"Operational Risk Management" offers peace of mind to business and government leaders who want their organizations to be ready for any contingency, no matter how extreme. This invaluable book is designed to be used as both a preparatory resource for when times are good and an emergency reference when times are bad. Author Mark Abkowitz gets managers up to speed on what they should be prepared to deal with and offers real solutions for putting those business continuity plans in place. From natural and man-made disasters to terrorist attacks, Operational Risk Management is destined to become every risk manager's ultimate weapon to help their organization survive - no matter what. Using fascinating case studies, this timely book examines risk from worldwide disasters and their underlying causes from three perspectives: manmade accidents, terrorist acts, and natural disasters.The book: examines whether each event could have been prevented; shows how these casualty events share many risk factors in common, regardless of whether their occurrence is an act of nature, accidental, or intentional; uses historical events to demonstrate how operational risk management practices (or lack of) influence event likelihood and outcomes across all hazard domains; and discusses lessons learned that risk managers can use to ensure they have strong plans in place.
Ch. 1 Why Do Disasters Happen? 1
Pt. 1 Man-Made Accidents 9
Ch. 2 Hyatt Regency Walkway Collapse 11
Ch. 3 Nightmare in Bhopal 23
Ch. 4 Meltdown at Chernobyl 36
Ch. 5 Exxon Valdez 48
Ch. 6 Challenger and Columbia: Deja Vu 64
Pt. 2 Terrorist Acts 83
Ch. 7 Oklahoma City Bombing 85
Ch. 8 Aum Shinrikyo: Terror in Japan 97
Ch. 9 Attack on the USS Cole 113
Ch. 10 September 11: The World Trade Center 126
Ch. 11 London Transit Bombings 148
Pt. 3 Natural Disasters 165
Ch. 12 Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald 167
Ch. 13 Eruption of Mount St. Helens 179
Ch. 14 South Canyon Fire 191
Ch. 15 Sumatra-Andaman Tsunami 203
Ch. 16 Hurricane Katrina 213
Pt. 4 Success Stories 235
Ch. 17 United Airlines Flight 232 237
Ch. 18 Alaska Pipeline and Denali Quake 247
Ch. 19 Lessons Learned 258
Epilogue: Where Do We Go From Here? 269
Index