LOSS PREVENTION
REMOTE RISK ASSESSMENT METHODS FOR THE NEW NORMAL by Nantha Marimuthu, Vice President, Operations Engineering Manager (Asia), FM Global The approach is based on a mix of old and new tactics. Loss prevention engineers love to roll up their sleeves, put on a hard hat and protective gear, and get their hands dirty assessing a property up close, searching for risks to business operations. Often, they travel long distances to visit plants and facilities for that vital first-hand perspective. This was all before a pandemic halted human movement and altered the economic landscape, resulting in many commercial premises such as factories, warehouses, commercial buildings and power plants, being closed or continuing to function with reduced capacity, while others were put to new uses and stretched to their limits. The explosion at a factory in Tuas, Singapore, earlier this year, that led to a ministerial inquiry, highlights just how prone industrial premises are to disaster. In a disrupted economy, the impact on a business can often be exacerbated, putting pressure on finances and people, so it is crucial that essential checks are carried out to ensure that operational and building integrity are maintained and risks are identified. There have been other incidents in the region too, such as the recent explosion at a plastics factory in Bangkok, Thailand, as well as a fire in a logistics warehouse in China.
the real-time data needed for precision risk assessment. Calls, video conferencing and virtual walk-throughs have become a way for engineers to get real-time visual information, in order to advise on loss prevention strategies. Recently, engineers who were unable to visit a large glass bottle manufacturing plant, due to travel restrictions, carried out their risk evaluation remotely. In a span of two months, multiple video conferences were held and hundreds of files were transferred to the loss prevention
Planning on the ground at customer’s factory for a first-time site assessment.
But in this new normal, where frequency of cross-border travels would still remain low, given how businesses remain cautious about this, how does a loss prevention engineer assess a property or plant from a distance, with the same level of robustness and accuracy? The answer lies in a mixed approach comprising old and new tactics.
THE APPLICATION OF REMOTE SERVICING TECHNOLOGIES To solve this dilemma, loss prevention engineers have turned to remote servicing technologies to get 30
THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER August 2021
Mr Nantha Marimuthu
Carrying out a ‘boots on the ground’ visit.
