A history of the "bow tie" (August 2025)

Summary

The modern Bow-Tie methodology, widely used currently, for barrier-based risk management, is still the go-to choice of safety professionals in many different industries. There can, however, still be some confusion as to the exact definitions employed, e.g., what does the knot represent. There is also some debate about how and where it was developed and how it has evolved to be the ubiquitous risk management tool it is today. This narrative review attempts to set out definitively the phases of its historical evolution.