The Fine Line between Risk Management and Preventive Maintenance (Part 2 of 2)

*Make sure you read part 1 of this article first, scroll down for Part 1!

Now for the moment of truth, let me add to it a zest of Risk Management to the above example on car maintenance.

Risk identification process is represented by the definition of car maintenance. By not performing car maintenance we face risks concerning safety, drivability and longevity as stated above. Risks can also be found within the process of preventive maintenance itself. There’s potential in creating defects or human errors of various types while performing inspection and testing.

Determination of risk appetite is based on the amount of risk exposure, or potential adverse impact from an event, that we are willing to accept. In this case, we ask:

Can you afford to be late for work/meeting if your car happens to breakdown?
Can your wife take care of the family while you’re in the hospital recovering from an accident caused faulty ABS?

We can also classify our risk, in this case avoid performing car maintenance is a major financial and environmental (if you really care for the world!) risks.

Risk ranking is done based on priority followed by determination of actions which can be taken in order to mitigate and minimize the risks. For example, regular inspection of brake pad and testing of ABS are essential actions to be performed.

Lastly, we must maintain to monitor the performance and conditions of our car, with the help of auto-service checkup reports etc. as part of risk monitoring and reporting while maintaining continuous improvement in the process of preventive maintenance. So as the number of trips and distance traveled per trip per day increases, we must also make modifications to our maintenance plans and schedule. (I’m talking about the science of Planning and Scheduling!)

Enjoy reading,

Shivek Sachdev, Consultant
Thai Informatic Systems Co., Ltd. (TIS)