Risk can never be removed completely, but it can be reduced. That’s true in normal operations and remains so during disaster recovery. However, in the aftermath of a major event, most people become increasingly risk averse, just when they are called upon to make crucial decisions in an uncertain environment.

We successfully operated a major construction programme within a live campus. At the height of the rebuild, more than 45% of campus was under construction with five sites managed by different contractors, and all the usual work of a university going on around them. This required innovative health and safety management strategies.