Have you ever heard of the ‘Swiss Cheese Model’? It’s a term coined to describe the strategy of creating layered defenses. Rather than relying on a single layer of defense (such as static passwords or locks), the Swiss Cheese model suggests adding multiple layers to make the ‘holes’ smaller and more difficult to breach. Think of it like Swiss cheese – each layer has holes, but when they’re all stacked up the holes are way too small to make it through!
The Swiss Cheese Model is a concept developed by James Reason, a British professor in psychology. The model is used to illustrate how multiple safety layers or defenses can be put in place to create an overall strong safety system. In a Swiss Cheese system, all the layers of defense have holes, but when all the layers are stacked up together, the holes become less and less likely to be breached.
Contents
How It Works
The Change Agents
The Swiss Cheese Model states that hazards may arise due to the presence of multiple “change agents”. Change agents are external elements that may affect the overall safety of a plan or system. Examples of change agents include people, technology, and the environment.
The Different Defensive Layers
When all of these potential hazards are taken into account, the Swiss Cheese Model recommends building multiple defensive layers. Each of these layers is designed to reduce the likelihood of a single hazard becoming a problem.
The defensive layers can be made up of any kind of safety measure, from physical ones such as locks or passwords, to behavioural ones such as following protocols or procedures. Of course, if you’re a cheese lover like us, you might prefer to have an actual layer of real Swiss cheese, but that’s entirely up to you!
Stacking the “Cheese Slices”
The strength of the Swiss Cheese Model is in stacking the cheese slices together to create a stronger whole. If each “slice”, or layer, of the system can catch, contain, or eliminate the hazard of any one change agent, then the overall system will be better equipped to withstand all the potential risks.
Monitoring the System
Although the Swiss Cheese Model does provide a good way to mitigate risks, it’s important to remember that no plan or system is perfect. Risks can still occur. That’s why it’s important to monitor the system and make sure that all risks are identified quickly and addressed as necessary.
The Swiss Cheese Model is a great way to reduce risk in any system. By stacking up different defensive layers, like slices of cheese, you make the holes in each layer much less likely to be breached. Of course, if you add too many layers of cheese, it’s just going to take more time to get to the good stuff! So make sure to use the Swiss Cheese Model to build the right balance of defense and convenience.