Risk Management

We practice a simplified risk management process, meant to be used at all levels of interaction, from the organizer to the staff to you, the participant. It consists of three steps - remember the acronym ACT:

A - Assess

If you see something wrong, identify it as a problem and say something. Work with those around you to determine how likely it is that something will happen, and how bad it can be if it does.  

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C - Control

Once we’ve figured out the probability and severity of the situation, ask yourself “What can we do to control this hazard?” Identify ways to make the problem less likely to develop, and less harmful if it does.

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T - Take Action

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It’s not enough to know what needs to be done, you have to make a decision to do it. Then, afterwards, follow up to make sure it worked, and to remove the hazard in a more permanent way. 

The organizer of the event will have a robust process, which includes a formal risk assessment,  identified mitigation measures, and a well-informed, risk-aware decision-making process. However, all individuals, including both staff and participants, will have several tools available to them as part of this process. These include:

• Risk Notices - Before you play, we have to give you notice of any risks more significant than those you would encounter in day-to-day life. We use the “Taxi Cab Standard” - we ask ourselves “is this riskier than a cab ride to our event?” If it is, then we should let you know before the event.

• Staff and Participant Training - Every single Sinking Ship Creation event should have a training session before participation. This can be a brief, five-minute introduction or an extensive workshop. The point of this training is always to train individuals on how to use our mitigation tools.

• Clear Consent Moments - Every event, after risk notices are provided, requires a clear consent moment where the participants must acknowledge the risks and accept them to participate. This does not imply consent is momentary, it is always continuous, but there must be a point where it is clearly verbalized and prioritized over all other concerns.

• Transparent Investigations - If you are involved in an incident that requires investigations, you ought to be informed immediately that an investigation is occurring, and receive a timeline for response. As our investigations are preventative, not punitive, we will not provide any personal information about others involved in the investigation.  All other information will be handled in as transparent a manner as possible.

We have a lot going on behind the scenes to reduce risk: generally, our philosophy is to eliminate as much risk as possible before the participants encounter it. However, you will always have these tools as a minimum to help you reduce your personal risk.