Critical Risk Management Through a Barrier Approach

From Formal Lists to Live Risk Management

The traditional approach to risk management often comes down to formally updating hazard lists once a year. This does not provide a real picture of the workplace and fails to effectively prevent incidents. In his presentation, Andrey Silantyev, Head of the Industrial Safety Department at AIM Management, explains how to transition from "paper" safety to a working critical risk management system through a barrier approach.

Two Levels of Risk Management

The speaker proposes viewing the risk management system as a model consisting of two interconnected parts:

• Long-term management: building an annual cycle, the work of risk committees, and forming a risk-oriented budget. This allows planning targeted programs several years in advance and understanding where funds are invested to mitigate risks.
• Operational management: identifying risks dynamically during production control. All information should flow into a single information environment (without using Excel or Word), which allows working with the base of the "injury pyramid" — potentially hazardous situations before they occur.

Integrating Barrier Control into the Production Process

One of the key challenges is how to embed barrier control into daily work without creating an excessive bureaucratic burden. The presentation details a four-step algorithm:

• Formalization of top risks: a working group identifies key risks (with the maximum score on the matrix) and develops clear checklists with the necessary barriers.
• Distribution of responsibility: assigning specific risks and the frequency of their inspection during line walkarounds to each level of management (first and second levels of control).
• Evaluating barrier effectiveness: conducting walkarounds and filling out checklists directly. To reduce the data entry burden, the use of mobile devices is recommended.
• Data analysis: closing the PDCA cycle through the analysis of results by department heads, which ensures system transparency for the business.

Motivation and Engagement

The speaker demonstrates by example that successful transformation is impossible without changing the motivation system. It should be built in two directions: how a manager handles key risks (evaluating the delta between the department's self-assessment and the industrial control service's assessment) and how the risk management methodology itself is followed within the department.

What you will learn from this webinar:

• How to link risk assessment with the enterprise's budget campaign?
• How to transform formal tools (e.g., behavioral safety audits) into a truly working assessment of behavioral and territorial risks?
• How to embed barrier control of critical risks into managers' daily line walkarounds?
• How to build a motivation system that encourages identifying risks rather than hiding them?
• What digital solutions (including video monitoring and machine vision) help in operational risk management?