Working in the field of HSE (health, safety, and environment) introduced me, as a technical and proposal writer, to the world of oil and gas and other potentially hazardous industries. I still hold a penchant for the HSE field, and I found interesting the COVID-19 bowtie diagram from the AIChE (American Institute of Chemical Engineers).
Bowtie diagrams are a tool to manage risk. A company’s safety team begins in the middle of the diagram, identifying the Risk Source (e.g., COVID-19) and the Event (e.g., a worker contracts coronavirus). Then, on the left side, the team identifies controls – ways to prevent the risk – and, on the right side ways to mitigate (reduce) the damage if the control measures fail and the hazard/risk happens.
Based on a bowtie diagram, companies can identify strengths and weaknesses in their safety systems, develop roles and responsibilities, establish policies and procedures, and other technical documentation.
The company’s safety team regularly reviews the bowtie diagrams, along with resulting documentation, and makes needed updates as conditions and standards dictate.