Operational risk management defined

Proposing that Prevention through Design be a specifically defined element in an Operational Risk Management System is also influenced by ongoing transitions observed by this author in the methods to eliminate or reduce the occurrence of human error. 

DoD policy and doctrine are based on a uniformly defined range of low-level exposure. This range must address all military scenarios to appropriately determine policy, doctrine, research, and technological needs. Policy and doctrine should not arbitrarily dictate either the number or percentage of casualties that a commander can or should accept in order to complete a mission. The specific accepted risk should be determined by the commander(s), based on the situation and mission requirements. Operational risk management (ORM) is a fundamental aspect of military decision making. The U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine (US ACHPPM) recommends using the ORM framework to define low-level exposures, and thus low-risk exposures. 

Article 3(37) of REACH defines exposure scenarios as the set of conditions, including operational conditions and risk management measures, that describe how the substance is manufactured or used during its life-cycle and how the manufacturer or importer controls, or recommends downstream users to control, exposures of humans and the environment [...] . 

To this end the following guideline describes a general approach toward risk management for a laboratory instrument and then applies it to the performance of the operational qualification of a CE instrument. Tests then need to be devised in order to determine the suitability of the instrument for its intended use and to fulfill those user requirements that have been defined by the operator. 

Another alternative method to streamline compliance is to identify the most crticial DNEL, DMEL or PNEC for a substance (on its own or in a preparation) with regard to defining appropriate operational parameters and risk management meaures. 

The Seveso Directive covered all European Union Member States, and held them responsible for ensuring that the relevant national institutions do what is required for adequate risk management. The entire Directive was also driven by a concern for prevention, including those parts that relate to post-accident activities. For example, terms such as industrial activity, manufacturer, major accident, and dangerous substances were defined, the types of production, operations, and storage activities that are subject to regulation were described, and the dangers that are anticipated were noted. 

Risk Management Plans should be established prior to cutover in order to define the fallback measures to be taken in the event that the system fails to perform within the operational environment. Risk management strategies may include parallel running of manual or legacy systems, interim manual systems or fallback to the previous versions. Whenever possible, a phased cutover from manual or legacy systems is recommended. 

In everyday life, while we usually trust people who work for us to perform professionally and do their jobs, we also check that those job tasks are done correctly and to our satisfaction. That s what audits are about, only in a more formal manner. This chapter discusses the Process Safety Management (PSM)/Risk Management Program (RMP) requirement (U.S. Department of Labor 1992 U.S. EPA 1996) to perform audits of covered processes to ensure that they are adequately operating. After the basics are defined, after requirements are understood, and after the PSM/RMP system has been developed, it is time to perform internal reviews and prepare for external reviews. 

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