Corporate Black Belts

Think like an expert!

Learn to think like an expert

Tips and techniques for experienced Engineers and Management professionals.

corporate

Hazard vs risk: How to differentiate under 10 seconds

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What is a hazard?

What is the difference between hazards and risks?

Can you explain these to someone else?

Why do you need to know the difference between hazard or risk or consequences?

Here is the reason.

Safety is the number one priority for most companies. And if you don’t know the definitions of hazard and risk, it holds you back in three ways.

Number one, it stops you from coming up with more ideas and high-quality strategies that are effective in making significant changes. Because you don’t know all the features and angles that create a hazardous situation.

Number two, it creates doubts in your mind and stops you from sharing your ideas. What if you are wrong? When you are unsure, your brain tries to protect you by creating fear in your mind.

Number three, you were wrong, you shared your ideas and now people started wondering “why is he talking about risks when we all are talking about hazards”.

All of these create barriers for you in your mission of establishing yourself as a top professional.

On the other hand, when you have a clear understanding, you can generate great ideas and effective strategies, share them with confidence and if necessary defend your ideas.

Most important of all, you are not relying on luck or random inspirations, you are using a system to generate ideas and solutions. You are more methodical. More consistent. And people start to notice that. People start to see you as a knowledgeable person.

Definition of hazards

So, what is a hazard?

The definition I use is this one.

Hazard is a thing or situation that can cause harm.

Let me repeat that again.

Hazard is a thing or situation that can cause harm.

And by causing harm, it means causing harm to

  • People
  • Environmental
  • Property or physical assets

Can you think of some examples?

Here are some examples of things that can cause harm:

  • Fire
  • Electricity
  • Your Mother in law

Now, some examples of hazardous situations, situations that can cause harm:

  • Working on heights
  • Driving while intoxicated
  • Forgetting your partner’s birthday

10-second objectivity test

I think of hazard as an objective; because it is a fact, a yes or no question.

Can this cause harm to people, environment or assets? If the answer is yes, then it is a hazard. From this angle, I see a hazard is objective by nature.

Difference between hazards and risks

Hazards don’t become risks.

Hazard can lead to harm.

For example, electricity can lead to electrocution, which can lead to injury or death.

Here electricity is the hazard.

Electrocution is the immediate consequence.

Injury and death are the ultimate consequences.

So, where is the risk?

Risk is our perception. It is our assessment on the chance that the hazard will lead to undesirable consequences.

Risk is the product of likelihood and consequence.

For example, if the source of electricity is in an environment where children are present nearby, you can consider there is a higher likelihood of someone touching it. So, you can assess the risk level is high.

On the other hand, if an electrician is present, though he is exposed to the same hazard and there is the potential of the same consequence happening to him. But because he has skilled knowledge and appropriate tools, you may assess that the risk level is lower compared to the previous case.

So, you can see that risk levels can be different in different contexts.

Risks can be subjective too. different people can look at the same hazard and have different assumptions about the likelihood or consequences.

Developing strategic ideas to counter hazards and lower risks

Now, you have some choices when you are dealing with hazards or hazardous situations:

  • You can eliminate the hazards
  • You can reduce the probability
  • You can reduce the severity of the consequences

You can eliminate the hazard or lower the risk by applying barriers to reduce the probability that someone might get hurt. You can also place mitigative barriers to lower the impact of the consequences.

8 Secrets of becoming the best of the best in the corporate world

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I have a question for you.

If you had the exact same brushes that Da Vinci had, can you create paintings like him? I know for a fact that I can’t.

And what if Da Vinci had only a simple pencil to draw? Could he create something remarkable?

And the answer is yes.

The point I am trying to highlight here is often we are too focused on not having the most expensive tools and we haven’t yet mastered the basic techniques yet.

We are focused on what type of gloves Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson uses.

We are focused on what pair of shoes Usain Bolt uses.

I remember every single time I saw a great piece of photography, I’d ask about the camera model. I didn’t ask about what field of depth or aperture settings she used. I asked about the camera. As if only if I had access to the camera, I could take similar artistic pictures. But in reality, I had no idea how to use that camera. even if I had access to the most advanced camera and other accessories, the truth is I was still shooting using the automatic settings and I didn’t know how to tap into the powerful features of an advanced camera.

I have mostly worked in the high voltage industry. typically around 275,000 volts level. Now at that level, things can be very unforgiving. Any small mistakes can have major consequences. So I had the opportunity to work closely with some of the best minds in the business. And today I am going to share the 8 secrets I observed in the top professionals.

1. Focusing on value creation

The best of the best look for the value they can create, the outcome. Not how fancy the tool is. They develop the skills to maximize the outcome. Once you develop the right skills, you can use simple techniques like 5 whys, Swot analysis or Scatter plots to deliver remarkable insights.

2. Analyzing from multiple perspectives

They look at the problem through many different lenses. To A hammer everything looks like a nail. And you should not try to use a hammer to paint the wall. Have you experienced when a so-called expert who suffers from tunnel vision and tries to force his one technique in all sorts of problems? They actually do more damage to the business. But the best in business learn to expand their repertoire and look at the problem from many different angles. And if they can’t find a good fit, they simply collaborate with someone else who has the required expertise.

3. Mastering key principles

The top professionals try to understand and master the principles of the tools and techniques. Some techniques can be very advanced and take years to master. But there are always a few key principles that drive the rest of the process. If you get the principles right, you will get most of the techniques right.

4. Continuous learning

They actually do their research and learn from good mentors and peers. They read Books. They study Best practices. They take training courses. Go to conferences. They are always testing their own assumptions and at the same time open to new ideas.

5. Not being slaves to processes

They are not hung up on the process. They master the principles. And they are not slaves to processes. They understand a process that has been effective before, can be useless or even damaging if the context changes. They are aware of the Cynefin framework.

6. Designing simple solutions

To solve complex problems, they look for simple solutions. Complex solutions have many hidden issues. So, to solve a complex problem you need to have an overarching framework that is simple to understand and simple to use.

7. Applying systems thinking

For complex systems and complex problems, they understand the need to focus on peripheral nature and the relationship between multiple variables. They use systems thinking. They would break down a big system into several smaller modules (subsystems), deal with the issues within individual modules if possible so that they can test, contain and resolve most issues within the subsystems, and limit and monitor the relationships between the subsystems.

8. Getting buy-ins

They get buy-ins from stakeholders. Because they use Simple overarching frameworks, they can explain the issues and the proposed solution easily to non-technical stakeholders. The solution doesn’t remain a mysterious black box to them. This way they can gain confidence and trust from the stakeholders.