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Winner of risk management award announced .

Paul Skivington, a Director of Alexander Forbes Risk Engineering has won the Guardian National risk management award. Skivington, judged to have made the most significant contribution to risk management during the past year, received R25 000 towards the cost of attending an approved international risk management conference and a trophy. He received the award for risk management projects undertaken on behalf of AECI and the Barlow Group.

The AECI project involved assessing risk resulting from possible exposure of residents to ground water contamination in the past and proposing interventions based on the risk assessment result. The project was initiated by AECI in response to concerns they had regarding the possible effects of contamination emanating from their Umbogintwini site. It was feared that the contamination could have affected local ground water that had been a source of drinking water for informal settlements in the area.

A crucial element of the work undertaken by Skivington's team was research into suitable methodologies. This was vital as a human health risk assessment had never before been conducted on such a large scale in South Africa. The project was subject to both local and international reviews.

The second project involved developing a methodology for the Barlow Group to extend the group's risk profile to include business and economic risks. The project resulted from management's acknowledgement that modern risk management philosophy has stretched the definition of risk to include a much wider range of exposures than the traditional physical exposure. After considerable research, an approach was presented to the Barlow Group and Skivington and his team were appointed to conduct the exercise across the entire group, both locally and internationally.

The information will help shape the strategic approach to risk management in the Barlow Group for the foreseeable future. It is also expected to assist in lowering the overall cost of risk for the group by optimising risk management efforts through a better understanding of the exposures faced.

The competition is organised annually by Guardian National in association with the South African Risk and Insurance Management Association (SARIMA) and the Society of Risk Managers South Africa (SRM).

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