CRITICAL STEPS & Managing Critical Controls: Applied Workshop

Schedule

Tue Nov 17 2026 at 08:00 am to 12:30 pm

UTC-06:00
Location

Aquitaine Tower - Conference Center | Calgary, AB

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Advanced, hands-on half-day workshop: find the CRITICAL STEPS in your work and the defenses that must be in place.
About this Event



If everything is important, nothing is.


In high-risk work, some human actions have consequences far greater than others. Identifying those actions, understanding the conditions that influence them, and establishing effective defenses are central to CRITICAL STEP Management.

A CRITICAL STEP is a human action that triggers an immediate loss of control, that will result in certain and unavoidable harm to an asset — harm that is irreversible and intolerable — if that action or a preceding Risk-Important Action (RiA) is performed improperly. Few organizations have systematically identified theirs.

This practical, hands-on half-day workshop was developed in collaboration with Ron Farris, co-author of Critical Steps: Managing What Must Go Right in High-Risk Operations. It will be facilitated by Natasha Newman and Miranda Frasz.


What you'll do

  • Look at SIF precursors and why they need a specific focus, separate from everyday injury prevention
  • Learn how Risk-Important Actions (RIAs) and Risk-Important Conditions (RICs) set up and protect CRITICAL STEPS
  • Identify what makes a control critical, and how to verify it’s working in the field
  • Work through a public Alberta fatality investigation to pinpoint where the CRITICAL STEP occurred
  • Apply RU-SAFE, to a high-risk task from your own operation

What you'll leave with

  • A shared language for talking about what must go right
  • A method for finding CRITICAL STEPS in your own work
  • A first look at one of your own high-risk tasks through this lens

Who should attend

Executives, operations leaders, supervisors and safety professionals in high-risk industries such as energy, construction, utilities, mining, manufacturing and transportation.

Seating is limited to keep the session hands-on and discussion-focused.


Agenda

🕑: 08:00 AM - 08:30 AM
Registration & Breakfast

Info: Check in, enjoy breakfast, connect with facilitators and fellow participants


🕑: 08:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Workshop Begins

Info: We'll start with Serious Injuries and Fatalities (SIFs): what they are, and why recognizing SIF precursors requires a specific focus. Then we'll explore what CRITICAL STEPS are, why they matter, and how Risk-Important Actions (RiAs) and Risk-Important Conditions (RiCs) lead up to them.

Next, we'll walk through a real event step by step in the storyline, then look at what makes a Critical Control and how to verify it's working.

In small groups, you'll work through a real Alberta fatality case, learning to recognize the RiAs and RiCs and pinpoint where the CRITICAL STEP occurred.

We'll close by applying RU-SAFE to a high-risk task from your own work, so you leave with a plan you can use on site.

Includes a short mid-morning break.


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Where is it happening?

Aquitaine Tower - Conference Center, 540 5 Avenue Southwest, Calgary, Canada

Event Location & Nearby Stays:

Tickets

CAD 525.00

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.
Nastiuk Consulting & Wynn Safety Inc.
Host or PublisherNastiuk Consulting & Wynn Safety Inc.

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