ACTing can help reduce risks Published April 27, 2006 By Tech. Sgt. Heather Tevebaugh 319th Aeromedical Dental Squadron GRAND FORKS AFB, N.D. -- Many of us know Operational Risk Management as a six-step decision-making process that evaluates possible courses of action, identifies risks and benefits, and determines the best action for any given situation. But, did you know there is a simpler three step ORM principle that can ease your way through the process? The “ACT” principle breaks ORM into a common sense checklist. “A,” assess the environment for risk: you need to be aware of your surroundings, duties and tasks. Analyze what could potentially go wrong and assess the chances of those things actually happening. “C,” consider options to limit risk: what can you do about the risk? Is it worth the risk to do it? Does the risk require elevating decision making to your supervisor or commander? These are all the questions you should be asking to help figure out whether or not the task is worth the risk. “T,” take appropriate action: implement your risk controls, or in other words, take preventative action. Check to make sure the action is controlling the risk, or did it cause new risks to consider. If the risk controls reduced the risk, spread the word. Your thinking could prevent mishaps from happening. ORM and ACT usually takes seconds or minutes for most tasks. It’s mostly a quick safety double check of the job you are about to perform. Technical orders, operating instructions, checklists and Air Force Instructions guide us at work. ORM can be used with them, but is not only useful on the job. Many people have hobbies that involve risk; in these cases using the ACT principle can offer you a chance to make sure you are safe both on and off duty.