Article 11 in this series about Control Based Risk Management and Critical Control Management (CCM) will discuss a vital part of effective CCM, verification. This article has been the most difficult to write. There is little agreement across mining companies about verification methods, generally aligned with their varying objectives for adopting some form of CCM. [...]

Welcome to article 10. This article continues to discuss the Critical Control Management (CCM) process using the structure outlined in the ICMM CCM guide (2015) with additions based on experience related to CCM initiatives in major mining companies. Article 9 dealt with critical control (CC) selection (step 4) and measurability issues with control acts. This [...]

Welcome to the 9th article in the series. Article 8 overviewed the selection of critical controls, hopefully generating some thoughts about setting company or site objectives for moving to CCM, as well as considering the concept of ‘indicativeness’ as a potential critical control requirement. Critical control? This article will continue with the critical control selection [...]

The 9-step Critical Control Management (CCM) process was shown in the last article with a discussion about the need to establish quality Control-Based Risk Management (CBRM) for priority unwanted events (step 3) before moving to CCM. This article will continue with the CCM process, presenting a variety of approaches to selecting potential critical controls (step [...]

Welcome to the 7th article in the series covering Operational Risk Management (ORM) in the mining industry. Earlier articles attempted to set a foundation of terms and concepts to help understand the ORM journey, as well as to help a site identify its current position on the journey. Figure 1: The operational risk management journey [...]

Welcome to the 6th article in a series intended to generate discussion amongst H&S risk professionals and managers about improvements to the site Operational Risk Management (ORM) thinking and methods. The content should also help ORM personnel ‘influence’ line management at all levels. The term, ‘influence’, has been deliberately selected to highlight the need for [...]

Welcome to article 5 of 17. Thanks to those who have provided feedback. Article 3 and 4 of the series briefly presented a ‘back to basics’ discussion about terminology and the focus on controls, also called barriers. Potential changes were reviewed to help develop a good control focus considering conversations and mindsets, and to a [...]

Achieving control-focused mindsets and methods may be a step change. This article will discuss the mindset shift that forms part of the move toward site control-based risk management and critical control management. Subsequent articles will discuss the changes to risk management methods in more detail. Risk-focus versus control-focus In the past, and perhaps even today, [...]

This article is the third in a series intended to stimulate discussion about advances in mining Operational Risk Management (ORM). The first article outlined the ORM advances and provided a list of 17 articles. The second article provided a perspective on the development of mining ORM in Australia since the late 1980s. This third article [...]

Revisiting the history of Operational Risk Management (ORM) not only helps us understand the technical evolution of ORM but also may help us recognize the mindsets of individuals who have been in the industry for many years. People at all levels of the mining industry have been exposed to a variety of ORM initiatives over [...]