TSSA Enhances Its Risk Score Analysis

Posted Monday August 10, 2020

Posted By: Elizabeth Leal

Category: Safety Matters,Safety Exchange Blog

Latest Major Move in Safety Authority’s Outcome-Based Regulator Transformation

Advancing its transformation to an Outcome-Based Regulator, the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) is further aligning its regulatory action with risk by adapting and enhancing its risk score analysis.

TSSA’s risk model was developed in 2013 and has been enhanced over the years; a U.S. patent was received for the risk-based inspection scheduling model in 2013, shortly before the Canadian patent in 2014.

As TSSA sharpens its focus on making evidence-based and risk-informed decisions as a modern regulator, there will be even more reliance on the risk model and the data that supports it.

Current and Ongoing Developments

For better alignment going forward, TSSA’s risk scores are updated more frequently with greater weighting on the most recent inspections.

Discussed with TSSA Council members and peer reviewed by academics and other regulatory agencies, these risk score analysis enhancements are now effective across all program areas but more impactful in those that are on a risk-based inspection schedule.

Further developments are underway and will occur gradually throughout 2020 and 2021. TSSA will share more information as updates are implemented.

Customer Expectations

• For better alignment with inspector on-site assessments, TSSA risk scores will be updated more frequently with greater weighting on the most recent inspections.
• TSSA’s enhanced risk scoring will not directly affect how customers interact with TSSA. In fact, TSSA’s enhanced risk score processes will not be directly visible to customers; at most, enhancements may result in adjustments to a customer’s periodic inspection cycle, but this may not necessarily be a common occurrence.
• TSSA will continue working towards more accurate and dynamic risk scoring to support its transformation to an Outcome-Based Regulator.

Outcome-Based Regulator Transformation

Improving its risk score analysis further advances TSSA’s emergence into a fully Outcome-Based Regulator, which relies on data to identify risks and focuses on high risks and harm-reduction strategies.