Bow-Tie Industrial Risk Management Across Sectors

A Barrier-Based Approach

Luca Fiorentini

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781119523673
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: Human-Computer Interaction
• Index: Computer Science

BOW-TIE INDUSTRIAL RISK MANAGEMENT ACROSS SECTORS

Explore an approachable but rigorous treatment of systematic barrier-based approaches to risk management and failure analysis

In Bow-Tie Industrial Risk Management Across Sectors: A Barrier-Based Approach, accomplished researcher and author Luca Fiorentini delivers a practical guide to risk management tools, with a particular emphasis on a systematic barrier-based approach called "bow-tie." The book includes discussions of two barrier-based methods, Bow-Tie and Layers of Protection Analysis (LOPA), for risk assessment, and one barrier-based method for incident analysis, Barrier Failure Analysis (BFA). The author also describes a traditional method–Root Cause Analysis–and three quantitative methods–FMEA/FMECA, Fault Tree (FTA), and Event Tree (ETA) with a discussion about their link with barriers.

Written from the ground up to be in full compliance with recent ISO 31000 standards on enterprise risk management, and containing several case studies and examples from a variety of industries, Bow-Tie Industrial Risk Management Across Sectors also contains discussions of international standards dealing with common risks faced by organizations, including occupational health and safety, industrial safety, functional safety, environmental, quality, business continuity, asset integrity, and information security.

Readers will also benefit from the inclusion of:

• A thorough introduction to the Bow-Tie method, including its practical application in risk management workflow from ISO 31000, the history of Bow-Tie, related methods, and the application of Bow-Tie in qualitative and quantitative ways
• An exploration of Barrier Failure Analysis, including events, timelines, barriers, causation paths, and multi-level causes
• A practical discussion of how to build a Barrier Failure Analysis, including fact finding, event chaining, identifying barriers, assessing barrier states, causation analysis, and recommendations
• A concise treatment of Bow-Tie construction workflow, including a step-by-step guide

Perfect for engineers and other professionals working in risk management, Bow-Tie Industrial Risk Management Across Sectors: A Barrier-Based Approach will also earn a place in the libraries of advanced undergraduate and graduate students studying risk management and seeking a one-stop reference on the "bow-tie" approach and barrier-based methods.

Preface 1

Riccardo Ghini

Quality Head Italy & Malta and South Europe Cluster, Sanofi

Risk assessment is a basic concept that has always accompanied me throughout my work and professional experience, so being able to contribute, albeit marginally, to the drafting of this monumental work fills me with pride and happiness.

Since the time of Legislative Decree 626/94, the ability to evaluate the probability of occurrence and the possible consequences of accidents and injuries at work has been a fundamental skill for me to develop, through the study of ever‐more‐refined methods and techniques of investigation. Finding all these useful analysis tools grouped in this way, brilliantly described and accompanied by real application examples, represents for me, and for all professionals, a unique opportunity for enrichment and deepening.

In fact, as my career continued, I soon realized how the concepts underlying this book can be effectively applied, not only in the field of work safety, but also in all areas of business activity, where words like “risk,” “scenario,” “analysis of the causes,” and “continuous improvement” have become commonly used, as they are based on the very structure of the management systems developed in accordance with the various reference standards, now completely standardized.

Furthermore, we mustn’t fail to mention the importance assumed by the methods of analysis, assessment, and operational management of the risks associated with the predicate offenses of Legislative Decree 231/2001 (administrative liability of companies and entities), which constitute the essential element in the preparation of a Corporate Organization, Management, and Control Model that effectively prevents the occurrence of the types of offense and, at the same time, constitutes a valid exemption in the context of a possible criminal trial.

The real cultural transition, however, takes place when the concept of risk assessment is adopted and is also applied outside the professional sphere, elevating it to a rational criterion to guide our daily choices: “do I overtake or not overtake the car that’s in front of me?, “do I subscribe to this insurance policy or not?,” “do I vaccinate my children or not?” These are all questions and situations we face every day, and for which it is very useful to identify the possible “top event,” the “consequences” that can be generated, and the “causes” that can originate it, as well as to know what “barriers” we can implement in our defence.

This book is therefore much more than a scientific text for a few super‐technicians and experts; it is a concrete and useful reference to all, to bring order and reasoning into our decisions, whatever they may be, in a world increasingly dominated by superficiality and disinformation.

I would also like to underline another aspect, often not adequately communicated: the concept of risk not only with a negative meaning, as a threat or weighting of an unfavourable event, but also, from the perspective of ISO 31000, as a positive deviation from the result expected, therefore, as an opportunity, to be evaluated and seized for the development of the organization. A better understanding of this dimension of risk would certainly facilitate a wider and more extensive use of the methodologies illustrated in the book.

At this point, before diving into reading and studying, I just have to applaud the authors, who represent all‐Italian excellence, similar to Ferrari and Parmigiano Reggiano, in this scientific field traditionally the prerogative of Anglo‐Saxon and American schools, and of which we must all be proud.

Preface 2

Bernardino Chiaia

Head of SISCON (Safety of Infrastructures and Constructions), Politecnico di Torino

The number and the magnitude of accidents worldwide in the industrial sector and in the realm of civil and transportation infrastructures has risen since the 1970s and continues to grow both in frequency and socioeconomic impact. Several major accidents in the industrial sector (see, e.g., the Seveso chemical plant disaster in 1976, the Bhopal gas tragedy in 1984, the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, the explosion in Warehouse 12 at the Port of Beirut in 2020) have been under the lens of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), which puts great effort in developing safety guidelines within the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030.

At the same time, the number of infrastructure failures in developed countries rose dramatically since the beginning of the new millennium. This is partly due to ageing and poor maintenance of bridges, viaducts, tunnels, and dams, which were constructed mainly in the first 35 years after World War II. Moreover, traffic loads and required performances have increased 20 times the original design conditions. On the other hand, in underdeveloped countries there is clear evidence that industrial regulations are less strict and that a general lack of a culture of safety generally results in looser applications of the rules, thus producing a physiological higher percentage of accidents.

In this evolving context, the barrier‐based approach named Bow‐Tie represents a successful methodology to approach risk analysis in a consistent and robust manner. The method allows a synthetic and powerful control of multiple hazard scenarios, clearly differentiating between proactive and reactive risk management.

In this book Dr Fiorentini clearly shows the applicability and the advantages of the methodology to various situations. He shows that, once all the hazard scenarios have been correctly identified and well defined, the definition of the most appropriate barriers represents the core of the methodology to ensure risk reduction. In the non‐standard case of civil engineering, for example, the Bow‐Tie method shows how inspections and maintenance operations represent preventive control barriers against the risk of structural collapse, whereas retrofitting, traffic limitations, and active monitoring represent mitigating or recovery barriers.

The wide experience of Dr Fiorentini, along with his clarity and scientific rigour, make the book a unique and comprehensive essay on the Bow‐Tie methodology of risk assessment.

Preface 3

Luca Marmo

Professor of Safety of Industrial Processes, Politecnico di Torino Department of Applied Science and Technology

In over 30 years of mountaineering and ski touring (see an example in Figure 1), I have done thousands of risk analyses, probably more than I have ever done in my professional career. Each preparation for a climb includes risk analysis. Imagine, or remember, if you have the same passion as me, a classic of European ski mountaineering, the high street Chamonix Zermatt. Climbing it takes three days if you are a pro climber, four if you are super‐trained—better five or six if you are merely human—between glaciers, crevasses, overhanging rocks, and descents hanging from a rope with skis on your shoulders. 6,300 m of positive altitude difference, all between 1,600 and 3,800 m of altitude. Risky? Yes. Accidents, even fatal ones, in these environments are not so rare. However, those who do not practice mountaineering tend to overestimate the risks because they do not have the cognitive tools to evaluate them.

Figure 1 Descent from Col du Chardonnet. Is it safe?

Source: Luca Marmo archive photo.

What will be the risk of causing an avalanche, or in any case of being hit by one? And the degree of coverage of the crevasses along the route? Will the snow be sufficient to guarantee the solidity of the snow bridges or will a chasm open under my skis when I least expect it? Will the weather be favourable or will I be surprised by a blizzard at 150 km/h on the glacier? And if so, will I have at my disposal a protective barrier, sufficient clothing, satellite device, material to take care of myself?

In mountaineering, risk assessments are based on often uncertain data. Weather forecasts are really reliable only within 72 hours, the state of a slope can be inferred from the historical weather data of the previous weeks, and the evaluation methods are often deductive and unstructured. Forecasting is fundamentally based on experience and knowledge of the environment. This is why it is wise to maintain substantial safety margins. In my career, undoubtedly many more times I gave up from a climb, evaluating the risks to be more excessive than they weren, than I really got into trouble.

We are luckier in our professional life. We have more reliable data, we are confronted with less uncertain situations. Therefore, we can apply more rigorous and schematic methods. We can clearly identify the functional relationships between the elements of a machine and outline a specific picture of t...