Newsletters

Organizational Hazards In this newsletter we will look at a different kind of hazard. Not a physical hazard such as a toxic chemical or flammable gas which are sources for physical harm. Instead, we will look at organizational hazards that are sources of harm to an organization's ability to achieve overall mission success.	One Way Street It has been said that compliance is a one way street which means that it only gets larger; never smaller.	The Compliance Dance The compliance dance is not really anything new. It is the same dance that organizations have applied for years to their value chain and now need to apply to their compliance chain.
Out of Control Many organizations today are struggling to carry the weight of increasing and often competing compliance demands which is further exasperated by measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.	Continuous Learning To improve requires learning and this applies to improving compliance.	Cybersecurity Failure Risks that really matter are the ones connected to what we value; the things we need to protect and achieve. Those are the ones we need to pay attention to and there are plenty of "bad actors" who are paying attention and want the things that we value.
Two Kinds of Compliance Resiliency Compliance resiliency is essential for organizations to sustain compliance outcomes which cover a spectrum from prescriptive to outcome-based obligations. For organizations to be effective at meeting all their obligations they will need to ensure that compliance supports two kinds of resiliency.	Mission Report: 3 Years Later Over 3 years ago we launched Lean Compliance in response to the lack of sustainable compliance effectiveness across mostly ever sector as organizations struggled under the weight primarily of existing and changing prescriptive regulations and standards.	Why Assessment's Don't Work Assessments are the fuel that power both step-wise and continuous improvement engines and this is no different when it comes to risk & compliance programs. Assessments help to identify the gap between where you are now compared to where you intend or need to be. The problem is that not all assessments are the same, and many do not assess the things that really matter.
From Crisis to Recovery We had a great turn out for our Business Recovery work shop this last week conducted in collaboration with Nimonik, and thought we would share it now with you.	Role of the Compliance Officer The role of the compliance officer is changing.	Preparing for Post COVID-19 As the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions begin all around the world, companies are starting to return to a new normal for their business.
Agile Compliance Organizations of all shapes and sizes utilize systems to ensure that the right work gets done at the right time in the right way. In fact many will have a system of systems to manage them all.	Better Compliance Done A Better Way In order to better protect public and environmental safety, stakeholder value, reputation, quality, and other value outcomes, a sea-change is happening to the risk and compliance landscape.	What is Essential These days the topic of what is essential is on the minds of many individuals, organizations, and governments particularly with respect to navigating the COVID-19 pandemic.
Virtual Classroom - Update Whether you need a refresher or ready to learn your next set of skills you can achieve both through our on-line learning platform.	The Proactive Certainty Challenge Knowing how to manage in the presence of uncertainty is a skill that is in short supply, but also something you can learn.	The Four Cornerstones of Resilience Erik Hollnagel writes in the book Resilience Engineering (2009) that companies are resilient if: they are able to adjust their functioning prior to, during, or following events to ensure continuation of operations under both expected and unexpected conditions.
Information Overload If you are like me you spend a good portion of your day scouring the news, data feeds, and other sources trying to process what is happening concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. Among other things many are searching for signs of when things might return to normal, although I suspect that they will not, at least not completely.	Maintaining Save Operations during the COVID-19 Pandemic What could or should organizations do to maintain safe operations of their facility or plant during possible loss of safety-critical roles or tasks resulting from self-isolation or policy changes such as travel bans, meeting cancellations, and remote work. What if safety-critical tasks could not be completed? What if critical maintenance was delayed? What if active process changes (MOCs) could not be completed in a timely manner?	Antifragile – the solution to aleatory uncertainty Nassim Nicholas Taleb, in his book "Antifrigile" proposes a solution for companies who are faced with the aleatory dragon. The solution is not robustness or resiliency but instead is something that is the opposite to fragility; something that gains from disorder.
Press Release Toronto - Feb 26, 2020 Lean Compliance and Elemental Compliance announce their offering of a 2-Day Pipeline SMS Startup Workshop for companies who intend to implement API RP 1173 and see safety improvements this year.	A Safety Management System for Everyone While a SMS is considered an essential part of an effective safety program it remains for many companies (usually smaller ones) a luxury they believe they cannot afford. However, smaller companies may in fact be in a better position to adopt a SMS with less effort and lower costs by using different practices than larger organizations.	Seeking the Wrong Goal When it comes to systems the goals we choose greatly affect the outcomes that are obtained. This is particularly true when it comes to the goals of feedback processes those used for correcting or reinforcing behaviors. When these goals are ill defined, the system will faithfully continue to produce a result, however, it may not be the one intended or wanted.
Total Safety Management When it comes to safety efforts the evolution towards using safety management systems (SMS) has become standard practice for some industries and now a matter of priority for others. However, building on the success of TQM, the concept of Total Safety Management (TSM) is being considered. A methodology for companies to use to improve their safety outcomes through the application of systematic and proactive approaches.	The Dilution of Compliance Dilution can be defined as "the process or action of making something less strong or valuable." Over the years I have experienced this effect at work when it comes to compliance systems in support of quality, safety, environmental, and regulatory objectives.	The way compliance is implemented is getting in the way of effectiveness When it comes to implementing compliance systems many take a phased: component first-approach. This comes from years of prescriptive obligations and a focus on implementing "shall statements" in order to pass certifications and audits. However, to support performance and outcome-based obligations another approach is needed. That's why we recommend a phased: system-first approach based on the Lean Startup Model by Eric Ries. This approach provides the means for organizations to achieve an operational compliance system faster and get results sooner.
Towards a System Kaizen LEAN uses the Japanese word KAIZEN (change for the better) to communicate its intent with respect to continuous improvement. KAIZEN is a form of intervention and has proven to work well at the PROCESS level. However, when it comes to changing management SYSTEMS it has not had the impact that many had hoped it would. While removing waste is of some benefit it does not get to the root cause which has more to do with lack of effectiveness than efficiency.	Compliance Readiness What is your state of compliance readiness? Are your systems operational? Are you prepared and ready for action? Learn how operational excellence can improve your state of compliance readiness in our latest newsletter.	Improving the Probability of Mission Success To help you improve the probability of mission success this year we have compiled a selection of recent posts on the topic of uncertainty and risk. We hope that these may stimulate your thinking as you consider your goals and objectives for the upcoming year.
The Regulatory Tsunami In recent years many in the compliance industry have observed a shift in regulation from prescriptive to performance and outcome-based designs. What we are seeing is only the beginning of a trickle down effect emerging from regulatory reform over the last few decades across the world and across regulatory jurisdictions.	Rasmussen's Risk Management Framework Rasmussen's Risk Management Framework (also known as Rasmussen's ladder) provides useful insights when it comes to understanding risk across social-technical boundaries to achieve safety objectives along with other risk objectives. Rasmussen's originally developed his approach as part of a proactive risk management strategy, however, its primary application has been as an accident analysis tool (ACCIMAPS) for complex socio-technical systems.	System Dynamics The term "System Dynamics" was coined by Jay Forester at MIT in 1961. The aim was to explore dynamic responses to changes made either within or outside of a system to explain the past and predict the future. This makes System Dynamics useful for better understanding and improving sociology-technical problems in the domain of quality, safety, environmental, and regulatory programs and systems.
Motivations Decision makers today are often faced with making decisions that cross multiple dimensions and where uncertainty and risk are present. One of the biggest decisions they make involves the level of commitment to managed quality, safety, environmental or regulatory programs all of which involve contending with uncertainty and risk.	Systems Thinking In practice, optimization mostly happens at the nodes and not the dependencies. It is this lack of systems attention that contributes to poor performance.	Risk Management Has Change Project Success in the Presence of Uncertainty
Top 5 Challenges Facing Pipeline Operators Adopting SMS This week's newsletter introduces our partnership with Elemental Compliance.	Project Risk This newsletter explores the topic of uncertainty in achieving project success.	Systems Thinking and Risk Planning Are Not Optional This week's newsletter takes a look at addressing systemic risk and risk planning. Both are needed and both are not optional.
Press Release Lean Compliance and Elemental Compliance Announce Strategic Alliance to Deliver Effective Pipeline Safety Management Programs to US and Canadian Markets.	Capabilities, Capacity, and Performance This week's newsletter unpacks three factors that impact effective compliance: capabilities, capacity, and performance.	Effective Compliance This week's newsletter unpacks two areas that impact effective compliance: worker performance and regulatory designs.
Road to Improvement In recent years, standards and regulations have specified the need for companies to adopt improvement models or frameworks for their risk and compliance programs. The need for maturing systems is not new although calling it out as a requirement is.	Ineffective Controls Auditing, and its close cousin “inspection” are the primary controls used by many compliance functions today. However, are they effective at helping to meet obligations?	Proactive Forces Compared with reactive forces which often result in a sunk cost, proactive behaviors and strategies create benefits that accrue over time. Companies who use proactive strategies are able to reduce their level of risk, resulting in fewer non-conformance, freeing up even more time for proactive measures.
A New Currency For Compliance This week's newsletter is about a new currency for compliance. It is not what you think.	Safety is Changing – Are you ready? This weeks' newsletter is about how safety is changing.	Can Digital Transformation Save Compliance? This week's newsletter is all about digital transformation
Culture Transformation This week's newsletter focuses on culture; difficult to define and hard to measure, but without the right one, a company cannot succeed.	LEAN - Lost in Translation This week's topic is all about LEAN and how to apply it to processes where improvement is measured by the reduction of risk rather than the reduction in cycle time.