Is Risk Elimination better than Risk Reduction?
- Marissa Delmage
- Jul 11, 2023
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 11, 2023
The definition for eliminate by the Merriam -Webster dictionary is to remove from consideration while the definition for reduce is to become diminished or lessened.
How do these two terms differ when we apply this to risk in our workplace? Is risk elimination better than risk reduction? When we eliminate risk have, we truly reduced the overall risk of the job, or have we just shifted the focus of risk management, have we created a new risk unknowingly by eliminating one? If this is the case is this a risk that we are aware of and are we managing it, or does it go unnoticed and thus unmanaged? Let us dive into this topic!!
When planning a task or job at work what do those first steps consist of typically?
For a lot of us it may be finding out what risks currently exist in the job at hand. How will we be interacting with them, and how do we either eliminate these risks or reduce them to an acceptable level.
When we talk of eliminating a risk, we are speaking of the complete removal of the risk whether it be the risk of falling, pinch points, contact with a hot surface or any other risk if we say we are eliminating that risk we have removed it completely, this is the sought out option in most cases and the highest level of controls when we reference the Hierarchy of Controls, this would lead one to believe this is the best option right! But is it? When you eliminate a risk do you reassess for a new risk created by the removal of the previous risk? You may have removed a risk from the job, but have you reduced the overall risk of that job?
If we look at the other side of this conversation and explore reducing risk through other means such as personal protective equipment, administrative controls, or engineering controls. We are still interacting with or exposed to the risk but at a reduced severity or frequency level. What does this look like in your workplace? It could be using fall protection when working at heights or a trench box if you are working in an excavated area. These risk would be difficult to eliminate and that is where risk reduction will come in to play, the risk of falling or having a cave in still exists in both of these examples the difference here is that the risk severity has been decreased with the use of fall protection and a trench box, when we utilize the other levels of the Hierarchy of Control.
Can we answer our original question, is one better than the other?
No, one is not better than the other it is all case specific, you need to find what approach is better for you and it could differ from one job to the next. So, the question should be how do you choose between risk elimination and risk reduction?
Here are a few tips that will help you to make this discission:
Find what your risks are in the whole task
Assess if the removal of a risk is going to create a new risk and what the level of that risk is, is that acceptable? How will you now control this new risk?
Talk with your co-workers, lean on the experiences folks there is a chance they have had to deal with the same risk you are currently faced with, and could have historical knowledge on how to safely execute that work.
Reach out to industry specialist if you need expertise help
Reassess, reassess, and reassess ... at every opportunity stop and reassess, shift your plan when needed.
I hope that you found something you can take from this discussion and apply to your work life or even carry home with you. If your business is in need of assistance with identifying or managing risk be sure to reach out to us as cliffesafetysolutions@gmail.com and let us help you with your Risk Management and Health & Safety needs.
The views discussed here today are those based on my professional experience, and I welcome all discussion on this post!
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Sources referenced in this blog post.