GUIDELINE
ACTIVITY RISK MANAGEMENT GUIDELINE
Contact Officer	Director, Risk Management

Purpose
The risk management process can be complex and requires the exercise of good judgement. This guideline provides advice based on university sector best practices to assist Activity Coordinators and Persons in Authority in interpreting the Activity Risk Management Policy and following the Activity Risk Management Procedures. In addition, the Risk Management Office is available to provide assistance to departments with unique activity risk profiles.
Guideline
Many university activities are considered low risk because they either: a. entail risks that are no greater than the participants would face in their normal working and studying environment, such as classroom lectures, or b. entail risks for which established risk control measures are already in place and appropriately documented, such as Laboratory Safety Procedures. However, activities that entail risks greater or different than those encountered in the regular working and studying environment and for which there are insufficient risk controls in place to reduce the risk to a tolerable or manageable level are considered higher risk. A risk assessment must be carried out for existing higher risk and all new activities so that the foreseeable risks are appropriately managed. The Risk Management Plan may be used for this purpose. Step 1 – Identify Hazards Section 1 of the Risk Management Plan can be used to identify the components of each activity. You can then consider what hazards or conditions might cause an injury or other loss. There are a number of systems analysis techniques for doing so such as fault or logic trees (envision a critical incident and work back listing the causes and conditions that must be in place for the critical incident to occur). Others include simply asking “what if” questions and considering worse case scenarios. Hazards can be both both natural (weather, terrain, wildlife, vegetation) and human caused (machinery, hazardous substances, violence, vehicles, geo-political issues, criminal acts etc.) : The first column of Section 2 of the Risk Management Plan can be used to list hazards. Step 2 – Assess risk Risk assessment requires the exercise of good judgment, based on expertise, previous experience conducting similar activities, previous critical incidents, loss histories (including near misses) and, where necessary, consultation with suitably qualified individuals or organizations. The experience of other universities with similar activities and loss statistics from our insurers, the Ministry of Labour and Statistics Canada may also be helpful. As well, Activity Coordinators should take changes in legislation and emerging trends relevant to your activity into consideration when estimating risk. The following guides can be used to determine the likelihood and severity of loss relating to each hazard: Descriptor Likelihood 1 – Very low –rarely occurs 2 – Low Occurs once/10 yrs 3 – Medium Occurs once/3 yrs 4 – High occurs once/yr 5 – Very high occurs several times/yr Score Severity Descriptors* 1 – Insignificant Impact can be managed by Activity Supervisor/Coordinator. No legal consequences or adverse health effects for any individual. Costs can be absorbed by current budget. Brief negative or positive attention in local news/social media. No disruption to activity. 2 - Minor Impact can be managed by Activity Coordinator with some assistance. Warning or order to comply from regulatory authority; minor injuries to one or two individuals. Financial impact triggers insurance or request for extra funds within departmental budget.. Negative or positive attention in local news/social media for up to one week. Minor disruption to activity while impact is being managed. 3 – Moderate Activity Coordinator needs support from Approving Authority to resolve issue. Statutory charges against one or two employees; serious injuries to one or more individuals or minor injuries to three or more. Financial loss exceeds departmental resources or triggers insurance claim. Negative/positive attention in national news/social media for less than a week, or in local media for 1 to 2 weeks or in surrounding communities for under 2 weeks. Activity is impacted and may not be fully completed or participants are removed. 4 - Major Senior Administrator/Approving Authority must decide whether to cancel activity and take significant mitigation action. Statutory charges or civil suits against the University and one or more of its administrators; disabling injuries to one or more persons. Significant financial impact in excess of departmental budget. Negative/positive headlines in international news/social media for less than a week, or attention in national media for 1 to 2 weeks, or in the local media for more than 2 weeks or sustained negative/positive reaction among surrounding communities. Activity must be cancelled. 5 – Extreme Impact affects University and requires Senior Management intervention. Criminal charges and other legal action against the institution and one or more senior administrators or directors; one or more fatalities. Significant financial impact, requiring reallocation of resources. Intense negative/positive headlines in the international media for more than 1 week or in the national media for more than 2 weeks. Cancellation of activity jeopardizes academic, research or key operational goals. These are examples of impact and not an exhaustive list. Select the descriptors that best describe the likelihood or severity of the potential loss, then multiply the scores assigned for likelihood and severity to determine a risk score for each hazard. Analysis of the resultant risk score will assist the person in authority with determining the university’s risk tolerance for that hazard. For example, slips trips and falls generally result in minor losses to the university in terms of cost and adverse publicity. However, they happen with such frequency that the cumulative effects result in a medium score of 10 that warrants the implementation of risk control measures to reduce the impact on the university. Conversely, an active shooter incident resulting in the death of one or more persons is extremely unlikely, however the impact on the university in terms of adverse publicity could be extreme given the duty of care for our students. Therefore, despite the low risk score, the university has a very low tolerance for this sort of loss and will implement appropriate risk control measures. Consequence (Severity) Extreme Level 4 Major Level 3 Moderate Level 2 Minor Level 1 Insignificant Rare Unlikely Moderate Likely Almost Certain Probability (Likelihood) RISK LEVEL Step 3 - Special considerations for off campus travel. International travel should be evaluated to determine whether it entails low or higher risk. The Global Affairs Canada website thoroughly describes the current risks for each country, and issues travel warnings that should be followed. In particular, travel through or to a country or region where unusual conditions such as political instability, medical conditions or a natural disaster are known to exist prior to departure or for which a travel warning is in effect is deemed to entail high risk and requires the associated level of advance planning and approval. If the Activity Coordinator wishes to disregard a Global Affairs Canada travel warning, they must obtain approval from the Person in Authority (Level 2 - high degree of caution), A Senior Administrator(Level 3 - avoid non-essential travel) or the President (Level 4 - avoid all travel) to do so. Section Three of the Risk Management Plan has a section on International Travel requirements that must be completed. Step 4 – Select Risk Control Measures The types of risk control measures available are: Avoidance. Completely avoid the hazard to eliminate the risk, either by not conducting an activity or not conducting certain high risk aspects of a particular activity. Example: A psychology professor is doing research on the effects of post traumatic stress on Canadian military members and wishes to interview military members in Afghanistan. The risk of death or injury when travelling in Afghanistan is high. Risk avoidance would be to conduct the interviews in Canada, when the military members return from their deployment. Risk prevention. Reduce the likelihood of the hazard resulting in a loss. Example: A new employee with no prior lab experience is required to use caustic chemicals in the lab, therefore the risk of him injuring himself is medium to high. A risk prevention measure would be to train the employee in the proper handling of the chemicals to reduce the likelihood of an injury. Risk reduction. Reduce the severity of any loss. Example. Employee handling chemicals. To reduce the severity of any injury, even after proper training, provide personal protective equipment such as goggles and fume hoods so if a spill does occur, the resulting damage is less severe. Also have a plan to obtain medical assistance as quickly as possible to minimize the impact of the injury. Recovery – a recovery plan is a type of risk reduction measure. Should an injury or loss occur, your risk management plan should identify the means of managing the loss. For example, if a research vehicle is stolen, you should have insurance, contacts and financial resources in place to replace the vehicle. If a person is injured in a remote location, there should be a plan in place to provide emergency medical care. Select specific risk control measures that best mitigate the risks posed by each identified hazard and enter them in the Risk Control Measures column of the Risk Management Plan. More than one risk control measure can be used to address a hazard. For example, a graduate student required to travel around the boreal forest in winter faces a number of natural hazards (extreme weather, animal predators, rough terrain). Risk prevention methods might include ensuring the snow mobile is well maintained and has extra gas onboard and that the grad student has appropriate navigation aids, and is armed and well trained in the use of a firearm. Risk reduction methods may include survival training, first aid training and emergency supplies. A recovery plan may include ensuring there is more than one person in the party and being equipped with a satellite phone to obtain assistance and a locator beacon. Risk controls for out of country or remote travel should include a plan for obtaining medical assistance and emergency repatriation. The Person in Authority must then determine if the residual risk exceeds the university’s risk tolerance. For example, the university has an extremely low tolerance for preventable student death. If, despite all the measures noted above, there is still a medium residual risk of student death, the risk is still unmanageable and the activity should not be approved unless the risk can be brought down to low. If the risk involves only minor damage to university property, the university tolerance is high and a medium residual risk would be acceptable, especially if the risk control measures are more costly than the potential losses. Section Three of the Risk Management Plan provides checklists of some basic risk control measures that should be in place for all activities to address persons with special needs and emergency procedures. Steps 5 and 6 – Obtain Approval. Submit the Risk Management Plan to the Person in Authority. The Person in Authority may approve the Plan as written or ask the Activity Coordinator to revise the plan in such a way that the activity’s risks are reduced to a manageable level. If, in the judgement of the Person in Authority, the risk level cannot be brought to manageable levels, s/he will not approve the activity. The Person in Authority should consider the value of the activity to the university and determine if the goals of the activity could be met in another, less risky manner. An activity that involves risks which are manageable for an experienced individual or small group may nevertheless entail unmanageable risk for a large group or inexperienced participants. However, if the Person in Authority is not sure as to the risk tolerance of the University or feels that allocation of additional resources or changes to university practices would allow the Activity Coordinator to manage the risk for the overall benefit of the university, s/he may consult with the Risk Management Department or their Senior Administrator. Step 7 – Conduct activity in accordance with Risk Management Plan and the Activity Risk Management Policy Ensure all volunteers and, if the activity is not for academic credit, students sign the Informed Consent Record before commencing the activity. The extent of advance planning, preparation and approvals required prior to conducting an activity are commensurate with the level of risk associated with the activity and the experience of the participants. Repetition of an activity in the same or a similar locality may require a lower level of detail in the advance planning, but the level of detail needed in the briefing and training should take into account the experience of the participants (e.g., by the nth running of a specific course or field trip, the hazards are likely to be well known and the Risk Management Plan well developed; nevertheless, the trip and its hazards are new to each successive group of student participants). Step 8 – Post Activity Risk management is a dynamic process therefore Risk Management Plans must be continually reviewed and revised in consideration of the changing risk landscape. When reviewing feedback from participants, pay special attention to the effectiveness of the risk controls if a critical incident occurred. Consider changes in legislation, technology and the activity environment that may occur before the next time the activity is conducted.
Related Policies / Procedures Activity Risk Management Policy and Procedure.
Links
Keywords	activity, risk, control, sanctioned, safety, authority, hazard, critical, incident, plan
Date Approved	February, 2018
Approval Authority	Director, Risk Management