The importance of risk management Published March 3, 2013 By Lt. Col. Walt Koelln 94th Airlift Wing Safety Office DOBBINS AIR RESERVE BASE, Ga. -- The Air Force recently lost two Airmen to ground mishaps while loading and unloading aircraft. We continue to hear of Airmen dying on our highways. We also continue to crash our airplanes. Bottom line, our life and duty as Airmen is risky. If it was easy, anyone could do it. Our challenge as commanders, Chiefs, supervisors, and First Sergeants is to eliminate what risk we can and mitigate the rest. Operational Risk Management is a decision-making process used to systematically evaluate possible courses of action, identify risks and benefits, and determine the best course of action for any given situation. Question 11 of the Management Internal Controls Toolkit (MICT) self inspection checklist for ground safety asks, "Does the unit commander ensure that all personnel are trained on the objectives and principles of risk management in accordance with Air Force Instruction 90-901, Operational Risk Management?" I trust that your unit's answer is yes. ORM is indeed a commanders program, but it is everyone's responsibility to insure they are current on their training. ORM can be broken down into a six-step process. First, identify hazards, assess the risks, analyze risk controls measures, make control decisions, implement risk controls and finally, supervise and review. The ORM six-step process is a continuous cycle and only works if all six steps are followed in sequence. Each step is a building block for the next. The process of risk management should not only be used while on duty, but in your home and even on your civilian job. All ORM training should be logged on your Employee Safety and Health Record, or Air Force Form 55. Your designated unit safety representative can perform the training. To make this training more convenient in the future, ORM training will be available via the Advanced Distributed Learning System (ADLS). Until then, accomplish your training in a classroom setting, or complete the computer-based training on the Air Force Safety Center Risk Management Information System website at https://rmis.kirtland.af.mil/default.asp. The latest Air Force risk management publications are located in the Safety folder on the wing's public drive. As always, we want you to remain safe, so you can return to us and fight another day. If you have any questions, or require any additional information, please don't hesitate to contact the wing safety office or your unit safety representative. Take care, and be safe!
