Risk assessment techniques with applicability in marine engineering

Nowadays, one of the characteristic features of construction industry is an increased complexity of a growing number of projects. Almost each construction project is unique, has its project-specific purpose, its own project structural complexity, owner’s expectations, ground conditions unique to a certain location, and its own dynamics. Failure costs and costs resulting from unforeseen problems in complex construction projects are very high. Project complexity drivers pose many vulnerabilities to a successful completion of a number of projects. This paper discusses the process of effective risk management in complex construction projects in which renewable energy sources were used, on the example of the realization phase of the ENERGIS teaching-laboratory building, from the point of view of DORBUD S.A., its general contractor. This paper suggests a new approach to risk management for complex construction projects in which renewable energy sources were applied. The risk management process was divided into six stages: gathering information, identification of the top, critical project risks resulting from the project complexity, construction of the fault tree for each top, critical risks, logical analysis of the fault tree, quantitative risk assessment applying fuzzy logic and development of risk response strategy. A new methodology for the qualitative and quantitative risk assessment for top, critical risks in complex construction projects was developed. Risk assessment was carried out applying Fuzzy Fault Tree analysis on the example of one top critical risk. Application of the Fuzzy sets theory to the proposed model allowed to decrease uncertainty and eliminate problems with gaining the crisp values of the basic events probability, common during expert risk assessment with the objective to give the exact risk score of each unwanted event probability.

A great deal has been written about clinical risk assessment in correctional, forensic psychiatric, and community settings with individuals who harm others as well as themselves. Indeed, this book is founded on a considerable amount of that research and guidance. Practitioners now have the means to identify reliably a range of factors known to correlate directly – and indirectly – with adverse outcomes, such as violence or suicide (see Otto and Douglas, 2010). In addition to specifi c risk assessment protocols such as the HCR-20 (Webster, Douglas, Eaves, and Hart, 1997), forensic practitioners, by virtue of their core training, are able to access a range of meaningful heuristics in order to guide their daily pursuit of harm prevention or minimization. However, the process of converting the fi ndings of a risk assessment into effectively and demonstrably managed clinical risk for individual clients is not straightforward. Spelling out that process has been a key objective of this book. We have endeavoured to do this by addressing two important issues in the context of discussing adverse outcomes – or risks – of different kinds (e.g., violence, sexual violence) in different populations (e.g., women, young people): the structured professional judgement (SPJ) approach to clinical risk assessment and management, which emphasizes risk formulation as the essential bridge between the risk assessment and risk management tasks. If nothing else, readers should take from this book the importance, or at least the relevance, of these tasks in their work with harmful clients. In this chapter, we summarize the main points made by each of the contributors to the book as they relate to these key processes and offer suggestions for future directions in both clinical practice and research.

Traditional fault tree analysis (FTA) has formed a common language for the modelling and analysis of risks of complex systems. The approach can be used for a large variety of cases, and several tools exists for the method. Advanced FTA is needed to apply the FTA approach also for dynamic systems with time dependent activities. The traditional FTA is extended by including for example modelling and simulation of operation or phase changes of the systems, stochasticity and delays of relations, and maintenance actions for the components. The rules between the failures and other simulated properties are defined by including Java-based scripts to the model. This allows a great freedom to model any type of dynamic situations. A tool named ELMAS has been created to make the use of the advanced FTA approach as straightforward as possible. It allows to model the static and simple relations by using the traditional FTA method. Complex and dynamic relations are included by using modules that can be freely defined based on the needs of the case.

The risk inherent in the construction delivery has been identified as major causes of time and cost overruns in Nigeria construction industry, as such delivery and process of public infrastructure is a risky trade. Limited knowledge of the risk management techniques could result in not meeting the overall objectives of the project. The study was aimed at assessing the impediments to risk assessment techniques in Public-Private Partnership (PPP). Data for the study were gathered through the self-administration of 306 well-structured questionnaires using the simple random sampling technique to the construction professionals and private construction developers who had experience in the execution of PPP projects. Quantitative risk assessment techniques such as sensitivity analysis, scenario analysis and probability analysis percentage level of awareness were 40.1, 29.1 and 23.8 respectively, while the percentage extent of usage were 39.9, 34.0 and 37.2 respectively. In a related development, the qualitative risk assessment techniques such as probability impact table, priority table and iso-risk curves percentage level of awareness were 44.3, 38.6 and 27.5 respectively while the percentage extent of usage were 27.0, 32.8 and 26.6 respectively. Updating the knowledge base of the people responsible for the use of these risk assessment techniques by attending training and workshops in the relevant area will improve the level of awareness and the extent of usage

The Italian construction sector suffered more than the other industrial sector the negative effects of the world economic crisis. A consequence has been a change in its organization concerning labour and managent on the health and safety issues. Evidence of this can be found in an increase of fatal accidents and occupational diseases. In particular occupational diseases became a health concern in construction. The aim of the presented research work is to assess the hazard of asbestos fibres inhalation due to decommissing of old industrial promises with roofing of asbestos. The developed approach starts from a probabilistic assessment of the risk, using the Risk Analysis tools, the Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) and the Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA). Risk assessment through the FTA is based on a backward approach: it starts from the malfunction of the system, called Top Event, in order to look for the triggering causes (events); on the contrary, the FMEA analysis is based on a forward approach: they start from a set of events and go on in order to analyse what kind of malfunctioning these can generate in the system. Both the FTA and the FMEA are applied to three approved decontamination techniques (encapsulation, confinement and removal), and for each of them operational phases, equipment, building products and PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) are evaluated highlighting the procedures needed to operate in complete safety. With this approach the main factors that contribute to the increase of the risk of asbestos fibres inhalation are detected: preliminary analysis and assessment of the state of building decay, the use and maintence of PPE and machinery, and the supervision during main working phases.

Purpose. This study aimed to explore health professionals' perspectives regarding the presence, assessment and management of risks when providing community-based rehabilitation (CBR) to clients with acquired brain injury (ABI).Method. A qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews of health professionals working in CBR.Results. The main themes were: (1) risk assessment in CBR settings is an informal, unstructured, complex, multi-phase and cyclical process extending over a period of time; (2) structured and standardised risk assessments were not considered ideal for use in CBR services catering for people with ABI; (3) CBR services face numerous challenges in providing effective risk assessment and management; (4) the risks encountered by health professionals in CBR settings are not always predictable or preventable; and (5) CBR risk management focuses on implementing a range of practical strategies.Conclusions. A flexible risk assessment process supported by a range of practical risk management strategies to minimise and manage potential risks is advocated by health professionals working in CBR services for people with ABI. There is a need for more research into the effectiveness of current risk assessment and management strategies for CBR services.

Traditional Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), known Kinetic Tree Theory (KTT), was derived by Vesely [1] in the 1970s to model and analyse engineering systems.The tree provides a clear visual representation of the causes of system failure in terms of component and failures and human errors.FTA has 2 stages, analysis which involves identifying the necessary and sufficient causes of system failure, i.e., the minimal cut sets and quantitative analysis which involves calculating the system unavailability, system failure frequency and measures of importance.

The purpose of risk management in Ukrainian banks is to provide a structure that defines responsibilities within the ICAAP process and determines the organizational structure of risk management and capital adequacy. Senior management determines the appropriate capital adequacy and соrespondent reports. The task of risk management in Ukrainian banks is to provide a structure that defines responsibilities within the ICAAP process and determines the organizational structure of risk management and capital adequacy. Senior management determines the appropriate capital adequacy and appropriate reports. In this context, ICAAP is seen not as an isolated process, but as a process that should be part of the strategic and operational management of the bank and as a component of corporate governance. Parameters important to ICAAP are determined in the strategic management process. The bank's management should identify the main components of the ICAAP, including the bank's risk strategy and the principles of risk management policy. In this process, it is also important to establish transparent instructions and define appropriate responsibilities. The modern concept of assessing the internal capital of the bank contains all the procedures and measures of the bank to ensure appropriate identification and assessment of risks; the appropriate level of internal capital in relation to the risk profile of the bank; application of appropriate risk management systems; further development of appropriate risk management systems. According to this concept, capital planning is to determine the components of capital to cover risks.

<div class="htmlview paragraph">Fault tree analysis (FTA) evolved from the aerospace industry in the 1960’s. A fault tree is deductive logic model that is generated with a top undesired event in mind. FTA answers the question, “how can something occur?” as opposed to failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) that is inductive and answers the question, “what if?” FTA is used in risk, reliability and safety assessments. FTA is currently being used by several industries such as nuclear power and chemical processing. Typically the automotive industries uses failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) such as design FMEAs and process FMEAs. The use of FTA has spread to the automotive industry. This paper discusses the use of FTA for automotive applications. With the addition automotive electronics for various applications in systems such as engine/power control, cruise control and braking/traction, FTA is well suited to address failure modes within these systems. FTA can determine the importance of these failure modes from various perspectives such as cost, reliability and safety. A fault tree analysis of a car starting system is presented as an example.</div>

List of Contributors. Preface. Acknowledgements. 1. Introduction. I: Unifying Risk Management and Risk Analysis for Decision Makers. 2. Complementary Risk Management: A Unified View for Decision Makers. II: Legacies. 3. Radiation Legacy of the Soviet Nuclear Complex. 4. Status and Challenges of Managing Risks in the U.S. Department of Energy Environmental Management Program. 5. Perception of Risk, Health, and Equality. 6. Risk-Based Banking Experiences for Cold War Legacy Facilities. 7. Cleanup of Radioactive Floating Refuse at Vromos Bay. 8. Integrated Accident Risk Analysis and Applications for the Disposal of Chemical Agents and Munitions. 9. Environmental Radiation Dose Reconstruction for U.S. and Russian Weapons Production Facilities: Hanford and Mayak. 10. Quantitative Risk Assessment Methods of Accounting for Probabilistic and Deterministic Data Applied to Complex Systems. III: Analyses and Programs Applicable to Legacies. 11. Environmental Risk Assessment of Installations and Sites Inherited from the Cold War Period in Bulgaria. 12. Radiation Factors Risk Assessment within the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone. 13. Psychological Aspects of Risk Assessment and Management. 14. Utilizing a Multimedia Approach for Risk Analysis of Environmental Systems. 15. Using Integrated Quantitative Risk Assessment to Optimise Safety in Chemical Installations. 16. Site-Specific Modification of Ground-Water Generic Criteria as Applied to a Contaminated Site. IV: Future Directions. 17. East Meets West: Teaming on Risk Management. 18. Where are We Going? Appendix A: Programme for NATO Advanced Study Institute, Risk Assessment Activities for the Cold War Facilities and Environmental Legacies. Appendix B: Acronyms and Abbreviations Used in Text. Appendix C: Cross Cultural Guide to the Book. Index.

Even though Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) is used in the majority of risk assessments, there is a persistent gap between creating a plausible‐looking fault tree diagram and producing a valid, quantifiable risk assessment from it. Stoelinga, Ruijters and Krčál's The Concise Guide to Fault Tree Analysis: Models, Methods and Algorithms (Springer/Birkhäuser, 2026) bridges this gap by treating Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) as a combination of a logical discipline of engineering and a set of computational methods for generating results from FTA models. The book provides a clear connection between the process disciplines involved in developing FTA models and the algorithms that are actually used to generate cut sets, top event probabilities and importance values, while emphasizing the need to be cautious when interpreting these values as objective facts. As such, the Concise Guide to Fault Tree Analysis will provide a useful resource to anyone who builds, reviews, or interprets fault trees, regardless of domain, by improving the accuracy and transparency of FTA and the overall quality of FTA reports.

The probability of occurring emergency situations increases in conditions of severe climate of the Arctic. Therefore, addressing the problems related to the risk assessment of accidents at oil and gas facilities in the Arctic zones based on acceptable risk criteria is of particular importance. Uncontrollable development of emergency situations is followed by emission of a significant amount of oil products and constitutes serious ecological danger, and also can lead to considerable destructions and death of people resulted from fire and explosion. Therefore, the goal of the study is development of the methods for analysis and assessment of the risk of accidents in reservoirs and gas pipelines at low temperatures to increase the industrial safety of hazardous production facilities operating in conditions of the Arctic North. The results of brittle fracture analysis and accident risk assessment for reservoir and gas pipeline under arctic climatic conditions are presented. Statistical data processing of accidents allowed us to determine the rupture sources, develop a “fault tree” of brittle fracture of reservoirs, “event trees” of reservoir explosion and gas outflow from a gas pipeline, with allowance for the frequency of scenarios for quantitative risk assessment. Currently the probabilistic approach is considered one of the most promising. Accident statistics and experience of previous risk analyses can provide a useful contribution to the process of hazard identification. We focus on the scenario approach to the problems of hazard identification and assess the probability (frequency) of emergencies proceeding from the analysis and systematization of the statistical data on the accidents on reservoirs and gas pipelines at low ambient temperatures using the “event trees” and “fault trees” which provide determination of the most critical scenario and expected risk from accidents. Thus, risk assessment of accidents at hazardous production facilities in the Arctic zone using criteria of acceptable risk will allow estimation of hazards with unacceptable level of risk and development of recommendations and measures to reduce them.

A key feature of risk analysis is that risk assessment and risk management should be functionally separated. However, the usefulness of a risk assessment may be limited if the output is not designed to help with risk management decisions. The COMRISK project investigated the communication between risk assessors and risk managers. The overall goal of the project was to identify current practices and challenges in communication between risk assessors and risk managers during the risk analysis process, and thus increase and improve the understanding and the quality of the communication between them. Specific actions to achieve this aim included reviewing of historical food safety cases, analysing risk assessment requests, identifying communication guiding documents, including legislation and agreements, conducting semi-structured interviews with risk assessors and risk managers, and identifying tools for facilitating the communication between risk assessors and risk managers. It was concluded that the usefulness of a risk assessment is strongly dependent on well-defined and mutually recognised risk questions and that scarce or poor communication between risk assessors and risk managers is one of the major reasons when an output from risk assessment fails to support risk management. The communication between risk assessors and risk managers preceding the onset of the risk assessment, when the risk assessment requests with its risk questions are defined, is especially identified as one of the critical points to ensure a risk assessment that is fit for purpose. However, difficulties in understanding were also reported for the communication between risk assessors and risk managers during and after the risk assessment. Lack of communication is seldom a result of formal constraints or agreements nor can it be explained by a wish of the risk assessors or risk managers. Instead, perceived constraints or traditions appear to be possible underlying factors leading to scarce or poor communication between risk assessors and risk managers. It is essential that both risk assessors and risk managers acknowledge the crucial importance of communication between them while at the same time respect their different roles in a risk analysis.According to respondents, the best solution to facilitate the framing of the risk assessment questions isan open dialogue between risk assessors and risk managers to agree on the goal of the assessment and to build trust. Further, the interviewresults indicate that a formal systematic process may facilitate communication during the risk analysis. Where there is uncertainty, e.g due to data gaps or issues related to the methodology and models, it should be acknowledged and described properly by risk assessors to risk managers. Training of risk assessors and risk managers may improve the possibility of a timely and fit-for-purpose output.Such a training should give a deeper insight in the risk management process, give a better understanding of the risk managers role, and especially raise the awareness of the importance of the communication between risk assessors and risk managers.To improve the risk analysis process, it is also important that the risk assessor gets feedback regarding how risk assessments have met the needs of the risk managers.The present study also found that aspects of risk communication studied in this project are not extensively discussed in the guidance documents for risk analysis. More research is needed to identify the barriers for a fit for purpose communication.

Technological advancement has exposed companies to various risks. With the adoption of technological infrastructures in many companies, various processes have been rendered vulnerable to different forms of threats. Evidence from the current empirical studies on organizational management indicates effective risk assessment is a crucial aspect in any organization. Global technological advancement has equally redefined risk assessment and management strategies. Global leading technology companies such as Apple Inc., Amazon Inc., and Google are leveraging modern technology to unlock hidden data to aid in risk assessment and management. As evidenced in this research report, the use of big data has revolutionized risk assessment in many companies across the world. Big data technology has enabled organizations to collect, store, and assess huge information to aid in risk assessment and management. The pro-cesses of risk identification, assessment, mitigation, monitoring, and reporting have been redefined due to the adoption of big data analytical technology. As a result, this research reviews the specific roles played by big data in organizational risks management. The research carries out a comparative case study analysis among three companies that utilize big data in risk management. Specifically, the roles of big data technology in risk management at Apple Inc., Amazon Inc., and at Google are identified. Results from this comparative analysis are used in formulating recommendations for various organizations that desire to adopt big data analytical technology in risk management.

International Maritime Organization (IMO) implements the principles of risk management through a systematic process called Formal Safety Assessment (FSA). FSA is a structured and systematic methodology, aimed at enhancing maritime safety, including protection of life, health, the marine environment and property, by using risk analysis and cost benefit assessment. One of the most widely used hazard identification and risk analysis techniques in FSA is Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) method. However, only basic conventional methodology of the FTA technique is used in FSA. When dealing with large fault trees, the limitations of FTA in terms of accuracy and the efficiency become apparent. It is necessary for IMO to improve FTA method in FSA. In recent years, the Binary Decision Diagram (BDD) method has been developed that solves fault trees and overcomes the disadvantages of the conventional FTA approach. In this paper, the BDD method is introduced for the application in FSA, as it has never been used in FSA studies. A commonly used construction method and some basic event ordering methods of BDD are described. By applying BDD to FTA, two main issues concerned in FSA, minimal cut set and top event probability, can be obtained efficiently and accurately comparing to the analysis using a conventional FTA method.