Risk! Engineers Talk Governance

Drop us a note In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss control and reasonableness in WHS/PHS legislation.  They explain that the WHS/OHS legislation is a statutory statement of the common law duty of care and a defence against negligence, and that there’s two primary controls for negligence defence: no power defence (lack of control) and doing...

Drop us a note In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss R2A's preferred approach to due diligence.    They explain why they start with a top-down approach, usually starting with the military intelligence, threat and vulnerability technique. And how often organisations who have started with a bottom-up process have be...

Drop us a note In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss their recent success (as Expert Witnesses) at VCAT (Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal) and how design trumps risk assessment.  They discuss their case involving an application for a building permit in the outer safety zone of a major hazard facility. WorkCover advised against buil...

Drop us a note In this episode of the podcast "Risk! Engineers Talk Governance," due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss the topic of design analysis versus risk analysis. They explore the difference between ALARP (as low as reasonably practicable) and SFAIRP (so far as reasonably practicable) and how the interpretation of these concepts has caused confusion and...

Drop us a note In the final episode of Season 2 of the Risk! Engineers Talk Governance podcast, due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss the de-engineering of technical roles in organisations and engineering education and philosophy.   They reflect on their experience as expert witnesses at a recent hearing where technical knowledge was lacking in person, and they highligh...

Drop us a note In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss nuclear power safety with reference to Finland.    Gaye shares her personal experience as an exchange student in Finland and her connection to the Olkiluoto Power Station. They discuss Finland's approach to nuclear power, including their focus on managing nuclear waste with a whole-of-...

Drop us a note In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss the importance of safety culture for women's personal protective equipment (PPE) in the workplace.    Gaye shares her experience of encountering ill-fitting and uncomfortable PPE during her consulting career, which led her to advocate for better-fitting PPE for women. She explains the...

Drop us a note In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss whether the WHS legislation and Risk Management Standards have hindered critical thinking in organisations.    They observe that some organisations have become stagnant and resistant to change, relying on third-party consultants to handle risk management instead of a...

Drop us a note In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss Safety Integrity Level (SIL) allocation and its implications under WHS legislation.  They discuss their long history of working with IEC /AS 61508 and that their biggest caution is around Part 5 because it uses target levels of risk and safety as the basis for the SI...

Drop us a note In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss the journey to WHS (Work Health and Safety) criminalisation and the evolution of the risk management profession over the past few decades.   Richard discusses his working history and experience watching the application of risk management change from the 1980s to 2010...

Drop us a note In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss their work as change agents for safety culture. They reflect on feedback after a recent presentation at the Australasian Marine Pilots Institute (AMPI) Conference, and how they reflected their importance in reminding industry of how to review safety. They discuss tha...

Drop us a note In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss project governance due diligence.  They highlight their unique approach that has incorporated a military intelligence approach and the importance of focusing on critical success outcomes and vulnerabilities rather than threats. The also emphasise the need for early i...

Drop us a note In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss the continuing controversy surrounding ALARP (As Low As Reasonably Practicable) and SFAIRP (So Far As Is Reasonably Practicable) and explain why they believe there is a difference between the two concepts.  They also recap (further to E1 S2) their experience at a recent VCAT case in Victori...

Drop us a note In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance podcast, due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss a recent case they were involved in as expert witnesses at the VCAT Tribunal. The case involved a young couple who wanted to build two townhouses on a property that was within a major hazard facility contour line. The local council rejected their planning per...

Drop us a note In this final episode of Season 1 of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Gaye Francis & Richard Robinson discuss one of the topics they are asked most: ISO 31000, the Risk Management Standard.    They outline the consequences of ISO 31000 that it does not meet the requirements of the WHS Legislation/OHS Act in Australia & New Zealand, that organisations...

Drop us a note In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Gaye Francis & Richard Robinson discuss the contest of ideas and if Australia has gone backwards in embracing SFAIRP. They also observe how many Australian Standards contradict WHS legislation/OHS Act and how Standards appear to be stopping people and organisations demonstrating SFAIRP.   For more inform...

Drop us a note In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Gaye Francis and Richard Robinson discuss the current New Zealand trial on the White Island Volcanic Eruption. The White Island volcano erupted on 9 December, 2019 resulting in 22 deaths. Charges were brought against various parties involved alleging breaches in New Zealand's workplace health and safety...

Drop us a note In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Gaye Francis and Richard Robinson discuss the Rail National Safety law and the confusion with how it stands in relation to WHS legislation, and why if you satisfy the requirements of the WHS legislation, you have, in turn, satisfied the requirements of the Rail Safety National law.  You can find the podcast...

Drop us a note In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Gaye Francis and Richard Robinson discuss the language of risk, why confusion reigns in organisations, and why they avoid using the term of risk altogether. You can find the podcast on all major platforms including Apple, Spotify, Amazon and Google. Please subscribe so you don't miss an episode and give...

Drop us a note In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Gaye Francis and Richard Robinson discuss land use planning and major hazards. They share some work they’ve been involved with and how design engineered controls are very reliable, and there are precautions and mitigations that responsible parties can put in place to protect themselves against major hazards...

Drop us a note In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Gaye Francis and Richard Robinson discuss regulations and licence to trade, the difference between the two and some of the confusion and difficulties it's causing for organisations, especially in major hazards. In their chat, they highlight the need for organisation to have their legislative requirement...

Drop us a note In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Gaye Francis and Richard Robinson discuss the role of Standards, why it's important to understand the different types of Standards, the information they contain, and why some Standards may not satisfy your legal obligations under the OHS/WHS legislation.  You can find the podcast on all major platforms...

Drop us a note In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineers Gaye Francis and Richard Robinson discuss the role of risk managers and who the function of risk actually belongs to within an organisation. And why having a really good risk advisor (internal or external) on your project makes a huge difference. You can find the podcast on all major platforms including Appl...

Drop us a note In this episode of the podcast Risk! Engineers talk Governance, due diligence engineers Gaye Francis and Richard Robinson discuss the difference between SFAIRP & ALARP. ALARP versus SFAIRP is still creating a lot of confusion within the risk industry and organisations, this discussion clarifies the difference and why organisations must work towards SFAIRP. ...the Act actually go...

Drop us a note In this special introduction episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, meet your hosts Gaye Francis and Richard Robinson who outline their due diligence engineering experience and why they are starting the podcast . You can find out more about Richard & Gaye's due diligence and SFAIRP work at www.r2a.com.au. Gaye is also founder & managing director of Apto PPE Women&a...