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Risk in Engineering

 

Risk as the chance of injury, damage, or loss.

Therefore, to put oneself "at risk" means to participate either voluntarily or involuntarily in an activity or activities that could lead to injury, damage, or loss.

 

Risk can be expressed in many ways, so long as it combines a hazard with a likelihood.

The concept of risk exists in aviation, finance, human health, and many other areas.

One can use the methods of science, engineering, and math in order to define risks.

 

Voluntary risks are those associated with activities that we decide to undertake

 

Examples of voluntary risks: Driving a car, riding a motorcycle, smoking cigarettes, etc.

 

Involuntary risks are those associated with activities that happen to us without our prior consent or knowledge.

 

Examples of involuntary risks: Acts of nature such as being struck by lightning, fires, floods, tornados, and exposure to environmental contaminants.

 

Risk Assessment

 

Risk assessment is the process of analyzing potential losses from a given hazard using a combination of known information about the situation, knowledge about the underlying process, and judgment about the information that is not well known. Risk assessment can be described in three steps:

 

Formulate the problem

Perform risk analysis

Define the options

 

Risk Management

 

Risk management is the process of combining a risk assessment with decisions on how to address that risk.

Risk management is part of a larger decision process that considers the technical and social aspects of the risk situation. Risk management can be described in three steps:

 

Determine the best solutions and options

Implement decisions

Evaluate actions