The Following is an excerpt from the North Dakota Wing Safety Web Page and presents a good idea what ORM actually means.

 ORM 101: A Basic Course in Common Sense

By Col. James L. Stanley, HQ ACC/SEO, Langley AFB, VA
[Reprinted from the May 1999 issue of The Combat Edge]

The "M" Word

First of all, I believe we can do a better job at instituting Operational Risk Management into our everyday activities - which is where it should be. ORM started out with one hand tied behind its back due to its name. It suffers from the disease I will call the "M" word. That's right, "Management." The "M" word connotes visions of Big Brother mandating another program down to the masses - does TQM (Total Quality Management) or MBO (Management By Objectives) sound familiar? ORM will continue to struggle until it is ingrained into daily work and play practices of all our personnel. Real use of ORM cannot be legislated; it must be part of the Air Force culture... to become part of our culture, it must be embraced in everything we do... to become embraced, it must be easily understood - this is where we can do a better job.

Operational Risk Management is depicted as a formalized 6-step process:

1. Identify the Hazards
2. Assess the Risk
3. Analyze Risk Control Measures
4. Make Control Decisions
5. Implement Risk Controls
6. Supervise and Review

When reviewed, it is a logic train which we perform every day; however, it is difficult to memorize and cumbersome to execute in daily operations. My goal is that COMACC should be able to stop any Air Force member and ask them what ORM is... and they should be able to tell him. When COMACC can do that, he will know that his ORM program is in full swing and making a difference.

Short, Sweet, and To the Point

Let's try this - ORM is a systematic, common sense approach to minimize risk. Short, sweet, to the point, and by-golly, captures the essence of ORM without taking half a page. Now, let's look at the steps in a different way. How about Identify, Assess, Analyze, Decide, Implement, Review. You Identify a hazard... Assess that it does pose a risk... Analyze measures to take to eliminate or minimize the risk... Decide which measures to take based on cost and benefits... Implement the risk control measure... and lastly, Review the risk control measure to see if it worked. It is critical to remember that ORM doesn't stop at the Review step; it is a circular process that pushes you to ensure that your measure was the correct decision. If during the Review step you identify that it did not give you the result you desired, you determine the reason by starting at step one again - Identify. The most important point to make now is that the 6-step process is perfect for more strategic ORM. Daily, simple ORM may only require a few of the steps - and you do it daily without having to remember the 6-step process.

 Assess the Environment for Risk
a. Be aware of your surroundings, duties, and tasks on and off duty.
b. Analyze what could go wrong.
c. What are the chances of something happening?

Consider Options to Limit Risk
a. What can you do about it?
b. Is it worth the risk to do it?
c. Does the risk require you to elevate the decision making process?

Take Appropriate Action
a. Implement risk controls (take preventive action).
b. Does your action control the risk? If not, start the process again.
c. Spread the word! Let others learn from your experience.

2.         The whole idea of ORM is to develop a safety culture in every activity.  The bottom line is for each member to think first and then act.  What, in this activity could cause an injury to a member or damage to property.   By using the ORM matrix you examine and look for these hazards and develop ways to prevent accidents from occurring.