Fundamentals of Risk Management

Control of selected hazard risks 
279
to the adequacy of fire exits and the provision of emergency evacuation signs.
Also, buildings should be of proper construction and fire escape routes should be 
adequately protected, possibly by the use of sprinklers if necessary.
Although the safety of people is the most important consideration in relation to 
fire safety, organizations should also evaluate the potential for the disruption that 
could result. The application of loss-control techniques to fire prevention is very well 
established. Adequate attention should be paid to loss prevention, damage limitation 
and cost containment.
Property loss prevention involves the application of preventive controls to the 
avoidance of a fire. These preventive controls will include maintenance of the electrical 
installations, the avoidance of sources of ignition and the correct storage of flam-
mable and combustible materials. Corrective controls will include the installation of 
sprinkler systems and the provision of fire separation arrangements.
The use of directive controls will reduce the impact of a fire and the amount of 
damage that the fire causes. Directive controls include directions and information
for employees on actions to be taken in the event of a fire. These will include early 
notification to the fire authorities, as well as the use of the portable fire extinguishers 
by employees if this can be done safely. Finally, detective controls include the
provision of fire and heat detectors as well as routine patrols by fire and security
officers to detect any fire at an early stage.
IT security
One of the key dependencies for most organizations is the information technology 
(IT) infrastructure. The failure of a computer system can be a very disruptive event 
for many organizations. One of the best-established examples of disaster recovery 
planning (DRP) is in relation to the IT infrastructure.
Loss of computer data can be very serious for an organization, and it is more 
likely to be associated with hardware problems than other issues such as software 
problems, electrical failure or human error. The consequences of IT failure can include:
●
●
loss of business or customers;
●
●
loss of credibility or goodwill;
●
●
cash flow problems;
●
●
reduced quality of service;
●
●
inability to pay staff;
●
●
backlog of work or loss of production;
●
●
loss of data;
●
●
financial loss;
●
●
loss of customer account information;
●
●
loss of financial controls.
With increasing dependency on computer systems, it is important for organizations 
to identify the losses that could occur and take actions to manage the associated 
risks. It is generally considered that the main causes of loss associated with IT
systems are as follows:

---