Encouraging Risk-Based Thinking
Do we do enough risk-based thinking? We might do FMEA and Fault Tree Analyses, but that’s not what I’m talking about.
We know that risk-based thinking moves beyond these risk registers.
How can we follow-through with encouraging it in daily operations?
If you work in manufacturing, you’re familiar with workmanship standards and troubleshooting guides. These can be forms of risk-based thinking: knowing what results if controls are out-of-control.
But, what about non-manufacturing activities?
Michelle Jirak, an experienced design assurance engineer, presented at the ASQ’s RMMR conference about this topic.
Two of my key takeaways from her presentation:
- Consider adding risk-based questions in templates, forms or even SOPs. These are processes. Are there key things that process followers need to know? This makes risk-based thinking a part of the process itself instead of an afterthought.
- What’s important to include? Instead of severity x occurrence, try a map of complexity x criticality. This can help you identify and prioritize what to communicate about risk, especially when the consequences aren’t always about a clear-cut failure.
Other ways I’ve encouraged risk-based thinking is through challenging assumptions and asking the team to slow down and consider risks. This doesn’t need to be confrontational. We’re all working on the same team with the same ultimate goal: rally around that goal. Communicate and participate in the decision making process.
Risk-based thinking is not new. Project managers make contingency plans. Engineers appropriately stack tolerances. Manufacturing accounts for scrap. Quality Control determines inspection requirements. If you can link these decisions to a risk register, the action of making risk-based decisions is even clearer.
On a project or in daily activities, the risks may not be apparent or top-of-mind. Being intentional about incorporating risk-based thinking may include communicating the idea at the time people need it most: in the midst of a decision.
How are you intentional about risk-based thinking, beyond risk analysis?
Other blogs you might like:
Remaking Risk-Based Decisions: Allowing Ourselves to Change our Minds. – Deeney Enterprises
Design Tolerances Based on Economics (Using the Taguchi Loss Function) – Deeney Enterprises
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