Hazard Analysis
What is Bow-Tie Analysis? A Visual Risk Assessment Method
Vinit Pandey · Published 5 December 2025 · Updated 28 June 2026
In short: Bow-Tie Analysis is a visual risk assessment method that maps the threats leading to a top event and the consequences flowing from it, alongside the preventive and mitigative barriers controlling each pathway.
Key takeaways
- Diagram shape: threats converge from the left, consequences diverge to the right of a central top event
- Left side (prevention) barriers stop a threat from causing the top event
- Right side (mitigation) barriers limit harm once the top event occurs
- Used to communicate major accident scenarios to non-specialist and senior audiences
Bow-Tie Analysis takes its name from the shape of the resulting diagram: threats converge from the left into a central top event, from which consequences diverge to the right, resembling a bow tie.
On the left side (prevention), barriers are placed between each threat and the top event to stop the threat from causing the event. On the right side (mitigation), barriers are placed between the top event and each consequence to limit harm once the event occurs.
Because the diagram is intuitive and visual, Bow-Tie Analysis is widely used to communicate major accident hazard scenarios to non-specialist audiences, including senior management and site operators, and to clarify barrier ownership and criticality.
Bow-Tie Analysis is often used downstream of HAZOP and QRA, translating detailed technical findings into a barrier-based format suitable for major accident prevention policy documents and safety case presentations.