In this episode of Risk! Engineers Talk Governance, due diligence engineering experts Richard Robinson and Gaye Francis discuss why Standards are not the solution.  

They explore why following Standards can be problematic, outlining key issues: 

1.     Using Standards out of context;

2.     There’s no explanation for rationales;

3.     They don’t cover all things; and

4.     They are often lagging indicators.

They share a number of examples within SIL, AS1940 and AS61508 that demonstrate the issues if you do blindly follow the Standard. 

The episode concludes with their answer to an often asked question: If you don't design to Standards, how do Engineers design? 

The text they mention is Engineering 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