A needs assesment [sic] of risk control services for Rotterdam International Safety Center, The Netherlands

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine major loss exposures, control technologies, and future risk control expectations of Rotterdam International Safety Center’s (RISC) target market clients in Belgium and The Netherlands. The objectives of this study were to (1) establish a knowledge base of target market loss exposures, (2) identify Risk Control technologies used to reduce or eliminated target market accidental losses and (3) identify target market Risk Control expectations as it pertains to the development of control technologies. RISC offers two basic types of services: Fire fighting and emergency response training. The markets for these services in Belgium and The Netherlands are relatively stable as far as corporate growth is concerned. Because of this, the only way for RISC to accomplish growth is by capturing greater market share. RISC could gain a significant advantage by combining its already successful training programs with integrated Risk Control services. A literature review was conducted in order to analyze past and current Risk Control trends. The study also included interviews of Safety and Health/Risk Control professionals from six high-risk organizations in Belgium and The Netherlands. The interviews and literature review established a common trend among these organizations. Production downtime due to technical and operational errors was the leading loss exposure overall. Engineering controls such as Job/Process Hazard Analysis and Process Safety Management were the leading technologies used to control these losses. Future expectations for the control of production downtime centered on the development and implementation of management technologies such as Risk Management Information Systems.