PHYSICAL risk in potential hot spots such as Papua New Guinea, parts of South East Asia, the Solomon Islands and Africa can be managed, says OAM director Bob Hunter.
OAM deals with physical risks to personnel or facilities, largely for resource operations.
These risks include recalcitrant militaries, illegal miners or bandits.
Such risks can make conducting business in these areas difficult and potentially life threatening.
“We conduct preparatory training for staff being sent to operations through to contingency and evacuation planning,” Mr Hunter said.
“Companies aren’t going to pull out of those areas because there is value in it for them to be there.
“The risk are high but the returns are higher.
“Minimising risk is the main game. In some areas if the risk gets too high you get out.”
The firm’s staff are predominantly ex-military officers, many with special forces backgrounds.
“Planning and preparation is the key. It’s about identifying the risks and finding ways to get around them,” Mr Hunter said.
“We have three main principles – be aware, anticipate what the threat can mean to you and plan ways to deal with it.”
Mr Hunter said while the physical risk in many of the world’s trouble spots was quite real, its minimisation was usually just commonsense.
