The Bowtie method is a risk evaluation method that can be used to analyse and demonstrate causal relationships in high risk scenarios. The method takes its name from the shape of the diagram that you create, which looks like a men’s bowtie.
Originated as a technique for developing a “Safety Case” in the Oil & Gas Industry, post the Piper Alpha Incident in 1988
By linking ‘Hazards’ & ‘Consequences’ to an ‘Event’ it is possible to develop the relationship to include the causes, or ‘Threats’, and the ‘Prevention’ & ‘Recovery Measures’
Bow-tie technique diagrammatically represents hazardous events in such a way to easily show the connections between hazards/threats and their consequences
BowTies are usually developed for only for Major Hazards – defined using Risk Assessment Matrix