(112b) Risk Adverse or Risk Ad Nauseam

The use of risk management techniques and tools has become more common place in the past few decades, but have we really learned how to use them properly?  Regulations and various company policies require activities that fall under the banner of risk management, but many times these fall short of providing the positive impact that is possible.  While the oil, gas, and chemical industries have made great strides in adopting risk-based methods, this paper postulates that not enough has been done to actually control the risks that are present.   Discussion topics will include:

• Enhancement of regulatory compliance through the appropriate use of risk-based tools
• Maximizing the influence of risk management
• How to increase profitability through risk reduction
• The benefits of goal setting versus prescriptive requirements

Our industry has come a long way in the application of risk management, and we certainly continue to advance our technologies and capabilities that force more risk upon us.  These operational advancements will reach their full potential only if the field of risk management keeps pace and continuously improves as well.