Your company installs central heating boilers, performs occupational health services, helps the elderly with home care, builds or remodels houses, roasts coffee, deals in submersible pumps or whatever. But what does your organization have to do with an expedition to Mount Everest? Well, more than you think.
This is a story about dangers and risks. Dangers of the business and risks to the business owner and his employees and how you could deal with those risks responsibly.
First that Mount Everest. At 8848 meters, the highest mountain in the world, on which hundreds of unfortunate climbers have already been left behind. That sounds pretty frightening, but just how dangerous is this mountain?
The answer depends on your perspective. If you stay down in the valley and look at Everest from a safe distance, it is mostly a beautiful mountain but not a dangerous one. Are you on top, exhausted, barely able to breathe and having to descend to Camp 4 at the end of the day in a mounting storm? Then you face the dangers of the mountain head-on. You can't change those dangers. Those dangers are inherent in your enterprise. You wanted to be on top of that mountain, and in pursuing that goal, you sought the dangers of the mountain.
But danger and risk are two different things. Risk is the probability that a hazard is going to harm you. If you are inadequately dressed, then you will almost certainly freeze. If you are not secured, then there is a chance you will fall. If you haven't taken the time to adjust to the lack of oxygen, then you won't even get near the summit.
Are you starting to see the similarity with your company or business? Every business sets itself goals and needs to get moving. That movement inevitably causes you to face hazards. To reduce the likelihood that those hazards will harm you and your employees or colleagues, you must identify and evaluate your risks. If a risk is too great, you must take measures to reduce that risk to an acceptable level (control or mitigate).
A good risk assessment is the foundation of a successful business. If you know what your risks are, you can take effective management measures. Your risk of frostbite is almost 100 percent if you go climbing Mount Everest with poor clothing. The management measure is to buy the very best specialized clothing you can buy. The risk of frostbite thus drops to, say, 15% and may have become acceptable.
Serious risk inventory and evaluation (RI&E) is best organized with a good quality and risk management system. In ISO2HANDLE you will find everything you need to safely reach the top with your company, business or organization. Doesn't matter if you're a healthcare organization, a coffee roaster or an installation company. You run risks and you owe it to yourself and your employees or colleagues to handle them responsibly.
Want to know how this works on the ISO2HANDLE platform? Request a no-obligation online demo and then try it temporarily for free. There's no risk in that, right?
