Written by
D. Klappenbach
J. Schipper
April 2016
Round
table
discussion
Implementing BowTie
centered Risk Analyses
Contents
1. Intro from the authors
2. Why BowTie Risk Analyses
3. Risk Management process
4. Common practices
5. Differences in practices
6. Benefit case
7. Conclusion
8. Find out more
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Implementing BowTie Risk Analyses
3.
4.
6.
7.
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10.
11.
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Chapter 1
Intro from the authors
Several major Utilities in Power Generation as well as Gas Grid
companies are implementing Risk based Asset Management
using BowTie analyses as risk assessment method.
Sometimes this is part of a larger change management process
were process safety is the main theme or the improvement of
Asset Management decision making in general.
Implementation of the BowTie processes and methods isn’t an
easy road. Four leading companies in our industry indicated a
need to share practices and discuss several implementation topics
and experiences.
This E-book describes the results of the discussion held in a
roundtable session in Denmark on April 19th 2016.
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Chapter 2
About BowTie analyses
BowTie is the tool for process safety and gives a visual view of
hazards and their barriers. It starts with the fundamental
assessment of what could go wrong and captures in a structured
way all barriers that are in place to prevent things going wrong.
Missing barriers will be evaluated leading to further risk mitigating
actions in terms of technical adjustments, process improvements
or change of behavior.
The starting point are often technical components, so the BowTie
methodology is a “bottom-up” process.
The BowTies also locks in
corporate memory by
including findings from
various processes.
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Chapter 3
Why BowTie analyses?
All participating companies in the round table session indicated
the same kind of drivers for implementing Risk Analyses:
•
•
•
•
Strong pressure on profitability
Growing concern regarding reliability and availability
Growing concern regarding safety
Need for building up compliancy evidence on several topics
including safety
These drivers lead to the need of a more structured and robust
decision-making process. Part of the participating companies
followed the ‘process safety’ method that is marketed by Scottish
Power, since this method already built evidence of success. This
method has BowTie analyses as the main risk analysis method.
Others developed own processes and methods - most of them
also applying BowTie as a central piece.
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Chapter 4
Risk Management process
Generic
BowTie
Local &
specific
BowTie
Risk and
Opportunity
Identification
Risk Review
From the discussion a common process could be derived:
•
•
•
•
Starting point is the creation of generic BowTie “templates” for
selected asset types. Some organizations bought these in
order to save time and effort, whereas other developed them
“from scratch”. The number of generic Bowties are in the range
of 60 to 120.
Then, these generic BowTies are tuned to the local and
specific situation e.g. at a power plant. For example, a generic
“turbine BowTie” leads to many specific BowTies.
Based on the specific BowTies, sessions are facilitated with
experts to challenge effectivity of barriers and to identify
potential missing barriers. This results in identification of
opportunities and improvements.
In recurring reviews, checks are done to verify that prioritized
improvements actually have been implemented. The feedback
from these reviews are used to adjust the generic BowTies to
complete the cycle.
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Chapter 5
Common practices
The participants recognized that since the management were
similar, this leads to similar practices in how the BowTie
methodology was applied at their different organizations.
Organizations:
- Small centralized teams to
facilitate BowTie analyses
and review at sites
- Accountability for risk
assessments and barrier
improvements stays with line
organization
- Risk defined from a holistic
perspective (financial,
quality, safety etc..)
Process:
- Well structured process
approach
- From generic to specific
- risk based approach
- Two step decision: risk
prioritization followed by
prioritization of
improvements project on
risk mitigation
Enabling Technology:
- Tool to build up BowTies
- Risk register
- Risk prioritization and
reporting functionality
- Portfolio register
- Portfolio prioritisation or
optimisation functionality
- Dashboard with consolidated
overview of risk position and
progress on improvement of
results
People & change:
- Dependancy on subject
matter expert judgement of
risks
- Effort on changing mindset
and culture to support
riskbased decision-making
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Chapter 6
Differences
Meanwhile, the organizations also had differing complexity and
set-up, which lead to some differences in how BowTies were
applied.
Organizations:
- Different conditions resulting
in different objectives
- Some bought “ready
solutions”, others developed
their own solution
- At operational level, some
applied primarily RCM rather
than BowTie as risk analysis
method
Process:
- Different definitions and
starting points used for
barriers, e.g. life cycle stages,
technology used,
procedures, behaviour,
expected & enhanced
barriers
Enabling Technology:
- Different tools in the
portfolio
optimisation/prioritisation
- Different focus and set-up of
dashboards for management
of risk and barriers
People & Change:
- Difficult to convince
management of added value
in the beginning
- Large multinationals have
bigger challenge in rolling
out BowTies and also
updating across several
languages
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Chapter 6
Benefit case
The participants could show substantial benefits from having
implemented BowTie processes.
Prioritization of scarce budgets and resources could now be made
on a more objective basis and more fact-driven. Where previously
only money and returns were quantified, now also abstract
dimensions such as the general condition of diverse types of
assets and the risk connected are quantified. That means that
project portfolios can be better managed based on underlying risk.
A specific benefit of the BowTie is the focus
on barriers, leading to quite concrete
measures that are connected to each other.
Some organisations could show sophisticated
dashboards for following the condition and
effectiveness of their barriers.
The methodology is intuitive and easy to
transfer from one site/region to another.
Resistance can even be turned around into
being a driver for further implementation:
many times engineers want to “find the flaw”
in a BowTie analysis presented by someone
else. In the discussion that arises, the
engineer’s effort to invalidate the BowTie by
point to what it’s lacking, actually only
strengthens it. Every flaw or missing piece is
added to the BowTie to make it more
complete.
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Chapter 7
Conclusion
Most agree that implementing BowTie into a tool that is a central
piece of strategic and tactical decision-making is an effort which is
not to be taken likely. The methodology needs to connect to other
risk tools and to portfolio- and strategy management processes.
As such, there are a lot of people involved across the organization
and many manhours have to be put in. But the “investment” pays
off, is the conclusion of the roundtable discussions. The
experience is that after an initial effort both strategic levels and
local site employees are thankful for the structure that is brought
to prioritiziation of measures.
In order words, difficult decisions and prioritizations that anyway
have to made by the organization, are now made on a “higher
level” of quality and transparency.
As always, the “devil is in the details”. The BowTie methodology is
“simple but not simplistic”. It’s an intuitive and very visual process,
so the theory is not difficult to grasp for most people. So, the value
is created more in the way the organization can adapt BowTie to
it’s own conditions and embed it in it’s existing culture and Asset
Management processes.
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Chapter 7 Find out more
This E-Book is the result of a round
table session facilitated by UMS Group.
In the more than 25 years that we are
in business we have found the round
table session a very pragmatic and
effective way to bring companies
together to discuss and share practices
on a variety of topics.
You can contact us at [email protected]
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