BowTiePro organizes operational risk information using a structured hierarchy built around:
- Cases
- Locations
- Hazards
This structure helps organizations manage large amounts of risk information in a centralized and organized manner.
Understanding how these components work together is important for creating effective BowTie diagrams, LOPA assessments, incident records, and action tracking workflows.
What is a Case?
A Case is a high-level container used to organize operational risk information within BowTiePro.
Cases may represent:
- A project
- A facility
- A business unit
- An operational site
- A department
- A client environment
Each case contains its own:
- Hazards
- Locations
- BowTie diagrams
- Incidents
- Actions
- Risk assessments
Cases help organizations separate and manage risk information across different operational areas.
What are Locations?
Locations are subdivisions within a case that help organize hazards and operational activities geographically or functionally.
Examples of locations may include:
- Production areas
- Plants
- Warehouses
- Offshore platforms
- Departments
- Operational zones
Locations help organizations:
- Group related hazards
- Improve reporting visibility
- Filter operational data
- Analyze location-specific risks
Understanding Hazards
A Hazard represents a source of potential harm, operational loss, or unwanted events.
Hazards are the central element of BowTie analysis and are linked to:
- Threats
- Consequences
- Preventive controls
- Recovery controls
- Incidents
- Actions
Examples of hazards may include:
- Chemical exposure
- Equipment failure
- Fire hazards
- Environmental release
- Operational process failure
Hazards help organizations identify and manage operational risk systematically.
Relationship Between Cases, Locations, and Hazards
BowTiePro organizes these elements in a hierarchical structure.
Example structure:
| Level | Description |
| Case | High-level operational or organizational grouping |
| Location | Specific operational area within the case |
| Hazard | Source of operational or safety risk |
This structure helps organizations maintain clear separation and organization of operational risk data.
Using Hazards Within BowTie Analysis
Hazards serve as the foundation for BowTie diagrams and LOPA assessments.
Each hazard can include:
- Threats
- Consequences
- Escalation factors
- Preventive barriers
- Recovery barriers
- Linked incidents
- Corrective actions
This allows organizations to build complete operational risk models around each identified hazard.
Benefits of Structured Organization
Using cases, locations, and hazards helps organizations:
- Improve operational visibility
- Standardize risk assessments
- Improve reporting and analytics
- Separate risks by operational area
- Simplify incident tracking
- Improve management oversight
This structure becomes especially valuable in large organizations managing multiple operational environments.
Filtering and Reporting
Cases and locations can also be used for:
- Dashboard filtering
- Incident reporting
- Action tracking
- Risk analytics
- Operational reviews
This allows management teams to review risk information by:
- Site
- Region
- Operational unit
- Department
Best Practices
When organizing cases, locations, and hazards:
- Use clear naming conventions
- Avoid duplicate hazards
- Keep locations organized logically
- Maintain consistent classifications
- Review hazard structures regularly
- Align cases with operational workflows
Proper organization improves long-term reporting, scalability, and operational visibility.
Cases, locations, and hazards form the foundation of operational risk organization within BowTiePro.
By structuring risk information in a consistent and centralized manner, organizations can improve visibility, simplify risk analysis, strengthen reporting, and support more effective operational safety management.