Over the past few years we have seen a move towards risk based quality systems with risk being emphasised much more in the new Guidelines for Good Distribution Practices. But what does this mean to you and how do you put it into practice?
The thing with risk management is that we do it all the time, without consciously thinking about it, from the time we get up to the time we go to bed. We make decisions based on a weighing up of the harm we could face if we did certain things. It is the same for business. Often, when talking to clients, they have already put procedures in place or do things in a certain way because they have already considered the risks – they do it without conscious thought and mitigate the risk automatically. Occasionally, though, we see that one risk is mitigated but another caused mainly because there is no formal, written, risk management system in place.
A robust risk management system looks at all aspects of the business in terms of consistency of supply, safety of product and good Customer Service. It will help to mitigate or plan for known possible harms in the future and help to put the best actions in place should a new issue arise. Risk Management is a live procedure, to be reviewed and updated regularly.
A well-managed risk assessment process could save your business in time and costs associated with unplanned corrective actions and, more importantly, a less than perfect product reaching the market. Can you afford not to do it?
PCL cover risk management within many of our training courses, for further details please contact us on +44(0) 1252 302 342