A risk specialist analyzes and quantifies risks in various fields, including finance, engineering, and transportation. They recommend strategies to mitigate risks, such as expanding insurance coverage or instituting safety training. The assessment involves collecting historical and psychometric data and calculating mathematical probabilities.
A risk specialist usually assesses the risk in a specific effort with the goal of mitigating it. He or she can analyze statistical data, calculate the odds of potential risk factors, or measure the return on investment that risk mitigation strategies have produced. Those working in this area can also recommend procedures for avoiding risk through transfer to another party or building a risk mitigation plan for a company or enterprise. Both intangible and tangible risks can be managed by a person working in this field. Jobs involving risk mitigation span many areas, including finance, engineering and transportation.
Minimizing risk by performing a detailed analysis is a common task for a risk specialist. This analysis usually involves tabulating, classifying and quantifying various aspects of a company or enterprise. For example, if a company is investigating the expansion of production facilities in another country, a risk specialist may be tasked with calculating the generally expected risks of such an undertaking, in addition to estimating the likelihood of less frequent events that could be catastrophic, if they must occur. Risk factors can arise from human error or as a result of underlying weaknesses inherent in a system.
A risk specialist might analyze mechanical systems or, more often, the interface between human activity and some form of technology. For example, an automobile is a mechanical device that presents two types of hazards: potential failures in materials and potential errors by human operators. A risk expert trying to evaluate these combined risks in a prototype automobile would likely evaluate both types of risk, as well as predicting how they might work together to produce a synergistic effect. Transportation systems often employ risk specialists in order to look for ways to reduce human-caused accidents and material and process failures.
Manipulating mathematical and statistical data is generally considered a crucial part of a risk specialist’s job. Once he or she quantifies the level of exposure to a risk, those risks can be improved by various means. Recommended strategies might include expanding insurance coverage, increasing redundancies in processing systems, or instituting safety training for personnel. Sometimes the risk specialist may recommend transferring risks to another party.
Most assessments of this type involve the interactions of people and processes or people and machines. As a result, risk reduction strategies often involve collecting historical and psychometric data, as well as calculating mathematical probabilities. The assessment of psychological factors can also be used by a risk specialist, as in cases of speculation in financial systems where a large number of participants may not accurately measure the risk factors. Some risk reduction experts work to develop mathematical formulas that attempt to assess the risks of different investment strategies.
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