risk based decision making Archives

Mining Activities Gamification

In a Mining Activities Gamification initiative in cooperation with Microsoft, Codelco, the world’s biggest copper producer, announced a contest. The objective is to see who can design the best Chuquicamata underground mine using Minecraft. Codelco’s chairman said the event could expose “thousands of children and young Chileans” to the mining industry. “We need to engage new generations in the importance of the mining industry in the country’s development”. These were the words of Microsoft Chile general manager. Mining Activities Gamification is…

Megaprojects, Psychology and Risk Management

Megaprojects, Psychology and Risk Management Often, projects are led by planners and managers who keep changing throughout the long project cycles that apply to megaprojects, have little knowledge of risk management and risk based decision making leaving leadership weak and promoters overexposed. There are numerous biases that can interfere with good mega-projects management. “Uniqueness bias” can be defined as the tendency of planners and managers to see their projects as singular. This particular bias stems from the fact that new projects often…

Social Acceptability criteria, winning-back public trust require drastic overhaul of risk assessments common practice

Social Acceptability criteria, winning-back public trust require drastic overhaul of risk assessments common practice Riskope was present at the MineWaste2013 Conference in Banff (Nov. 3-6, 2013). Riskope presented a paper (Factual and Foreseeable Reliability of Tailings Dams and Nuclear Reactors -a Societal Acceptability Perspective). The paper compares “historic” rate of failure (major accidents only) of tailings dams and nuclear reactors world-wide to well known, previously published technical and societal acceptability criteria. We quantitatively compared the risks (focusing on casualties consequences…

Governments are pulling on Green Energy Support

Thanks to the recession, it appears that the wonderful “green world” of incentives is vanishing. Indeed, this occurs to many other government-created artificial heavens. The reason is, of course, the Recession. The one that was declared finished by many politicians a while ago, but mind you, not by us! Spanish and Germans governments are indeed withdrawing their “green” incentives, together with the French. British might have to do it as well. Because European austerity is rolling back subsidies for renewable energy…