Safety Risk Management (SRM)

The Risk Management Process in Safety Management Systems


The healthcare industry is both complex and unique. The demands on healthcare practitioners are great and, in many cases, the requirements are not accurately communicated to upper management. Stakeholders across all levels have called for an increased level of safety, but often are unwilling to accept the price of safety. The core requirement for an SMS is an effective method of identifying and controlling risk. The concept is described as:

The risks and costs in the delivery of healthcare necessitate a rational process for decision-making. Daily, practitioners and providers make decisions in real time, weighing the probability and severity of any adverse consequences implied by the risk against the expected gain of taking the risk. This process is known as risk management.

The bottom line in the healthcare field is to implement safety improvements in the most cost-effective manner possible. The Safety Risk Management (SRM) approach will give your safety program the tools and methods necessary to meet the requirements of a Safety Management System for identifying and controlling risk. Without such knowledge, it is unlikely that any organization can fully and effectively meet the standards for an SMS, or achieve status as a High Reliability Organization.

Risk Management is a systems-based approach that focuses on the identification of hazards involved in each aspect of the operation, whether it involves inter‐ or intra‐departmental communications, infection control protocols, medication procedures, shift change, surgery, admissions, etc. As an integral and required part of a Safety Management System, Safety Risk Management formalizes this approach by implementing a logic-driven process to analyze the degree of risk associated with identified hazards, recommending Risk-based solutions, and monitoring the effectiveness of these solutions. This method is graphically demonstrated by the model shown below. Called “The Modern Approach to Safety” it is in effect, a model of the ORM approach as taught by SCSI.

Benefits of the SCSI SRM Training Program:

  • You will be introduced to modern “risk-based” approaches to safety program management
  • You will learn the process of risk identification and assessments, and will actually employ these techniques in problem solving exercises
  • You will learn how to employ many of the “traditional” tools of the safety manager in a more effective way by addressing and prioritizing key risks within your organization
  • You will be introduced to Operational Risk Profiling and procedures

Topics that can be covered in a customizable program:

  • The Theory of Risk
  • The Risk Management Process in a Safety Management System
  • Identifying Hazards
  • The Five Fundamentals of Safety Risk Management
  • Safety Risk Management
  • Safety Risk Probability
  • Safety Risk Severity
  • Safety Risk Tolerability
  • Safety Risk Control
  • Risk Assessment
  • Quantitative Risk Management and ROI (Making the Business Case For Safety)
  • Strategies for Risk Control
  • Follow-up Action Steps
  • Using Traditional Safety Tools in Risk Management
  • Building an Effective Risk Management Program
  • Operational Risk Profiling
  • Electronic Hazard Control & Tracking