Understanding risk with newly updated International Standard

When the only certainty is uncertainty, the IEC and ISO ‘risk management toolbox’ helps organizations to keep ahead of threats that could be detrimental to their success. 

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All businesses face threats on an ongoing basis, ranging from unpredictable political landscapes to rapidly evolving technology and competitive disruption. IEC and ISO have developed a toolbox of risk management standards to help businesses prepare, respond and recover more efficiently. It includes a newly updated standard on risk assessment techniques.

IEC 31010, Risk management Risk assessment techniques, features a range of techniques to identify and understand risk. It has been updated to expand its range of applications and to add more detail than ever before. It complements ISO 31000, Risk management.

IEC 31010 describes the process to be followed when assessing risk, from defining the scope to delivering a report. It introduces a wide range of techniques for identifying and understanding risk in a business or technical context.

The IEC and ISO risk management toolbox features internationally agreed standards with best practice and benchmarks on how to manage risk, as well as a risk management framework, agreed principles and processes.

Professor Jean Cross, who is the Convenor of the group of experts who maintain and revise IEC 31010 said “IEC 31010 is a valuable complement to ISO 31000 by providing detail on how risk can be assessed and describing the advantages and disadvantages of the different techniques that can be used”.  

“The standard is useful both as part of a process to manage risk and when comparing options and opportunities so that decisions are based on a good understanding of risk,” she said.

IEC 31010 was developed by Joint Working Group 16, which brings together experts from IEC Technical Committee 56, Dependability, and ISO/TC 262, Risk management. The secretariat of both committees is held by BSI, the IEC and ISO member for the UK.

You can purchase IEC 31010 from the IEC or ISO webstores, as well as from IEC and ISO members.

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