Strategic Risk Solutions

Today, we completed a 3 day institutional risk mitigation (on site) rollout for British High Commission (BHC) - Sri Lanka, for the 4th consecutive year.

Strategic Risk Solutions - Colombo - Sri Lanka.

Key Service Portfolios.

‘SUNRISE’ latest edition - The Magazine for Inspired Seniors (July / August 2018)
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Safer Life with DK - ‘Turning Homes into Havens.’ - By Damith Kurunduhewa
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"He who is of a calm and happy nature will hardly feel the pressure of age” professed Plato.

Yes ! A pre-requisite of achieving calm and happy status in life is to - stay healthy and stay safe.

The last column of mine here highlighted safety tips on the “designing aspect” of age-friendly homes. In continuity of the theme, this column focuses on the random operational aspects and safety management approach for age-friendly homes upon occupation.

Among other concerns and arrangements, there are two critical territories that need to be thought of especially when it comes to managing of age-friendly homes, as segmented below.

• Home Health
• Home Safety

Apt focus on these two territories becomes the responsibility of the managements in the case of administered homes, and it becomes the responsibility of the younger members of the family or assigned caretakers in the case of private homes - be it solo, clustered, lateral or multi-storied.

While the initial setting may take the shape as above, the improvement and maintenance becomes a shared responsibility of those overseeing homes and also of the in-house occupants.

The seniors may be living all alone, or supported by domestics or younger members of the family on regular or intermittent basis. Thus the situations need to be managed to meet varying ground realities. Nevertheless, these generic health & safety teasers would help everyone concerned and in need.

Home Health:

"Those who think they have no time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness." said British statesman of the yesteryear Edward Stanley. That’s how phenomenally the graceful aging and healthy living are perceived by the prudent.

Preservation of healthy environment is essential in any household, not only in dedicated age-friendly homes. But given the levels of fragile energy, sluggish recovery speed and ailment proneness of the aged; it is only sensible that health domain of the seniors be treated with a distinctive focus.

Domestic health-guards can be fragmented in to the following.

• Home cleanliness
• Home hygiene
• Personal hygiene
• Pets’ hygiene

Starting from maintaining the breathing air quality, the home needs to be cleansed by scheduled non-toxic fumigation and organic pest control sessions. Adequate daily use of disinfectants thereafter can help to carry forward the ambient hygiene.

Another line of focus is the placement of easy to reach user-friendly hand washing facilities. On a different angle, health-guards against common outbreaks such as Influenza, Dengue and Sore-Eyes should be planned out both by the administrators and the occupants.

Placement of weather protected and temperature maintained portable medication containers help the senior occupants. A first aid box with objectively analyzed assortment of medicines should be a regular feature in an age-friendly home. Only certain drugs can be kept in atmospheric temperature. The drugs that require specified levels of temperature need applicable mini-storage facility at home.

Proper sanitation and health-guards for the main water source that is bringing water for cooking and drinking is a critical necessity. The kitchen health needs special focus to ensure end to end food hygiene.

It is essential that proper holding methods for both dry and wet waste are in place until the disposal.

Age friendly home is best prepared, when it is made ready to respond a domestic medical emergency. It could be a stroke, fracture or injury, breathing difficulty or a food poisoning.

Be it an oxygen device, orthopedic appliance, wheelchair, stretcher, torch, face mask or ambulance parking space, there are times even the responding care-givers are compelled to waste precious seconds owing to the non-availability of right apparatus at home at the crucial minute.

Home Safety:

“One bad day at the grinder could ruin your whole lifespan - or what’s remaining of it” goes a saying.

In managing home safety for the seniors, we need to remember that most often their cycle of concentration is shorter than what it used to be, memory span isn’t all that great, visibility is challenged, reflexes have become stiffer and slower while their energy level is on the decline as the time passes. In some cases, their voices have gone frail, thus a SOS yell may go unheard or misheard.

They could still be able and agile for their age, yet safety systems and work tools should also be non-complicated by default. Thus the mantra for all designs and appliances should be ‘age-friendly and user specific’ as much as practicably possible.

One of the key age-friendly home elements is the electrical safety. The focus is aimed at minimizing the damage to life, house and appliances by lightning, electrically caused fires and electrocution itself. Proper safety controls must be applied for other utilities such as LP gas, cooking oil, flammables in the house and water chambers.

Apart from fire prevention controls in a home for seniors, it is essential that early detection of fires, notification to the action stations and alarm sounders to the occupants and immediate neighbourhood be placed on automatic mode. Alternate alarming devices need to be used for those with hearing issues.

Technology can also help to automatically send pre-programmed distress texts to family members too notwithstanding the distance, but better pre-pick the ones who live closer and would respond. The seniors need to be given the escape education as well in order to minimize the life risk in domestic fires.

When it comes to age-friendly homes, the communication facilities play a vital role. Those tools need to be chosen based on user convenience and practicality. This chant applies even for entertainment consoles at home.

Emergency (or essential) contact numbers listing in large-font on display at a few vantage (but private) points is always useful. Ensuring the illumination at right lux-level for aging eyes is a need too - for both reading and general work - preferably supported by backup power source.

The selection of mats and carpets should be based on the principle of anti-slipping. The height levels of the mats shouldn’t be a movement hindrance. The entangling possibilities of the carpets need a closer look at - as a measure of fall prevention.

The furniture such as chairs, tables, beds and stairway railing chairs for seniors should be of lightweight for easy handling and designed for body-static and body-maneuvering ergonomics. When selecting bathroom appliances too, age-friendly ergonomics is a due consideration.

Similar to the health related emergencies, an age-friendly home or a cluster of homes become steadier when equipped with an action plan to effectively manage a safety emergency. It could be a domestic fire, flash floods, intrusion or a venomous serpent invasion.

The emergency can surface within the house or a sn*******ng disaster may pop-up from the neighbourhood. Both situations demand action at the earliest - and overall readiness matters.

We learned the importance of health and safety many moons ago. Yet we tend to forget. Now this is a gentle reminder, especially for you - the inspired seniors……

…..“Sunshine tomorrow is our reward for living safe today…!!”

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The author is a foremost enterprise risk management specialist (including safety risks), and a corporate risk trainer who serves as the CEO of Strategic Risk Solutions - Colombo. He can be reached via eMail on [email protected] or via web

...::: STRATEGIC RISK SOLUTIONS - Sri Lanka :::... STRATEGIC RISK SOLUTIONS - Sri Lanka

Write up by Damith Kurunduhewa for 'SUNRISE' - The magazine for inspired seniors - July / August edition.

‘Political Turbulence’: Biggest Challenge to Business.

By Damith Kurunduhewa (Risk Focus with DK - Sunday Times - February 25, 2018)
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‘If you don't create a sense of order and stability, if people do not feel secure, then progressive politics is dead.’ - so stated former British politician David Blunkett.

News this week illustrated that ‘Singapore to pay bonus to all citizens after surplus budget.’ Sans dipping in the statistical jargon, that is a display of tangible fruition resulted by obviously sensible and progressive politics.

The expression ‘progressive politics’ suggests that its opposite term is ‘regressive politics’. In regression too, political circuits are hyperactive in all tactical fronts, elatedly engaged in reverse dynamics, often nomadic from bad to worse, perhaps without their realization.

That is what instability generates in any platform - and a country, government or business is not under immunity. In such political crossfires, commerce and economy become spur-of-the-moment victims. It therefore is timely that lead-echelons comprehend how risks created in the political landscape affect enterprise - and boomerang impact it brings on the national growth.

Political Risk:

The term ‘political risk’ has manifold of definitions. It entraps assortment of risks created by political decisions, events or conditions affecting the profitability of investments, corporate yields and also diluting the productivity of national administration - both at macro and micro realms.

Usually, the multinational corporations and off-shore investors include political risk of the region and of the country level at zenith, before the rest. They first study the host government and how its political actions and economic attitudes can promote or demote intended business initiative.

Be it off-shore or local investment - multinational or local conglomerate - existing or futuristic, for a business, there is a likelihood that partisan events may complicate its pursuit of earnings through direct and indirect impacts. Thus is the concern for political risk grasp as a prerequisite of enterprise.

Country Risks:

Instability at direct political domain such as abrupt (or irregular) regime changes, deviation from established democratic norms, mass unrest, politically motivated radicalism, riots, insurgency, military coups, diplomatic conflicts, embargo potentialities and invasion risk create multiple negativities.

These are considered as tier 1 political risks. Such direct political risks, when unmanaged or mismanaged by the governments - add confusion, delays and downsizing of entrepreneurial investment decisions.

For instance, if the political system of the country allows the change in legislative composition by way of cross-over exoduses and thereby creating an unscheduled or abrupt change (or imbalance) in the power corridors, it is captured in the risk study transpiring as a ‘country negative’.

Enterprise Risks:

Indirect political risks (enterprise risks resulted by bad governance) such as trade barriers, currency and forex fluxes, cold legislations and regulatory barricades, tariff and interest fluctuations, red-taped bureaucracy, national debts, down-trend economics, politicization of processes and sponsored (or concerted) corruption can be slotted in the tier 2 risk contour that are enterprise in nature.

Sometimes these risks are calculated based on the industry specifics as well. There’s a lineage and linkage between the two tiers - and the flaws in the direct political risk domain initiate or escalate the hazards in the indirect political risk arena.

For instance, in order to cover up for the losses incurred owing to politically sheltered corruption, an upward tariff revision may be imposed, which is unexpected blow on enterprise. This is just the tip of the iceberg though the actual impact can cause chain detonations in multiple business spheres.

Harmful Results:

The mismanaging of macro and micro political risks by those who grip the reigns propels multi-faceted negativities for enterprise at all levels on immediate - short - mid and long term basis.

At the onset, political instability affects the country brand and business conducive reputation. That may lead to downgrading of country rating in the entrepreneurial indexes and studies. Eventually, whatever the flashy invitations we send around the globe, they seldom attract authentic investments.

The prolonging instability in the political arena is monitored by offshore prospects - and their calculated predictions - often reasoned to them by our own attitudes, expressions and actions can lead to flops such as travel adversaries, transnational insurance up-scaling and so on. All those are evil omens for business sustainability and growth.

When political instability snowballs, the negativity travels down the stream from conglomerates to village boutique doorstep. While major businesses are affected so, the state suffers a percentage of estimated tax revenue. It steadily slows down the economic growth in turn.

Sensible Posturing:

It is vital that the political leaders and national planners realize that for off-shore investments country political stability matters at the top bracket. If the country level political risk study is flashing red-lights, (not withstanding what global risk ratings indicate) it then is unlikely that the prospects would want to invest their energies further on studying enterprise risks at tier

Enterprise risks are undeniably of concern for corporates already standing on soil, but when it comes to fresh investments - direct political risks takes the precedence - greatly for off-shore investments - and to a certain degree for local investments and business expansion drives.

The strategic political decisions and maneuvers need deliberation on holistic picture - with cautious consultation with respective (apolitical) business think-tanks. Managing optimum foreign relations and trade relations externally and stable fiscal policies and administrative formalities internally entail enterprise savvy political leadership. The enterprise profitability and the national economy (ultimately the home economies) shouldn’t ache owing to hasty political perspectives narrowed to mere tunnel vision.

One track focus is good, but only for blinkered horses on the turf - not for the riders at the saddle.

Thus, it is best that every responsible entrepreneur, every responsible enterprise take nerve to insist and influence that political decisions should not solitarily be ‘political’, but be all-inclusive so that the investments, expansions, revenue forecasts, market dynamics and consumer abilities are not disturbed in the livid rush for power stakes. It finally is about the country, its people, its overall economy and its future.

Legendary French General Charles De Gaulle echoed the necessity loud and clear.

‘Politics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians !!’

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The author is a foremost enterprise risk management specialist and a corporate risk trainer who serves as the CEO of Strategic Risk Solutions. He can be reached via eMail on [email protected] or via web

...::: STRATEGIC RISK SOLUTIONS - Sri Lanka :::... STRATEGIC RISK SOLUTIONS - Sri Lanka

KCC - Kandy (Day 2 of 2)

KCC - Kandy (Day 1 of 2)