risk
Real Risk and Perceived Risk
Saturday, September 27th, 2008What is the difference, and does it matter?
Whether implementing a new technology or attempting to solve a problem we currently face in the world or even just making mundate decisions about our daily activities, we continually make judgements about the risks we face. With our liminted resources, time, and skill we choose to limit [...]
Assigning a Value to Life
Monday, May 19th, 2008Why considering a monetary value of life is not only acceptable, but morally necessary
Typically, the first time we consider someone placing a monetary value on protecting a life, the risk of death, or other similar circumstances, we cringe. The mere mention of life in the context of money seems cruel and far too calculating. Rightly, [...]
The Fallacy of Human Error
Monday, May 5th, 2008Why pilots (and humans in general) get a bad rap during accident investigations.
In my earlier article on root cause analysis, I mentioned that every cause present in a given situation can be considered equally responsible for the occurrence of the failure in question. Many times, however, investigations end up ascribing the fault of the entire [...]
The Usefulness of Risk Assessment
Tuesday, April 15th, 2008What is Risk Assessment; how do we already use it; and how do we misuse it?
If our goal is to achieve progress, one of the ways we can determine that progress has been made is by a reduction in the quantity and severity of problems we face. Another way, would be to determine the quantity [...]
Root Cause Analysis and True Solutions
Saturday, April 12th, 2008In Search of The Best Answer, Not a Better Answer
Whenever there is a major man-made disaster or some kind of accident, responsible officials usually convene a team that conducts an investigation. The results of that investigation will usually identify a “root cause” and several “contributing causes”. If it was a plane crash, the team will [...]