Part A - Operations Risk Management and Resilience (5 CFU - 4 hours/week)

This course module aims at providing students with fundamental criteria, processes and methods to manage operational risks and achieve operational resilience in uncertain business contexts. The students will learn and apply different risk modelling and analysis techniques, qualitative and quantitative, in relation to specific application contexts. A clear understanding of the peculiarities and relevance of technological, natural, organisational, operational and systemic risks is achieved through discussion of case studies that will cover different industries (e.g. Oil&Gas and energy, manufacturing, transport and logistics).

Part B - Safety Engineering and Management (5 CFU - 4 hours/week)

This course module aims at giving the student the opportunity to actively obtain state-of-the-art knowledge about Safety Engineering of complex socio-technical systems and Occupational Health & Safety Management in modern workplaces. Particular emphasis is given to the analysis and management of human and organisational risk factors (H&OF). A student that has passed the course shall have learned: principles, processes and methods for System Safety Engineering and how to integrate the analysis of H&OF; how to use ergonomics principles for the design and management of safer industrial systems and workplaces; how to involve workers in continuous safety improvement programmes and promote safe behaviours.

Part A - Operations Risk Management and Resilience (5 CFU - 4 hours/week)

A student that has successfully attended the module:

- Will demonstrate the ability of classifying and modelling different risk sources in operations and supply chains, eventually selecting sound mitigation strategies (Knowledge and understanding);

- Will be able to select and apply proper qualitative and quantitative risk assessment methods (Applying Knowledge and understanding);

- Will be able to identify and critically discuss emerging relevant ORM&R challenges, leveraging on state-of-the art knowledge (Making Judgements and Learning skills), and editing a final report on the subject matters (Communication).

Part B - Safety Engineering and Management (5 CFU - 4 hours/week)

A student that has successfully attended the module:

- Will demonstrate the ability of modelling and analysing technical and organisational hazards in complex socio-technical systems, eventually discussing alternative mitigation options (Knowledge and understanding);

- Will be able to select and apply proper qualitative and quantitative risk analysis and assessment methods (Applying Knowledge and understanding);

- Will be able to identify and critically discuss emerging relevant challenges to the safety of complex socio-technical systems, leveraging on state-of-the art knowledge (Making Judgements and Learning skills), and editing a final report on the subject matters (Communication).

Part A - Operations Risk Management and Resilience (5 CFU - 4 hours/week)

- Introduction to Operations Risk Management. Operations strategy and Operations Risk Management (ORM). Classifications of operational risks. Integration of Operations Risk Management and Enterprise Risk Management. The Risk management Process (ISO31000). Risk homeostasis.

- Quantitative and Qualitative Risk Assessment. Anatomy of risk (the risk concept and fundamental definitions). Reference Risk Identification and Assessment Methods (ISO31010). Monte Carlo Method for risk analysis.

- Supply Chain Risk Management. Vulnerabilities of global Supply Chains. Operational and disruption risks in Supply Chains. Supply and Supplier Risk Management: Business Impact Analysis of supplier disruptions; FMECA-based supplier assessment; risk-based supplier segmentation. Risk mitigation strategies and the role of digital technologies. Exercises and discussion of cases.

- Operational Resilience. Core resilience functions and resilience capabilities. Business continuity Management. The influence of Operations strategies and Supply Chain complexity on resilience. Business game and discussion of cases.

Part B - Safety Engineering and Management (5 CFU - 4 hours/week)

- System Safety Engineering. Risk definition, modelling and reporting; System Safety Engineering process and methods: Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), Event Tree Analysis (ETA), Failure Mode Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA), Hazard and Operability Study (HAZOP). Probabilistic Risk Analysis (PRA) exercise.

- Human and Organisational risk factors. Risk management of organisational accidents (the Reason’s model); Human error definition and classifications; Human Reliability Analysis Techniques (THERP, HEART, CREAM); Case studies.

- Risk Management of interdependent systems. Characteristics of networked critical infrastructure. Types of interdependencies. Modelling tools for vulnerability and interdependency analysis.

- Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) Management. World Class Manufacturing (WCM) and modern approaches to safety excellence. OHS costs. Occupational Risk Assessment: matrix (MIL STD 882c) and parametric (EN ISO 12100) methods. The Behaviour-based safety process. Exercise: Accident Analysis with the TRIPOD-Beta method.

The course is organised into lectures, discussion of case studies, in-class exercises, and seminars from managers.

Major Assignment: Groups of students (max 3 students/group) will be engaged in actively applying risk management principles, models and methods by means of a major assignment. The assignment may take the form of a state-of-the-art review paper, or an ex-post systematic analysis of an industrial accident/disruption by making use of the methods and protocols presented in class. The assignment is intended to evaluate the student’s ability of critically analysing a novel problem and discuss possible alternative solutions, by integrating different perspectives and contributions emerging in the team.

During classes some minor assignments will be suggested, to be completed on a voluntary basis.

Oral Exam (Part A only): is intended to evaluate the student’s ability of selecting, justifying and applying the relevant knowledge to manage different sources of uncertainties in modern oprations.

Written test (Part B only): focuses on analytical problems in risk analysis and OHS, aiming at evaluating the student’s ability of using proper methods and correctly interpreting the corresponding results.

Grading / Student evaluation based on course assignments:

Part A: Major assignment = 50%; Oral exam = 50%. Minor assignments may award the student with max 1/30 point each.

Part B: Major assignment = 50%; Written test = 50%. Minor assignments may award the student with max 1/30 point each.