"HAZARD "TOTEM" POLES : Revolutionising your "RISK PROFILING" using the "TOTEM POLES"!!!"

HAZARD TOTEM POLE !!!

A "Hazard Totem Pole" is a visual representation of the various levels of risks in a workplace ranked as per the level of risk.

On the other hand, Occupational Health and Safety "Risk Profiling" is the prioritisation of high likely and high severity risks as well as low likely high severity Risks (Risk = likelihood x severity)

This makes Hazard Totem Pole a valuable tool in the Risk Profiling process as it helps to prioritise the hazards and allocate resources more efficiently to prevent and mitigate the risks.

This Totem like structure demonstrates how the risks are piled one on top of the other with the potential to escalate if not addressed promptly.

Hazard Totem pole was invented by Vernon Leslie Grose, an American author, professor, aerospace engineer, air disaster analyst, risk management expert and former member of the National Transportation Safety Board. In this method, Risk is calculated by multiplying "Severity(a)", "Probability of Occurrence(b)" and "Cost to Correct(c)" it where

Severity(a) - was further divided into 4 categories A, B, C, D where "A" being catastrophic and "D" being less severe.

"Probability of Occurrence (b)" - was categorised into J, K, L, M where "J" being highly likely events and "M" being unlikely events.

Cost to Correct(c) - into R, S, T, U where "R" is least expensive to implement the controls and "U" is most expensive.

There can be 4 x 4 x 4 = 64 combinations where the highest combination is the (A, J, R) where it is having "high severity consequence, a high probability of occurrence and low cost to implement controls". The lowest combination (D, M, U) has "low severity, low probability of occurrence and high cost to correct".

With cost being attached to each scenario, one can decide how far down the list of a budget of correction will reach which makes it easy for the Cost benefit analysis and implementation of controls following the "Risk Reduction" hierarchy.

This process creates a list of hazards from the analysis organised according to the combination of the ratings mentioned in the hazard totem pole. This list itself will help to prioritise (Risk Profiling) for allocating funds to correct the hazard.

Available budget can be used to compare and identify the needs of further financial requirements for controlling the risks coming upto the cut off level. An Action Plan can be made to correct the hazards coming under the available fund and periodically there is a need to repeat this process and identify new hazards and assess the effectiveness of existing controls.

In summary, "Hazard Totem Pole" is a valid tool which can be incorporated into your organisations "Risk Profiling" process.