To save this Content guide to your computer – pull down the File menu and choose Save As … and give it a file name of your choice Identify and manage risk: Content guide Contents Identify and manage risk: Content guide Overview 1 2 Key terms 2 Introduction 4 Tools used to identify risk 4 Examples of risk in context Different tools for different industry types General risk identification tools Selected examples of the tools Specific risk areas Commercial and legal relationships Economic circumstances and scenarios Financial risk Human behaviour Natural events Political circumstances Technology and technological issues Record and report risks Documenting risks to meet legislation requirements Sample answers to ‘My workplace’ questions Up Front! Toolbox: Identify and manage risk—Content guide © Commonwealth of Australia 2005 4 5 6 7 11 11 12 13 13 14 14 14 15 15 19 Page 1 of 19 To save this Content guide to your computer – pull down the File menu and choose Save As … and give it a file name of your choice Overview In this content guide you will find out about: the tools used to identify risk specific risk areas ways to record and report risks. As part of this discussion you will also investigate the nature of risk and approaches to its management. Key terms Brainstorming This process can take various forms, from meetings of staff in an environment where there is freedom to experiment with ideas, and where there is freedom to express opinions. It is usually a process of energetic interaction with a goal of forming and discussing ideas and concepts in a round table or group dynamic. Current assets Are those items of value or economic benefit, such as cash or other assets, that would be consumed or converted into cash within a 12 month period. Current liabilities Refer to those debts to be paid by the business within a short period, usually within a 12-month period. Examples include accounts payable, creditors, bank overdrafts, short term loans. Current ratio This shows the organisation’s current assets which are available to cover the liabilities or debts of the organisation, at the time of the balance sheet. Fishbone diagram A diagram where each line or 'fishbone' represents an area that may have caused a problem. The areas could be listed under headings eg, human factors, procedures, hardware, management, environment. Liquidity ratio This ratio looks at the immediate liquidity of the organisation. In other words, it measures an organisation’s ability to pay off short-term debt as it becomes due. It is arrived at by dividing the current assets less stock (known as inventory) by the current liabilities less overdraft. Operating expense ratio Up Front! Toolbox: Identify and manage risk—Content guide © Commonwealth of Australia 2005 Page 2 of 19 To save this Content guide to your computer – pull down the File menu and choose Save As … and give it a file name of your choice This is the ratio of total operating expenses to effective gross income. It is obtained by dividing operating expenses by gross income and is expressed as a percentage. Organisational context The type of organisation, the way it is managed, including its management structure, the way it organises what it does and what it produces. Profit and loss statement The purpose of a profit and loss statement is to measure the profit or loss for the period. It does this by summarising the revenues for the period, and subtracting the expenses from the revenues to arrive at the profit or loss. Scenario analysis This is a process of examining options and competing scenarios based on an assessment of future events. The focus is on the future and may take into account past and present events as elements of the examination. Strategic context The organisation’s current and future planning, its goals, and objectives. Up Front! Toolbox: Identify and manage risk—Content guide © Commonwealth of Australia 2005 Page 3 of 19 To save this Content guide to your computer – pull down the File menu and choose Save As … and give it a file name of your choice Introduction As a manager dealing with risk, there are three important things for you to remember: Risk refers to a future event. Risk normally arises from an organisation’s market, the economy that influences it, and its environmental context (culture, politics and place). Risk assessment involves the identification, and then the assessment, of that risk. The risk assessment process should be conducted in the context of the risk and of the organisation, market, economy or country which is subject to the risk. Once you have identified the risk, it is important to then identify the strategic, organisational and risk management context in which the assessment and treatment will occur. The term ‘strategic context’ means the organisation’s current and future planning, its goals, and objectives. ‘Organisational’ context means the type of organisation, the way it is managed, including its management structure, the way it organises what it does and what it produces. Risk must also be assessed against the relevant criteria or particular standards in relation to that risk. Tools used to identify risk Organisations and the markets they operate in are all different—so are the risks they face. Each organisation has its own systems and methodology and even organisations operating in the same market usually have distinctive approaches to the same systems. A market, whether it is the steel market, women’s shoes, or the tourist market, comprises a number of competing factors. Examples of risk in context The following are examples of risk in context and the criteria against which to assess the risk. Example 1 Where the risk is an injury risk arising from the operation of a machine, the criteria are the relevant Occupational Health and Safety provisions of the legislation related to the industry. It may also include the safe operation procedures of the manufacturer or the organisation that owns the machine. Up Front! Toolbox: Identify and manage risk—Content guide © Commonwealth of Australia 2005 Page 4 of 19 To save this Content guide to your computer – pull down the File menu and choose Save As … and give it a file name of your choice If the risk is one from a particular disease arising from exposure to a substance, the context of the risk and its assessment is the area in which the substance is found. This includes the people who are ordinarily exposed to the substance. The criteria in assessing this risk is the nature of the disease viewed in conjunction with the people who are to be exposed. Example 2 Another example of a risk to an organisation might be a decision by management to adopt a particular marketing strategy. Here the context is the market in which the risk is being taken, and the background to the decision to expose the organisation to risk. The criterion for assessing this risk is the financial capacity of the organisation to survive the risk. For example, a business is experiencing falling profits. In an effort to raise those profits it adopts an aggressive marketing strategy. The risk of adopting or not adopting this strategy is assessed against financial criteria. This process of examination of the context and criteria for assessing the risk forms the basis of the subsequent assessment and treatment of the risk. It allows similar risks to be categorised for the purpose of subsequent treatment. By looking at the context and the criteria for assessing risk, you are then able to select the appropriate tools to treat the risk. Different tools for different industry types It’s important to remember that the type of tools used to identify risk will depend largely on the type of organisation you work in. The tools you use will depend on what your organisation and your section does, and how you do it. The tools used for identifying risk in production-based industries differ from those in service-based industries. Risk focus in production-based industries Production-based industries usually emphasise procedural and systematic risk assessment. The focus is on the systems and procedures set up within the organisation. When you are assessing actual or potential risk, it is important to understand that each component of each procedure and each step in each system is capable of examination as a risk assessment. Risk focus in service-based industries Service-based industries look more to culture and performance as areas of potential risk that need to be managed. An organisation’s culture includes the values and attitudes it promotes internally and externally. This culture can be what identifies the organisation within its market. It is a perception that is shared by a number of members of the organisation, customers, and often if the organisation is well known, members of the general public. Examples of some organisational cultures include: Up Front! Toolbox: Identify and manage risk—Content guide © Commonwealth of Australia 2005 Page 5 of 19 To save this Content guide to your computer – pull down the File menu and choose Save As … and give it a file name of your choice a culture of fun and achievement – some discount airlines and radio stations with a youth focus a culture of adventure or danger – some recreational sports, such as skydiving or bungee jumping a culture that is conservative and secure – most banks and insurance companies. So, the organisation’s culture is about how it is perceived and this may be an individual or group perception. Performance in service companies refers to personal performance. Service companies do not produce actual objects which can be put onto shelves and sold at a future time. They produce services which must be used or experienced as they are being given, for example a hairdressing salon provides the service of cutting hair. The experience for the client is immediate, and that service can only be performed by that person. As we work in the areas of risk, its identification and management you will see that the identification of the type of organisation will impact on the selection process. General risk identification tools There are, however, some general tools that can be used to identify risk. These can be incorporated within established risk management processes in any organisation and include: Inspections: walking through and conducting inspections of each task, location, team, group or process within an organisation. This can be done by individual managers or team leaders and supervisors. It can also be done by senior or executive management. Consultation: a process that allows evidence on unreported incidents to be gathered, for example, injuries, machine breakdown. Again these meetings can be held on a local or team or group or senior management level. The results of a number of these meetings can then be incorporated in further meetings with managers at different levels. Safety or management audits: these can be conducted by individual managers or team leaders and focus on their own or associated areas, or can be conducted by members of the organisation who specialise in this area. Testing: of plant and equipment in an operational context, or of staff in a service area. This also can be accomplished as part of the local group or team approach or can be part of a wider organisation-wide approach. Scientific or technical evaluation or expert instruction in up-to-date methods (service industry): these are usually provided by third parties or consultants and often form part of the training process of the organisation. Up Front! Toolbox: Identify and manage risk—Content guide © Commonwealth of Australia 2005 Page 6 of 19 To save this Content guide to your computer – pull down the File menu and choose Save As … and give it a file name of your choice Collection and evaluation of material: from suppliers, manufacturers, designers, and from safety organisations, unions, interest groups and employer organisations. Expert advice: engaging professional consultants and advisors, lawyers, engineers, safety experts, process experts. Seeking government or regulatory information and help: from government departments, investigatory and regulatory bodies, royal commissions, commissions of inquiry, coronial inquests, industrial commission hearings, statistical bodies and ‘think tanks’. Networking: with other members of the market, or users of similar machines or processes. Benchmarking: a process of seeking out and identifying the best practices of the organisation’s competitors, where those best practices represent a higher quality level or performance. The process means that the organisation, having identified the best practice in the industry then uses that ‘benchmark’ as the quality standard to be obtained within its industry. As mentioned above, the selection of individual tools and methods to identify risk is largely dependent on the type of organisation, process and market. The type of tools you use should also be chosen by taking into consideration the nature of the workforce or membership of the organisation. So take care to ensure that the tool or method selected is appropriate to the people using and reviewing the methods. Selected examples of the tools Brainstorming The brainstorming process can take various forms, but one of the most effective is in meetings of staff in an environment where there is freedom to experiment with ideas and to express opinions. Brainstorming is usually a process of energetic interaction with the goal of forming and discussing ideas and concepts in a round-table or group dynamic. It allows examination of existing and emerging risk by using the ideas and experience of fellow workers, managers, experts, other stakeholders and the users of the process or service. Brainstorming is a vibrant tool which is designed to open up the creative imaginations of the participants and to encourage open debate concerning a wide variety of possible alternatives to the existing or proposed systems and procedures and services. Record and document analysis Any organisation that is effectively managed has systems and procedures to record day-to-day operations and provide assessments of performance for its employees. Up Front! Toolbox: Identify and manage risk—Content guide © Commonwealth of Australia 2005 Page 7 of 19 To save this Content guide to your computer – pull down the File menu and choose Save As … and give it a file name of your choice So the creation and retention of records becomes part of the risk identification process. For example, production records exist in most manufacturing organisations, and variances and changes in performance levels often identify a risk. Similarly most companies have a sign-in book at reception, and examination of that register can be part of a risk assessment relating to lengths of appointments by staff, speed of processing customers in a reception room, absence of visits by regular customers. Many reports and records are more complicated, and contain records that are important for a number of areas of risk assessment and management. Examples include: Financial reports Regulatory based reports, eg accident reports Production reports Sick leave reports Attendance and time records Quality production figure reports Complaint level reports Sales figures Warranty claim records Check and procedure lists. Records such as these can assist you in monitoring the consistency of operations and production processes, or if you are working in a servicebased industry, in presentation and effective communication. There are also other records that can help you in assessing risk, such as operation manuals, quality procedure sheets, policy and operational instructions, mission statements, and basic instruction sheets. One method to identify risk is to take an instruction sheet and determine what happens if you remove a step or process. Audits and physical inspections Regulatory based risk management procedures often include regular audits and inspections, for example Occcupational Health and Safety, activities of brokers and traders on the Australian Stock Exchange register and the regulation of Registered Training Organisations. Many organisations have their own internal audit and inspection processes, including: direct observation of activities by appropriate personnel judgments based on experience – personal, local, or international surveys, questionnaires, interviews system modeling and analysis Up Front! Toolbox: Identify and manage risk—Content guide © Commonwealth of Australia 2005 Page 8 of 19 To save this Content guide to your computer – pull down the File menu and choose Save As … and give it a file name of your choice process charting. The fishbone diagram shown in figure 1 provides a good example of a process chart, sometimes called a cause and effect diagram. Each line or ‘fishbone’ represents an area that may have caused a problem. In this example they are ‘organisational practices’, ‘equipment’, ‘systems’ and ‘environment’. Other examples might include human factors, procedures, hardware or management. Fishbone diagram Scenario analysis This is a process of examining options and competing scenarios based on an assessment of future events. The focus is on the future and may take into account past and present events as elements of the examination. One topical example is the planning of security responses to possible terrorist threats. Benchmarking similar organisations and activities Benchmarking is as you have seen above, a process of identifying the industry best practice, and setting that as the standard for the particular organisation. The process involves significant industry knowledge and an ability to examine competitors’ processes in order to identify why that market is dominant or produces the leading product or service. Up Front! Toolbox: Identify and manage risk—Content guide © Commonwealth of Australia 2005 Page 9 of 19 To save this Content guide to your computer – pull down the File menu and choose Save As … and give it a file name of your choice Sample Risk Data Collection Record Below is a sample Risk Data Collection Record for a fictional manufacturing business identifying how the shift work environment affects the health and safety of employees. The sample includes a full list of the kinds of data that may be collected, however because of the nature of this fictional business and the issue it is investigating, only some of these methods have been used. Figure 2: Sample risk data collection record Data Collection Method Identified Risks Stakeholder consultation, N/A Possible Risk Consequences eg staff, customers, suppliers Organisational records, eg attendance, accidents & incidents Increased absenteeism and accidents at beginning of shift rotation Labour shortage Increased labour costs Increased insurance costs Human suffering Expert input, eg professionals Studies show increased anxiety and personal problems at end of night shift rotation Scenario analysis, eg asking ‘what if?’ questions N/A Brainstorming N/A Flow chart analysis N/A System testing N/A Surveys Indicated tendency to take ‘long weekends’ during shift rotations that clashed with family commitments Fishbone diagrams N/A SWOT analysis N/A Observation Took staff a couple of days at beginning of rotation to realign to new roster Long-term consequences, eg depression, family stress Labour shortages Increased labour costs Production delays Long term health costs Increase in absenteeism and accidents (see above) Increased lateness and reports of minor illness, eg headaches Audit N/A Other N/A Up Front! Toolbox: Identify and manage risk—Content guide © Commonwealth of Australia 2005 Page 10 of 19 To save this Content guide to your computer – pull down the File menu and choose Save As … and give it a file name of your choice My workplace 1. What procedures can you identify in your workplace that are used solely as risk identification tools, or can serve as tools for the identification of risk in addition to their usual operation? Answer: Specific risk areas By now, it should be safe to assume that the tools you need for the identification of risk are in place and operating as part of the general business system of the organisation. We’ll now look at some specific risk areas. Commercial and legal relationships The identification of risks arising from legal relationships are usually dealt with and communicated through the organisation by those involved in legal issues within the organisation, for example, by the company secretary. Legal risk might also include, for example adverse comments made by a staff member that could result in defamation proceedings being taken against the organisation. A commercial relationship is an agreement between organisations where exchange of money, financial credit or debit, or exchange of something of value occurs to support the agreement. One or more of the parties to the agreement should be commercial entities or organisations. Commercial relationships may be informal or formal. There is risk associated with either form. Informal relationships are those which are not supported by any form of written agreement between the parties. They are often agreements reached by mutual acceptance that a particular situation exists A formal agreement is reached by negotiation, the result of which is a formal contract or exchange of letters. Such agreements in a commercial sense are often reached using standard form documents, eg leases, agreements regarding payment, etc. Risk arises where: part or parts of the agreement are subject to competing forces there is error Up Front! Toolbox: Identify and manage risk—Content guide © Commonwealth of Australia 2005 Page 11 of 19 To save this Content guide to your computer – pull down the File menu and choose Save As … and give it a file name of your choice there is misunderstanding or no understanding performance issues of the contract itself are subject to variance or scrutiny. Performance issues include, for example, the requirement to perform elements of a contract in particular ways, for example: having employees’ security cleared by a supplier before entering the premises having certain quarantine and health issues completed by the organisation’s employees prior to contact with a suppler or customer. Clear risk arises where an organisation commits to a contract and then finds itself in difficulty in the performance of some or all of its terms and conditions, thus risking financial or reputation damage. Risk in commercial and legal relationships exists where employees commit the organisation to an agreement by error or without knowing that their discussions with a supplier or customer, oral or written, actually constitute a valid agreement or contract. The creation of a commercial relationship is often evidenced by a contract or by the exchange of documents. If there is no consultation with the organisation’s legal representatives, then a risk has been created. Economic circumstances and scenarios When changes directly impact on an organisation, sound financial management and financial and economic awareness are needed. A good example is the regular review of interest rates by the Reserve Bank— organisations sensitive to the effects of changes in interest rates need to monitor trends and possible changes very closely. If your organisation is affected by changes in interest rates, then you need to be able to address and anticipate possible risks by methods such as ‘scenario planning’ which involves estimating and predicting the effect of variations in interest rates on your operations. Similarly organisations with high staff turnover and high staff numbers need to be constantly aware of the unemployment figures that are published regularly by the government. For instance, many organisations that employ travellers in part-time positions are aware of the annual trends of the inflow of travellers and students. Organisations thinking of opening new plants or branch offices need to be aware of the employment or unemployment characteristics of the geographic and socio-economic area they are intending opening in. Economic upturns or downturns can directly affect some industries more than others. It is believed that one of the first industries to be adversely affected by a downturn in economic activity is the taxi and hire car industry. A person who owns either a single or multiple taxis should be aware of the risk issues affecting his or her business arising from an economic downturn. Up Front! Toolbox: Identify and manage risk—Content guide © Commonwealth of Australia 2005 Page 12 of 19 To save this Content guide to your computer – pull down the File menu and choose Save As … and give it a file name of your choice The home building industry is another industry that is immediately affected by either downturns or upturns in economic activity in Australia, and companies in this industry must be aware of the risks associated with changes in activity. Financial risk A ratio analysis is a good risk assessment and management tool used in financial operations. Ratios (which express the relationship between two quantities) are used throughout the financial operations of large companies and companies open to constant scrutiny, for example companies listed on the stock exchange. They are also used in organisations of all sizes to monitor profit levels against variables. For example, you can use the operating expense ratio to monitor the expenses of running an organisation. It is easy for small to medium sized organisations to focus on expenses associated with the purchase and production of stock, but you should not ignore the expenses associated with actually running or administering the company. Organisations that find themselves expanding often fail to notice that the cost of the administration is growing at a greater rate than the revenue; this in turn depletes the organisation’s resources. The operating expense ratio divides the operating expenses, ie rent, office expenses, vehicle costs, by the sales total and is viewed as a percentage figure. So if the result is 34%, it means that 34% of the sales revenue needs to be allocated to operating expenses, which are separate from those related to the buying and making of stock for sale. The profit and loss statement of a company can be interpreted by the use of ratios such as the current ratio, which relate to the liquidity of the organisation. The current ratio looks to the short-term ability of the business to pay its debts, eg 2:1. The formula for the current ratio is current assets divided by current liabilities. The liquidity ratio looks at the immediate liquidity of the organisation. It is arrived at by dividing the current assets less stock (known as inventory) by the current liabilities less overdraft. Many of these ratios can be further interpreted by looking at the industry benchmark, or by comparison of previous quarters’ or years’ results. Human behaviour Human behaviour is a risk in any organisation, but increases in service organisations where the performance of individual employees and stakeholders directly impacts on the organisation’s success. In addition, the results of decisions taken on changes to cultural, organisational or procedural processes are often seen in changes in behaviour. Up Front! Toolbox: Identify and manage risk—Content guide © Commonwealth of Australia 2005 Page 13 of 19 To save this Content guide to your computer – pull down the File menu and choose Save As … and give it a file name of your choice These changes may be directly observable—such as strikes, delays, meetings of employees obviously demonstrating a negative reaction to the change or proposed change. As a manager or team leader, you must report negative reactions or negative views on issues where the organisation is changing or not changing. There is also risk of indirect reaction to the change, for example increased stress, increased sick leave taken, or workers compensation claims made. If we take this into the human resource context, labour turnover and absenteeism are indicators of covert conflict which impact on productivity. Risk also arises from the profile of the labour force and the HR strategy related to remuneration and performance management. Natural events Natural events caused by weather and geography can constitute risks. They may be dramatic such as earthquake, erosion, landslide or water encroachment, or they may be more common such as rain, hail and snow storms. They are often predicted by third parties, for example meteorological organisations. The risk can be addressed through such things as maintenance of buildings, structural elements of buildings, safety clothing, instructions on what to do in the event of fire or earthquake, provision of facilities in the event or rain and snow and avoidance procedures. Political circumstances Changes in political environments at local, state and federal level constitute potential risk issues. It is important that organisations whose operations either depend on government support or regulation, monitor changes and developments at the crucial political level. For example, building companies need to monitor changes in local government regulation and independent council decision making processes. Similarly, if your organisation has government bodies as clients, suppliers or stakeholders then you need to monitor areas with potential impact on your operations. If your organisation habitually seeks or is provided with government funding, then you need to constantly assess the risks associated with changes to the funding packages, including their applicability and base makeup. Changes can occur not just with a change of government but a change of policy. Such changes are published in specialist government publications which are often not known to the organisations that benefit from the funding. Technology and technological issues The introduction of new technology often directly affects the competitive position of both users and non users of that technology. Often governments Up Front! Toolbox: Identify and manage risk—Content guide © Commonwealth of Australia 2005 Page 14 of 19 To save this Content guide to your computer – pull down the File menu and choose Save As … and give it a file name of your choice or semi-government bodies insist on changes based on new technology— this often means that further technological advances are needed to ensure compliance with the new standards. You need to assess the risk involved in any new technology against your scenario impact statements. Testing your product against future scenarios and predicting changing results is a significant area of risk identification. Where the risk arises from the use of substances, statements of risk by suppliers or manufacturers should be recorded and suppliers/manufactures should provide demonstrations or information on the potential risks in the storage, use or application of their product, plus how to properly perform these functions to avoid risk. My workplace 2. What are the greatest risks to your section, team, division or organisation? This may be a continuous risk, or possible individual risks. What steps are taken to identify those risks? Answer: Record and report risks In order to promote risk assessment procedures it is important that risks are recorded and reported as they arise, occur or are recognised as potential. There are a number of statutory forms that organisations must use to record identification of risks, eg the accident report forms required in workers compensation legislation usually contain areas dealing with the identification of risk associated with the accident which is the subject of the form. As a manager or team leader, you can create forms that simply list the activity or task and have an associated notation dealing with the risk to the organisation. Documenting risks to meet legislation requirements Much of the legislation that controls and regulates commercial and other activity also contains specific information dealing with the requirements for the recording of identified risks. The OHS regulations of each state and territory are an example of such specific information. Up Front! Toolbox: Identify and manage risk—Content guide © Commonwealth of Australia 2005 Page 15 of 19 To save this Content guide to your computer – pull down the File menu and choose Save As … and give it a file name of your choice OHS defines risk management as a systematic analysis of any ‘activity, location or operational system to identify risks, understand the likelihood and potential consequences of the risks and to review the possible approaches to controlling the risks’ (CCH (2000) Planning occupational safety and health 5th Edition, CCH Australia, North Ryde.) The Australian and New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 4360:1999 was developed to provide both private and public sector enterprises with a practical framework to facilitate the implementation of a systematic risk management process. WorkCover, the statutory authority in relation to workers compensation in NSW states that employers must undertake risk management ‘for all foreseeable hazards in their workplace that may arise from work activities and that have the potential to harm employees and any other person at that workplace’ They identify hazards as arising in the following situations: work premises work practices, systems and shift working arrangements (including hazardous processes, psychological and fatigue related hazards) plant (including the transport, installation, erection, commissioning, use, repair, maintenance, dismantling, storage or disposal of plant) hazardous substances (including the production, handling, use, storage, transport or disposal of hazardous substances) presence of asbestos manual handling (including potential for occupational overuse injuries) layout and condition of the workplace (eg lighting and workstation design) physical working environment (including the potential for any one or more of: electrocution; drowning; fire or explosion; people slipping, tripping or falling; contact with moving objects; exposure to noise, heat, cold, vibration, radiation, static electricity or a contaminated atmosphere) potential for workplace violence biological hazards. The legislation also states that an employer is under an obligation to consult with employees about any OHS matter that affects them—this includes the risk management process. (See chapters 2 and 3 of the OHS Regulations, 2001 available at http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au.) Documentary support The legislation sets out the documentary support that must be set up by organisations to deal with these issues. They include reporting systems designed to apply to any variety of organisations and sections and divisions within organisations. The legislation also sets out prescribed forms which must be completed and also designates those people (by reference to their position within the Up Front! Toolbox: Identify and manage risk—Content guide © Commonwealth of Australia 2005 Page 16 of 19 To save this Content guide to your computer – pull down the File menu and choose Save As … and give it a file name of your choice organisation), whose responsibility it is to oversee and implement the documentation process. A further example of a statutory based risk system is that found in the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) regulations concerning stockbrokers and other traders on the futures exchanges. The state and federal governments also regulate risk in areas such as construction, education and transport, including air land and sea transport. These regulations cover both government managed and private transport companies. There are a number of examples of risk registers, and many statutory authorities that require strict reporting from organisations in relation to risk provide pro forma examples. The following is a non statutory pro forma of a risk register. Figure 3: Sample risk register Unique ID This may be simply a title, but some kind of alphanumeric coding is likely to be useful when you are dealing with a large number of risks. Presented in a structured format: Description Condition − 'There is a risk that' Cause − 'Caused by' Consequence − 'Resulting in' Probability What is the likelihood of the risk occurring? It would be helpful to record the justification behind this analysis. Impact What will the impact be if the risk occurs? It would be helpful to record the justification behind this analysis. Timescale What is the 'risk window' when this risk may occur and when do you start to lose options as to how you respond? Cost What will the risk cost if it does occur? Note: you can't assess this unless you know what your response action will be. Owner There should be a person nominated to 'own' the risk which means monitoring the situation and ensuring that necessary management actions are carried out. In a project situation this should be somebody within the project team and in all cases it should be somebody who will be impacted by the risk and who has a vested interest in addressing it. What are the agreed response actions? These may be broken into: Management preventative actions to mitigate the risk and approach the response action if the risk actually occurs. This is sometimes known as an 'impact plan'. Up Front! Toolbox: Identify and manage risk—Content guide © Commonwealth of Australia 2005 Page 17 of 19 To save this Content guide to your computer – pull down the File menu and choose Save As … and give it a file name of your choice Residual risk This is the expected level of risk once all the mitigating actions are complete. Early warning signs What 'trigger' might alert you to the fact that the risk is about to occur? In some cases you may only choose to spend money on a response action once the trigger occurs. My workplace 3. What documents are required by your organisation to be completed as part of its risk identification and management process? What documents which are currently required to be completed but which relate to general processes could be used to form part of a risk identification and management process? Answer: Up Front! Toolbox: Identify and manage risk—Content guide © Commonwealth of Australia 2005 Page 18 of 19 To save this Content guide to your computer – pull down the File menu and choose Save As … and give it a file name of your choice Sample answers to ‘My workplace’ questions 1 In your response you may examine the supervisory procedures and reports that your organisation or division or section uses and assess whether they fit the description of the tools. The risk data collection form in this section may help you to identify some of these. 2 Your responses will differ according to the characteristics of your industry and workplace. However, don’t forget to look at risks that arise as a result of the actual work performed, the environment in which it is performed, the nature of those performing it, etc. 3 Your responses will differ according to your particular industry and workplace. However the sample risk register may provide a starting point against which to review existing documentation and identify any gaps. Up Front! Toolbox: Identify and manage risk—Content guide © Commonwealth of Australia 2005 Page 19 of 19