Operational Change Management Checklist for Non-traditional Learning
Resiliency and adaptability are necessities in today’s quickly evolving world. Organizations must, at times, quickly execute operational changes in order to respond to various types of changes or threats. For example, a nonprofit may need to temporarily shut down due to a security break, HVAC failure or by civil authority. Prolonged school closures could shift the need for an organization to increase daycare operations. An infectious disease outbreak could lead a school that normally provides hot meals or a food pantry to switch to online ordering and curbside pickup.
Change also brings with it a certain level of risk. This is because, with change, there is oftentimes disruption to established processes and procedures. Changes in staff levels, technical skill demands, facility characteristics and lack of clear communication are just some of the risk factors that need to be managed. It is important that your organization identify, assess, and adequately address risk factors associated with operational changes on a proactive basis before losses can occur.
When considering a shift in your operations, three steps can help you assess your facility’s preparedness to handle the new operations, identify your susceptibility to frequent or severe losses, and plan your hierarchy of controls
Risk Assessment
Change, especially sudden change, can bring about confusion and create situations where it is easy to miss important considerations. Beginning with a risk assessment presents a structured approach to addressing the risks associated with the changes. It is important that you include members from different departments of your internal team in risk assessment so that you benefit from other perspectives and experience/knowledge. This also helps to create “buy-in” from all staff and volunteer members.
Educational instruction within home settings brings about risk management considerations that are not typically present within the traditional educational setting. This is because, often, there are multiple “entities” involved in delivering educational instruction. Examples include, but are not limited to:
- The homeowner
- Contracted employees providing instruction
- The entity coordinating services
- Third parties contracted to deliver services
Risk transfer is an important consideration in these types or business relationships. For instance:
- Does the homeowner have an adequate insurance policy?
- Do contracted educators carry proper certifications?
- Are Certificates of Insurance collected?
- Do third party service providers carry adequate insurance?
- Are contracts used and have they been reviewed by an attorney?
- Do third parties adequately screen and verify their staff members?
- When are staff members technical “working” and when are they not?
The answers to these questions, and more like them, can really impact your organization if they are not considered prior to commencing operations.
Risk assessments should include both table-top discussions of potential risks and physical walkthroughs of the home to identify physical risks. Examples of risks for consideration can include:
Physical Risks |
Tabletop Discussion |
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Prioritize Risks through a Risk Assessment Matrix
Once you have identified the risk exposures that are present with the change in operations, it is a good idea to grade the risks and prioritize them so that you can develop controls for the highest priority to the lowest.
Risk Assessment Matrix | ||||
Severity of Consequence | ||||
Likelihood of OCCURRENCE or EXPOSURE for Selected Unit of Time or Activity | NEGLIGIBLE | MARGINAL | CRITICAL | CATASTROPHIC |
Frequent | MEDIUM | SERIOUS | HIGH | HIGH |
Probable | MEDIUM | SERIOUS | HIGH | HIGH |
Occasional | LOW | MEDIUM | SERIOUS | HIGH |
Remote | LOW | MEDIUM | MEDIUM | SERIOUS |
Improbable | LOW | LOW | LOW | MEDIUM |
Likelihood |
Severity/Consequence |
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Frequent: |
Likely to Occur Repeatedly |
NEGLIGIBLE: |
First Aid or Minor Medical Treatment | |
Probable: |
Likely to occur several times |
MARGINAL: |
Minor injury, lost workday accident | |
Occasional: |
Likely to occur sometime |
CRITICAL: |
Disability in excess of 3 months | |
Remote: |
Not likely to occur |
CATASTROPHIC: |
Death, disability | |
Improbable: | Very unlikely – may assume exposure will not happen |
Risk Level |
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LOW: |
Risk Acceptable, Remedial Action Discretionary |
MEDIUM: |
Take Remedial action at appropriate time |
SERIOUS: |
High priority remedial action |
HIGH: |
Operation not permissible |
Hierarchy of Controls
This hierarchy is intended to provide a systematic approach to eliminate, reduce or control the risks of different hazards. Each step is considered less effective than the one before it. It is not unusual to combine several steps to achieve an acceptable risk. The types of hazards employees are exposed to, the severity of the hazards, and the risk the hazards pose to employees should all be considered in determining methods of hazard elimination or control.
Hierarchy of Health and Safety Controls |
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Most Effective |
CONTROLS | EXAMPLES | |
1) Elimination | Design to eliminate hazards such as:
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2) Substitution |
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3) Engineering Controls |
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4) Warnings |
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5) Administrative Controls | Procedures
Training
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6) Personal Protective Equipment |
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Least Effective |
Not all controls are the same. While elimination of the risk altogether is preferred, it is not always the most feasible. Select the most effective control type that is feasible for your organization.