Small UAS Operational Risk Management Assessment Tool

Operational Risk Management is a methodical approach to mitigating the risks associated with activities. The methods discussed in Marshall, Barnhart, Hottman, Shappee, & Most’s text details one approach to tackling the task of conducting safety assessments (Marshall, Barnhart, Hottman, Shappee, & Most, 2012). Assessing risks to safe operation should be tailored to the organization. In this entry, we examine the small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) operations of a government agency as an example of organizational safety assessment and development of an operational risk management tool.

For the purpose of this post, the agency will remain anonymous. However, to better understand the operation, the following are organizational and operational characteristics that play a role in how the safety assessment is conducted. The operation uses multiple sUAS, the majority available to consumers and commonly used by commercial sUAS operators. The area operations are conducted in is most frequently within Special Use Airspace, but not exclusively. Organizational guidance is very conservative with many established measures already established to mitigate risk. 

As laid out by Marshall et al., the process begins by establishing a list of potential hazards and assessing the risk they pose to flight operations (Marshall et al., 2012, pp. 124-126). Following the model Preliminary Hazard List and Assessment (PHL/A) discussed in the text, Figures 1-8 highlight considerations for hazards associated with sUAS flight operations conducted by the organization. Hazards are grouped by the phase of flight they affect. All assessments are conducted in accordance with the Department of Defense (DoD) MIL-STD-882D/E. 

Figure 1. Preliminary Hazard List and Analysis conducted for sUAS flight operations, page 1 of 8.

Figure 2. Preliminary Hazard List and Analysis conducted for sUAS flight operations, page 2 of 8.

Figure 3. Preliminary Hazard List and Analysis conducted for sUAS flight operations, page 3 of 8.

Figure 4. Preliminary Hazard List and Analysis conducted for sUAS flight operations, page 4 of 8.

Figure 5. Preliminary Hazard List and Analysis conducted for sUAS flight operations, page 5 of 8.

Figure 6. Preliminary Hazard List and Analysis conducted for sUAS flight operations, page 6 of 8.

Figure 7. Preliminary Hazard List and Analysis conducted for sUAS flight operations, page 7 of 8.

Figure 8. Preliminary Hazard List and Analysis conducted for sUAS flight operations, page 8 of 8.

The next step in the process is to review the known hazards and assess the effectiveness of the mitigation. Marshall et al. use an Operational Hazard Review and Analysis (OHR&A) to clearly review each established hazard and evaluate the effectiveness of control measures (Marshall et al., 2012, pp. 126-127). Figures 9-16 are examples of how the OHR&A may look after conducting and operational review. For this exercise, Operational feedback was not readily available. 

Figure 9. Operational Hazard Review and Analysis conducted for sUAS flight operations, page 1 of 8.

Figure 10. Operational Hazard Review and Analysis conducted for sUAS flight operations, page 2 of 8.

Figure 11. Operational Hazard Review and Analysis conducted for sUAS flight operations, page 3 of 8.

Figure 12. Operational Hazard Review and Analysis conducted for sUAS flight operations, page 4 of 8.

Figure 13. Operational Hazard Review and Analysis conducted for sUAS flight operations, page 5 of 8.

Figure 14. Operational Hazard Review and Analysis conducted for sUAS flight operations, page 6 of 8.

Figure 15. Operational Hazard Review and Analysis conducted for sUAS flight operations, page 7 of 8.

Figure 16. Operational Hazard Review and Analysis conducted for sUAS flight operations, page 8 of 8.

The final step in the safety assessment is to compile identified hazards and craft an Operational Risk Management (ORM) Assessment Tool. For this application, formats vary. The example in Figure 17 is a deviation from the model discussed in the text, however it addresses all the hazards identified in the safety assessment. 

Figure 17. Operational Risk Management Assessment Tool for sUAS flight operations.

In this exercise, we create a an ORM assessment tool. Operational Risk Management is, by design, an ongoing effort intended to evolve to address hazards as they are identified. Periodic update of tools like those presented in this example are require to help mitigate the effects of known hazards. Perhaps the most effective product of the ORM process is the shift in mindset of users to a more proactive approach to safety. 

References

Marshall, D. M., Barnhart, R. K., Hottman, S. B., Shappee, E., & Most, M. T. (Eds.). (2011). Introduction to unmanned aircraft systems. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com