Engie, the former GdF Suez French multinational electric utility company, has started a project to improve their current quality management (QM) system. In order to study the effectiveness of the QM-system, they are planning to map the organisation’s risks. Linking actual risks to the procedures will link potential weaknesses in the existing procedures. Risk mapping is part of the project as it will reveal procedural weaknesses.
An important way to gather risk data is by conducting interviews within the organisation. The Engie project team responsible for these interviews wanted to improve the interview skills and the basic risk management knowledge to conduct these interviews in an effective manner. Risk mapping will require the team to conduct risk interviews within the organisation in an effective manner, but none of the team members has done this before nor are they skilled in the principles of risk management and its tool which is a prerequisite for a good risk interview. Therefore, Engie reached out to DNV for training of their project team and prepare them for the risk interviews.
The four-hour training course that DNV experts prepared for this purpose consists of three elements:
- Basics of risk management. Explaining the principles of risk management, a short overview of ISO 31000 (framework for risk management) with a prime focus on the elements and tools that are needed in risk interviews and the mapping of risks
- Preparing the interviews. Setting up and conducting risk interviews, providing an interview process, the line of questioning and pitfalls which can occur
- Learning interview techniques. Practice risk interviews in class room, where a setting was created in which the project members interviewed process owners on risks, and where DNV experts coached the interviewers where necessary during this role play session.
"The combination of developing practical course material with actually practicing the course material in a realistic setting provided a good learning experience", says Engie project leader and quality manager. During the interviews DNV experts intervened if required, showing for example how dead-end conversations could be avoided or how more information on risks could be gained by an improved line of questioning.
This risk mapping interviewing was considered a success as it fully fulfilled the expectations and did indeed provided the basic skillset to the team members to start up the risk mapping as a tool for the improvement of their quality management system as required by the updated version van the ISO 9001. More important, the QM-system will focus on the real challenges of the business.