Investigations Differently: Stop Colouring, Start Controlling: Making Risk Assessments Deliver
Risk assessments should reduce risk, not just turn a box green. Practical tips from Mark Alston to make your risk assessments actually deliver.
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Most risk assessments are a colouring-in exercise, get the box green and move on. This one's about controls that actually reduce risk.
Ask most teams why they run a risk assessment and the honest answer is ‘to get it to an acceptable rating’.
We colour the box green, sign it off, file it, and the work is no safer than before. It's the watermelon problem: green on the outside, red on the inside.
In this session, Mark Alston of Investigations Differently makes the case for risk assessments that control, not colour. Drawing on the same New View thinking behind his Investigation Series, and his new book, Stop Blaming Bob.
Mark shares practical tips to move past the matrix: how to stop reverse-engineering a score, how to write controls that sit higher than admin and PPE, how to check a control actually works, and how to connect the assessment to how the work is really done. You'll leave able to turn a compliance ritual into a genuine risk-reduction tool your leaders will act on.
What you'll take away
- Spot when a risk assessment is ‘colouring in’, and what to do instead
- Move beyond the risk matrix and stop reverse-engineering the score
- Write higher-order controls that reduce risk, not just satisfy the form
- Verify control effectiveness instead of assuming it (the false-assurance trap)
- Connect the assessment to how work is really done, so it reflects reality
- Leave with practical tips you can apply to your very next risk assessment
About the presenter:
Mark Alston is the founder and Managing Director of Investigations Differently and author of the new book Stop Blaming Bob. A former Australian Federal Police agent, he spent 20+ years in risk, safety and auditing with organisations including BHP, Rio Tinto and Mitchell Services. Trained in ICAM, TapRooT and 5 Whys, Mark helps organisations move beyond box-ticking to safety that genuinely reduces risk.
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Presented by
Mark Alston
Mark’s extensive experience in investigations commenced as a Federal Agent in the Australian Federal Police, responsible for investigating organised crime and large-scale drug and fraud offences. Since then, Mark has worked for a diverse range of range of organisations including BHP, Rio Tinto, Macmahon Holdings, CQMS Razer, and Mitchell Services with roles in incident investigations, risk management, safety and auditing.
Mark has utilised root cause analysis methods including TapRoot© and ICAM©, 5 Whys and Essential Factors to investigate work place incidents over the past 10 years. Mark has developed and implemented systems of work to manage incident reporting and investigation requirements as well as the training of operational personnel and safety professionals in investigation methodology.
With an investigation process that now focuses on a ‘Work as Normal’ approach, Mark has found a system of investigation that combines a Safety Differently approach with the principals of Human and Organizational Performance (HOP), to identify the true organisational issues that contributed to an event.
As the Principal Facilitator for Immotus Consulting, Mark drives simplicity and quality in the products they deliver. Mark engages with clients and their workers to help them identify and understand risks and develop engaging and practical control management strategies.
The myosh Academy is home to regular webinars on workplace health, safety, environment, and quality, with contributions from select partners.
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