RISK REDUCTION STRATEGIES

General Strategies for developing recommendations to reduce future risks are offered as thought starters to help identify kinds of changes that might be considered to develop candidate changes.

William Haddon, the first administrator of the U. S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration propounded a set of strategies for controlling damage due to energy exchanges (work done by energies.) His strategies focused on managing energies, like preventing their creation, reducing the amount brought into being, etc. and led to collapsible automobile steering columns, seat belts and air bags, crushable front ends, and other automotive safety improvements over time.

Used in combination with the Energy Trace and Barrier Analysis tool, it leads investigators with imagination to a wide range of options for changes that might be introduced into the production process.

Another approach to identifying options to improve future performance by reducing risks is the apply the order of precedence or preference used by System Safety analysts for hazard controls:

• Design the hazard out of the system
• Provide a passive control device (one that functions without human intervention)
• Provide an active control device (one that a person has to activate when needed)
• Provide a warning device ( that warns a person that they need to do something)
• Change procedures (which relies on people to do things differently, consistently.)

For an extended discussion of the recommendation development process, review the Starline guide at http://www.starlinesw.com/product/Guides/MESGuide08.html.