There is no way to completely eliminate residual risk in your workplace. However, employers should strive to reduce it as much as possible to protect both employees and their company as a whole. Uncovering risks, implementing controls and assessing those controls can be tedious, but case management software streamlines this process to help you prevent incidents in your workplace.

What is Residual Risk?

Residual risk is the risk that remains after you've put controls in place. Either there are no control measures that could prevent it, or they would be disproportionate to the level or risk presented. There's no way to completely eliminate residual risk, but the goal is to make it as low as reasonably possible.

A reasonable amount of residual risk exists when the likelihood of the risk is low and if it did happen, the consequences wouldn't be very severe. For example, a paper cut as a result of using paper documents is an acceptable residual risk, but potential electrocution due to fraying electronics cords is not.

Trying to get rid of residual risk altogether for a certain hazard can actually cause other risks to pop up. Using the paper example, you could eliminate the risk of paper cuts by switching to digital documents for your work. But then, employees could strain their eyes or get headaches from reading on screens.

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Reducing Residual Risk with Case Management Software

In order to lower residual risk as much as possible, you need to choose the best control measures for what you're trying to accomplish. However, you probably won't get it right on the first try. Using case management software can speed up the risk assessment process to reduce residual risk faster and more effectively.

Capture Every Incident

In order to see if your control measures are working, you need a complete picture of incidents in your workplace. Letting some fall through the cracks could skew your data. As a result, you might waste money on unnecessary changes or think a control is working when it really isn't.

Case management software ensures you capture and track every incident. Choose a web-based, mobile friendly platform like Case IQ that lets employees submit tips from anywhere. Whether they're in the office, on a job site or on the floor, they can log incidents as soon as they happen so no details are left out.

Intake is also easy with case management software. Your intake mechanisms integrate with the platform so whenever someone submits a report, a case file is instantly created and populated with relevant information. This ensures that incidents are addressed quickly.

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Identify Trends and Gaps

Once you've implemented control measures, continue monitoring incidents to see how they're working. Has controlling one type of risk increased incidents of another type? Is one office or location not improving despite control measures?

Analyzing incident data can take hours, but case management software can identify trends and gaps in minutes. You can create comprehensive reports in the form of heat maps, charts and graphs that highlight areas of residual risk. With this information, you know where to focus resources and if you should try changing control measures as needed.

Collaborate to Get the Big Picture

Controlling risk is an enterprise-wide job. You need insights from employees in every department to get a complete picture of what potential risks exist in your workplace, how to control them and if those controls are working.

Case management software lets you collaborate across departments securely and efficiently. Team members can work on cases right in the file, storing all information in one place for faster resolutions. The secure platform and role-based access keep data safe as you work together to reduce risk in your workplace.

Need help staying organized as you work to reduce residual risk? Download our free risk assessment tools to identify and track risks in your workplace.