Risk Management

This article cuts through the noise. It’s a plain-English guide to risk management terminology – the terms that matter in the context of enterprise, operational, health and safety, security, environmental, and fatal risks.

In this article, we’ll break down the most common types of risk assessments; Traditional Risk Assessment, WRAC, JSEA, SWMW, Bowtie, HAZOP, HAZID, and personal risk assessments like SLAM and Take 5—so you can understand when to use each, and why.

We know that incidents occur when controls fail. That’s the relationship we work with in every investigation. So, if a critical control failure is picked up in a CCV — even if there’s no injury, no damage, and no catastrophic event — shouldn't we treat that just as seriously?

Psychosocial hazards are complex, varied and deeply personal. They don’t operate like physical hazards. You can’t engineer your way out of a toxic workplace culture with a checklist and a wellness webinar.

We often think of infrastructure as something permanent – bridges, buildings, pipelines, processing plants – all solid, all safe… right? But the reality is, much of the infrastructure we rely on every day is ageing. Some of it was built 30, 40, even 60 years ago! While it might still be standing, what lies beneath the surface could be hiding serious risks to your business, your people, and your community.

A Critical Control Performance Standard defines what “good” looks like for your most important controls. It outlines how the control should be implemented, who’s responsible, what training is needed, how to verify it, and what to do if it fails. Without it, even the best controls can quietly fall apart.

Risk tolerance is your organisation’s true boundaries Put simply, risk tolerance is how much risk your organisation is prepared to accept in pursuit of its goals. It’s your comfort zone. But here’s the problem: most organisations have never actually defined it. They talk about being ‘risk averse’ or ‘willing to take calculated risks’ – but when you look closely, you’ll find: No clear documentation, no consistency across teams, no link between risk tolerance and control per

Mitigating controls are the unsung heroes in our risk management toolkit. They don’t stop an incident from occurring – instead, they reduce

For decades, frontline workers have relied on Take 5s, SLAMs, and similar tools to assess risk before starting a task.

The New South Wales (NSW) Government has launched a groundbreaking mental health initiative aimed at expanding support services to a wider r

Developing effective risk management processes is essential for businesses of all sizes. Whether you're starting from scratch or reviewing

One significant flaw that often goes unnoticed is how risk matrices inherently "accept" high-consequence, low-likelihood risks.

Embracing discomfort is essential for effective risk management. Leaders who are curious enough and comfortable enough to be uncomfortable w

In risk management, we spend so much time discussing whether controls are effective under normal conditions. But what if they fail?

When people think about risk, they focus only on likelihood and consequence. But there's another critical factor that deserves attention: Ri

When we think about the Hierarchy of Control, administrative controls and personal protective equipment (PPE) are often considered weak

Risk management is essential to running a successful business.

An organisation's culture profoundly influences its approach to risk management. A culture that prioritises risk awareness and open

In project management, success is often measured by the ability to deliver on time, within budget, and to the expected quality standards.

If it’s been more than a year, you could be missing critical threats to your organisation. Risk management is not a set-and-forget process