Collaboration oriented approach for managing safety and security risks in organizations

Effective management of safety and security risks can help a company to avoid losses. However, creating and organizing a risk management process in organizations can be challenging. In parallel with gathering the specific information regarding technical details from several different systems, the more wide-ranging information from organizational processes and functions is required. In addition, risk estimating requires various knowledge and understanding concerning not only technical systems but human behavior, environmental effects and economics. However, from the managers' and board of directors' point of view it is crucial to be able to constitute an overall view of the diverse risk field in order to notice risks in decision making situations. This article brings out the important role of collaboration in the risk management process, in the meaning that sharing of knowledge and opinions gives better understanding of risks. The focus is both on internal collaboration and information exchange across the boundaries of the companies. Based on the findings from two studies the framework of collaborative risk management is brought forth and practices supporting more collaborative approach for risk management are suggested.