In this episode of "Risk! Engineers Talk Governance," due diligence engineers Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss Insurance Criteria and its history and modern relevance, particularly focusing on the Highly Protected Risk (HPR) engineering process.

Richard shares his experience training with Factory Mutual in the US and explains how the HPR approach originated in the 1840s with Zacharia Allen, a cotton mill owner who re-engineered his facility to minimise fire risks. When his insurance company refused to offer discounts for these improvements, Allen created a mutual pool with other safety-conscious factory owners, establishing an engineering-based approach to insurance rather than a purely financial one.

The conversation explores key concepts like Normal Loss Expectancy versus Maximum Foreseeable Loss, highlights common design flaws in Australian Standards, and emphasises that engineers must think beyond merely following standards to truly understand what they're trying to protect. The episode concludes with takeaways about designing for specific needs rather than blindly applying Standards.

This conversation follows the R2A text Engineer Due Diligence (Concepts, Applications, Tools & Techniques) that can be purchased online at https://www.r2a.com.au/store/p/r2a-engineering-due-diligence-textbook.

For further information on Richard and Gaye’s consulting work with R2A, head to https://www.r2a.com.au.

Gaye is also founder of women’s safety workwear company Apto PPE if you’d like to check out the garments at https://www.aptoppe.com.au