[...]... million Furthermore the design standard of the levee system as established originally was that suitable for land protection As the city grew, a risk assessment of the adequacy of the design standard was never undertaken The final report recommended that the whole organisation for the risk management of the New Orleans flood defences should be changed A new management structure with new design standards and. .. caused most of the levee and flood wall failures As the storm surge rose over the tops of the levees and flood walls, the water overflow caused erosion of the footings, which subsequently led to the failures and breaches As the storm died, the flood waters that remained in the city could not be pumped out because many of the pumping stations had failed Figure 1.3 shows a map of the east side of the city,... failings in risk management In risk management the initiating action required is that of risk assessment 1.2 The principles of risk assessment An approach suitable for assessing risk in the work place is a five-step procedure:1 • • • • • Identify the hazards Decide who might be harmed and how Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions Record the findings and implement them Review the assessment and update... Examples of risk management failures The following examples serve to highlight some different aspects of risk management failure, which illustrate the foregoing issues © Woodhead Publishing Limited, 2010 6 The risk management of safety and dependability Risk management process Amend as required Identify hazards Report Risk assessment Monitor and audit Risk evaluation Consider options Review codes and standards... too common for management to think everything is safe because nothing has gone wrong Unfortunately it is the low cost, easy option that they so often prefer © Woodhead Publishing Limited, 2010 12 The risk management of safety and dependability 1.7.3 The Railtrack disasters (UK) Perhaps the worst extreme of ignoring the input of engineering was the case of Railtrack in the UK The board of management decided... supplies, the processing of sewage and refuse, transport, communications, the production of raw materials, and even the way food is produced The effects of global warming, the need to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and the rising world population will intensify this situation They already understand the impact on the environment due to the use of hydrocarbon fuels for transportation and the generation... needed to keep it dry The city is sandwiched by the Mississippi River on one side and by Lake Pontchartrain on the other side Channels passing through the city to enable navigation and discharge of drainage waters connect the river and the lake The river and the drainage channels are above sea level, so © Woodhead Publishing Limited, 2010 An introduction to the principles of risk management 7 1.2 Hurricane... ensure their dependability This book has been written for the benefit of all as a guide to these matters It provides a comprehensive introduction to all the basic principles that can be applied across all industries It is intended to assist the mission of the Health and Safety Executive, and to further that of the Safety and Reliability Group of the IMechE, in ensuring a safer world It exceeds the recommended... Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidelines that target specific industries and safety critical operations The European Union (EU) has produced a raft of regulations enacted by the UK parliament that address the need to ensure safety in the design of products and the design, construction and operation of plant, equipment and machinery There is a legal duty for corporate management to comply with these... The risk management of safety and dependability 1.4 Space shuttle lift-off (courtesy of NASA) soon after take-off All the crew including a civilian schoolteacher died in the disaster.5 The space shuttle had two solid fuel booster rockets fitted each side of the main fuel tank The body of the rocket was made up of 3.65 m diameter cylinders with one detachable socket joint sealed with ‘O’ rings When the . xii Preface xiii 1 Ever-present danger: an introduction to the principles of risk management 1 1 .1 Introduction 1 1.2 The principles of risk assessment 2 1. 3 The risk assessment matrix 3 1. 4 Risk evaluation. Risk evaluation and control 4 1. 5 Dependability 5 1. 6 The risk management process 5 1. 7 Examples of risk management failures 5 1. 8 General precepts 16 1. 9 Summary 18 1. 10 References 18 2 Ignorance. Limited, 2 010 The risk management of safety and dependability © Woodhead Publishing Limited, 2 010 The risk management of safety and dependability A guide for directors, managers and engineers W.