Stay smart, stay safe Published Jan. 22, 2009 By Debbie Miller 76th Aircraft Maintenance Group TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla, -- Most of us are familiar with the principles of Operational Risk Management. The Air Force defines it as a decision-making process to systematically evaluate possible courses of action, identify risks and benefits, and determine the best course of action for any given situation. This process may appear to require a lot of thought and effort, and sometimes it does. There are many aspects of the maintenance processes performed here at Tinker that are complex and require some study before risk can be mitigated. But what about everyday situations where the risk is obvious and the risk controls are simple? Couldn't we use a shorter form of ORM to quickly make decisions about the task at hand? There are three simple steps that can be performed very quickly and repeated as often as necessary in the course of a workday to make sure work is being done as safely as possible: Stop! Think! Act! By Stopping and assessing the situation, you are actually performing steps one and two of the ORM process. By Thinking about what action is necessary to safely complete the task, you are performing steps three and four of the ORM process. Finally, by Acting only after you have assessed the risks, made control decisions and implemented those risk controls, you are incorporating step five of the ORM process. Following the Stop! Think! Act! method on a regular basis, allows us to continually reevaluate our actions to ensure that we are maintaining mission effectiveness. This helps form safe, lasting work habits. For example, if you are working in a close area or below a stand/airframe/engine and you are about to make a sudden movement: Stop and assess the situation, Think about where you are in relation to the aircraft, engine, component, or piece of equipment you might come into contact with. Do you have enough room to move safely? Is your head at risk for impact? Are there trip hazards? Once you have determined the best way to move, then Act, continue on with what you were doing, knowing that you are moving in the safest way possible. The entire process need not take more than a few seconds but the decisions made as a result of this three step process may have an impact that lasts a lifetime. We should all use the six ORM steps to improve processes but when you need to make a quick assessment, just remember Stop! Think! then Act.