Business

Business risk

management

Getting health and safety

firmly on the agenda

IOSH publishes a range of free

technical guidance. Our

guidance literature is designed

to support and inform

members and motivate and

influence health and safety

stakeholders.

Business risk management –

getting health and safety firmly on

the agenda

Increasingly, organisations are taking a

holistic approach to managing risk and

this represents both a challenge and an

opportunity for health and safety

professionals. If you’re unfamiliar with

the principles and language of business

risk management (BRM), you may be

marginalised and left behind. If you

understand and apply its principles – and

can communicate with other business

disciplines – you have the opportunity to

be more effective. Well-informed health

and safety professionals are more able to

make the case for considering health

and safety risks within the wider context

of business risk.

This document aims to help health and

safety professionals to understand the

concept of BRM and where managing

health and safety risks sits within the

business risk framework. It also

encourages practitioners to use this

knowledge to influence the decision

making process.

If you have any comments or questions

about this guide please contact Research

and Information Services at IOSH:

- t +44 (0)116 257 3100

- researchandinformation@iosh.co.uk

PDF versions of this and other guides

are available at www.iosh.co.uk/

freeguides.

Our materials are reviewed at least

once every three years. This document

was last reviewed and revised in

March 2014.

1 Overview

Business risk management (BRM) is a

strategic process which helps and

supports decision making at both

strategic and operational levels in an

organisation. Improved understanding

and management of all risks likely to

affect the organisation will lead to

better performance and competitive

advantage, especially when hazards

and threats are identified, and the risks

assessed and controlled, in the same

way...