prioritize risks. Quantitative approach implies weighting value of risks and their interactions as well as assessment of outcomes that are manifested in “financial terminology” (Kliem & Richie, 2015, p. 82). This enables managers to evaluate possible contingencies to the budget or time frames. Quantitative analysis is often more detailed, and it is more appropriate when the estimation of risk’s overall effects on the project is necessary.

1. The organization should undertake a number of steps to ensure RA is appropriate. The first step is to identify threats and hazards to critical operations (Engelmann & Henderson, 2011). Managers should focus on the most relevant risks. After that, it is necessary to determine and evaluate controls. Controls are procedures that minimize the probability of transitioning through the entire chain of the risk event aimed at mitigating the risk impact. The next step is to evaluate event probabilities and the potential impact. It is also essential to identify a risk measure through a combination of impact and probability. The final stage is prioritizing risks.
2. Managers can estimate probability with the help of qualitative or quantitative analysis. In terms of the former, the probability valuation can be high, medium, low. This type of analysis is instrumental in prioritizing. Whereas, quantitative analysis implies the use of numerical probabilities (Graham & Kaye, 2015). The major sources of data for both types of analysis include questionnaires, interviews, documents, observation, workshops, internal audit. It is necessary to add that the sources of data can be internal and external. The former include the staff, auditing, management, contractors and so on. The external data involve police officials, weather bureau, fire officials and so on. Estimation of probability enables managers to develop cost-effective strategies that mitigate the aftermaths of risks or disrupt the event chain.
3. Probability statistics is vital for the RA process as it enables managers to collect, describe, analyze various data. Statistical techniques help managers to estimate risks probability. Statistics may help estimate particular costs and timeframes that can help mitigate risk impact through disruption of the event chain (Young & Coleman, 2010). The major value of statistics is the fact that the technique provides a set of particular tools to evaluate risk probability in numerical terms. These data can be expressed in a graphical form, which is helpful for prioritizing and evaluation of the risk impact. Statistical tools make the process of decision-making easier and more effective as it is evidence-based.
4. The Bayes’ theory helps evaluate event probabilities when new data are available. Thus, prior probability can be estimated on the basis of available information. It can be estimated with the use of outside resources (experience of other companies). However, when new data are available, the theorem enables to include them into the calculation and estimate the probability in a more precise way. The more data appear, the more precise results can be obtained. At the same time, there is no need to try to get all the possible information at once as there is a possibility to estimate the event probability each time new data are available.
5. The mean value is relevant to BCM as the calculation of the mean is important for measuring central tendency. The calculation of the mean value enables managers to estimate the probability of risk events with a significant degree of precision. The mean value is also instrumental in the evaluation and prioritizing risks. It is possible to note that the availability of new data is not crucial as the manager can evaluate the probability of risk events. The mean value can also be used when some tendencies are estimated. When precise data are important, the mean can be regarded as a standard to follow or a trend to avoid.
6. According to the empirical rule, almost 70% of items are “within one standard deviation of the mean” (Engelmann & Henderson, 2011, p. 179). Around 95% of items are “within two standard deviations of the mean” while more than 99% are “within three standard deviations of the mean” (Engelmann & Henderson, 2011, p. 179). The empirical rule can be applied to the data that have a bell-shaped distribution. The empirical rule is applicable in BCM, and it helps managers to evaluate and prioritize risks. This is vital for the development of cost-effective strategies aimed at mitigation of aftermaths of risks or their avoidance.
7. To measure multiple and simultaneous risk events, it is possible to apply a number of statistical techniques. The addition rule can be applied to evaluate multiple events. It ensures that risk events and their aftermaths are not taken into account several times. The permutation can be employed when simultaneous risk events occur (Engelmann & Henderson, 2011). The combination can be utilized to measure multiple risk events.

Reference List

Engelmann, K.J., & Henderson, D.M. (2011). Business continuity and risk management: Essentials of organizational resilience. Brookfield, CT: Rothstein Publishing.

Graham, J., & Kaye, D. (2015). A risk management approach to business continuity: Aligning business continuity and corporate governance. Brookfield, CT: Rothstein Publishing.

Kliem, R.L., & Richie, G.D. (2015). Business continuity planning: A project management approach. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

Young, B., & Coleman, R. (2010). Operational risk assessment: The commercial imperative of a more forensic and transparent approach. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

“Hazard is anything that may cause harm, such as chemicals, electricity, working from ladders, an open drawer, etc; and the risk is the chance, high or low, that somebody could be harmed by these and other hazards, together with an indication of how serious the harm could be” (Risk management: Five steps to risk assessment. (n.d.).).

The idea behind risk is based on two things, the probability and severity. To be able to decide how risky something is, we should always ask ourselves two questions, how likely is this to happen and secondly how bad would it be suppose it happens.

Risk is measured by considering the potential amount of loss and the probability of the loss occurring.

“Risk can be assessed either quantitatively or qualitatively. “If both the probability and severity can be quantified, the risk is simply the product: risk = probability * severity” (2010). Risk Assessment & Management).

Assessing risk can be difficult since it is usually not straight forward, the probability and severity may not be known e.g. the probability that the server will crash tomorrow is difficult to tell or the probability that engaging in a particular investment will incur loss is also difficult to forecast. Most often many risks are associated with a given hazard. Risks associated with complex systems may involve many events thus, deciding what exactly to include and how to treat it may be challenging.

There are various types of risks. The most common are safety, schedule, technical and political risks. The important thing in risk management is to identify types of risks to assess, and how they should be compared to make decisions.

When conducting a thorough risk assessment, five steps are involved. Firstly, hazards are identified. It’s advisable to walk through the business or work place and access all potential dangers. It is also advisable to concentrate on anything that poses threat to the employees. The employees should be involved in identifying the potential dangers. Past records of risk incidents and unhealthy conditions of significant importance in identifying potential hazards.

The second step involves deciding who might be the victims and how. The public, clients etc, who may not be familiar with the surrounding environment may also be at risk.

The third step is to evaluate whether there were safety precautions placed for the specific hazard. Another important thing is to ask whether the precautions were enough. For every risk identified, enough cautions should be put in to place to reduce the probability of risk occurring. One must ensure that the heath and safety precautions are taken into account according to the law. The management should decide whether there are any other preventive measures that can be implemented to reduce risks? E.g. use of protective clothing etc?

The fourth step involves recording findings. The records should show that all the above have been dealt with and that the risks that are remaining are currently reasonable low (What is Risk Assessment?. (n.d.).

The last step is to review the risk assessment procedures and implement changes where necessary. In case of new machinery or new employee(s), necessary risk precautions should be provided and implemented to ensure that safety is maintained now and in the future.

The management is therefore mandated to ensure that all risk factors are identified, analyzed or rather assessed and precautions are provided to the letter to reduce the probability of it occurring.

References

Risk management: Five steps to risk assessment. (n.d.). HSE: Information about health and safety at work. Web.

What is Risk Assessment?. (n.d.). wiseGEEK: clear answers for common questions. Web.

(2010). Risk Assessment & Management. Web.