Definitions are important.
Definitions guide us and help give structure to imprecise, vague, or nebulous risk management processes.
Having an accurate understanding of definitions allows us to have an accurate understanding of the structure of issues. Furthermore, it allows us to identify specific aspects of those issues and organize the issue however we please.
Generally, this organization includes:
During issue management, here is a list of critically important safety management system definitions and explanations.
Hazardous sources are otherwise harmless things in the environment from which the adverse flow of events starts. Some examples are birds, mountains, buildings, and chemicals. Hazardous sources become hazards through some kind of interaction. It’s the difference between:
Hazardous sources and hazards are often confused.
Precursors to risk are existing Norms, attitudes, behaviors, business practices, and other underlying mechanisms that currently exist in your company. To put it another way, precursors are the positive/negative states of your company right now. Some examples are:
Precursors are closely linked to aviation safety culture, though precursors can exist that are not safety culture (i.e., old machinery).
Also called Root Causes, initiating mechanisms are the events, interactions, and conditions that start an adverse flow of events that can eventually lead to hazard occurrence. Initiating mechanisms/root causes always involve the hazardous sources and are often motivated by existing conditions. General categories of root causes are:
Some examples of root cause are:
Contributory factors are Human Factors, risk control factors, or other conditions that affect threat level:
In most situations, there will be factors that contribute both positively and negatively, but whichever side (positive/negative) has more contributing factors will decide whether or not a hazard occurs.
A hazard is a condition, such as an object, situation, or circumstance, that poses an unacceptable level of danger. A hazard occurrence is when a hazard “actualizes,” or becomes real, in your operational environment. Upon hazard occurrence, immediate steps must be taken (by humans or risk controls) to mitigate the situation and prevent risk occurrence (adverse event).
Hazards are listed in your hazard register and are classified during issue management. A hazard that is classified helps qualify and summarize the hazard that actually occurred in the safety issue. Here’s an example:
Mitigation factors are Human Factors, risk control factors, or other conditions that affect the dangerous situation:
Mitigation factors are very similar to Contributory Factors, but it’s extremely useful to make the distinction between things that come BEFORE the situation reaches an unacceptable level of safety (hazard occurrence) and things that come AFTER the situation reaches an unacceptable level of safety (mitigation factors).
A risk occurrence is when an adverse occurs after a hazard occurrence. An adverse event causes damages to your company, such as:
A risk occurrence is the climax of situations that are not successfully mitigated.
Consequences are the specific fallout from your risk occurrence, such as:
The line between consequences and risk occurrence is often vague, but in general, consequences are quantitative (they have specific numbers attached to them), whereas risk occurrences tend to be more qualitative (they are described in a narrative). As an example:
Risk controls are resources you used to prevent, detect, and correct safety issues. These resources can be:
Risk controls are implemented to act in two places in the issue life cycle:
Traditionally, Human Factors and those factors “Dirty Dozen” are associated with negative human attitudes/behaviors that contribute to safety issues (and other types of issues). However, it’s a good idea to take a broader look at Human Factors as anything human-related that affects the outcomes of safety events.
This is because, while the Dirty Dozen is aptly named, it’s important to remember that humans are also your first line of defense. For example, where:
Basically, this take on Human Factors allows for both POSITIVE and traditional (NEGATIVE) Human Factors.
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Last updated October 2024.