All facilities will carry Operational Risk and it is important that this risk be mitigated by the design and implementation of Layers of Protection (LoP’s) also known as Barriers. The number and complexity of the LoP’s (Barriers) will be dependent on the amount of risk reduction required. LoPs (Barriers) can be Preventative (Attempt to reduce the likelihood of a Risk Event) or Mitigation (Attempt to reduce the impact of the Risk Event once occurred).

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Layers of Protection (Barrier) is a safeguard made up of Equipment, Processes, People. It is important to maintain and assess the effectiveness of the Layers of Protection (Barriers) on a regular basis and where necessary strengthen. Assessing Barrier effectiveness will require specific lines of enquiry and an assessment team, evidence should be recorded and some form of health scoring to clearly indicate the current barrier effectiveness. A gap resolution plan will be required to close any shortcomings.