Risk = Likelihood * Severity - Can we mitigate the Severity?

F

fiona_young

Risk= Likelihood * severity
can we mitigate the severity??

we can use some way to mitigate the likelihood, is "severity" changeable???
 

Randy

Super Moderator
Re: Risk= Likelihood * severity can we mitigate the severity??

By either changing, controlling or eliminating the hazards

Just do what is says in 4.3.1
 

Pancho

wikineer
Super Moderator
Re: Risk= Likelihood * severity can we mitigate the severity??

Yes. Say an operator is exposed to a fall to a different level. You provide her with personal fall protection equipment. She may still fall, but the severity of the fall is much reduced.
 

sagai

Quite Involved in Discussions
I do not think that we can mitigate severity to be honest.
Severity is assessed based on the potential extent of the harm caused by the hazard in a particular hazardous situation (when it really leads to harm). So unless we would say that actually the original (pre mitigated) assessment has lost its scope because that particular subject of the risk assessment becomes meaningless to carry on with, the wandering still remains and as such with its original severity survives for me.
Cheers
 
M

MIREGMGR

If there's a significant likelihood that someone's going to stab me, I'm going to provide them with a one inch knife instead of an eight inch one. Thus the severity of the resulting wound would be decreased.

I offer that example to illustrate that I'm in the severity-can-be-decreased camp on this question.
 

Kales Veggie

People: The Vital Few
Re: Risk= Likelihood * severity can we mitigate the severity??

A railing provided will address likelihood.
A netting provided will address severity.
Sometimes the severity (death) may not be by the impact of fall, but by the fear of that impact.

to go one step further: adding a fence will address severity even more.
 

TWA - not the airline

Trusted Information Resource
If there's a significant likelihood that someone's going to stab me, I'm going to provide them with a one inch knife instead of an eight inch one. Thus the severity of the resulting wound would be decreased.

I offer that example to illustrate that I'm in the severity-can-be-decreased camp on this question.

Severity goes with the effect. So if any action taken for a certain failure mode leads to different effects then severity also must be re-assessed. So for the failure mode "stab wound" the change in the length of the knife will affect severity but not occurrence (detection could be debated:D). If you go further and suppose that any stab wound (under adverse circumstances) may lead to death, then changing the knife would change the probability of occurrence but not the severity. In the end, both interpretations might lead to the same RPN...
 
A

adamsjm

Re: Risk= Likelihood * severity can we mitigate the severity??

Yes. Say an operator is exposed to a fall to a different level. You provide her with personal fall protection equipment. She may still fall, but the severity of the fall is much reduced.

If the person falls, the severity is the same. By changing the process to include personal fall protection the occurrence of falling is reduced NOT its severity.
 
A

adamsjm

Re: Risk= Likelihood * severity can we mitigate the severity??

to go one step further: adding a fence will address severity even more.
Adding a fence will reduce the likelyhood of a stabbing (occurrence), but not the severity if it occurred.
 
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