R2A Blog

The notion of engineering due diligence has expanded into Australian society, gradually displacing pure risk management as the ultimate aim of engineering decision-making. Numerous national and state-based laws have moved from mandating risk assessments to imposing specific duties to exercise due diligence, in health and safety, environmental protection and other areas. However, some standards and […]

When it comes to dealing with a known safety hazard, everyone is entitled to the same minimum level of protection.

The Golden Rule, or the rule of reciprocity, states that one should treat others as one would wish to be treated. It is an astonishingly widespread maxim, appearing in some form in virtually every major religion and belief system.

2016 is almost over, and a new year is fast approaching. R2A has had a great year. Below are some highlights we would like to share with you. In early 2016 we launched the 2016 update of the R2A text, Engineering Due Diligence, at our annual function. This included Richard’s discussion of one of the […]

Imagine you have a great idea. Perhaps it’s for a start-up venture. Perhaps it’s a new, better way of doing something at your workplace. Perhaps it’s changing the way your business has always done something. Perhaps it’s a substantial capital works project.

One of the more interesting philosophical issues to emerge in the early 21st century is the relationship, as determined by our courts, between the precautionary principle as implemented in environmental legislation, and the precautionary approach as articulated in the harmonised Work Health and Safety (WHS) legislation.

When demonstrating due diligence, it’s not just what you know and who you know, it’s what you don’t know that you know.

Law as Engineering, a recent publication by English legal academic (and former MP) Professor David Howarth of Cambridge University, documents a major change in legal philosophy. Professor Howarth notes that these days, approximately 80% of lawyers don’t litigate. Rather, they design social constructs such as contracts, companies and wills to facilitate their clients’ social needs. […]

“The analogy with music is useful because nobody can dispute the fact that there are three types of musician: the composer, the performer and the conductor.  Nor can anybody disagree that there are world-famous musicians who are outstanding in one of these three professions without having outstanding talent for either of the other two.  If […]

R2A’s recent work on dam safety led us to develop a timeline of key risk and due diligence concepts and events as they have appeared and influenced Australia. This goes some way to explaining the current divergence between the AS/ISO 31000 hazard-based risk management approach, and the common law and WHS Act precaution-based due diligence […]