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- To determine what actions to take to eliminate/control identified hazards, a system of determining the level of risk involved must be developed. A good risk assessment model will enable decision makers to properly understand the amount of risk involved relative to what it will cost in schedule and dollars to reduce that risk to an acceptable level.
- To eliminate or otherwise control as many hazards as possible, prioritize hazards for corrective action. A categorization of hazards may be conducted according to risk level criteria. Categorization may be based on severity since not all hazards are of equal magnitude or criticality to personnel safety and mission success. In some cases, the anticipated consequences of hazardous events may be minimal, while in others, catastrophic. Hazard categorization may also involve the determination of the likelihood of the hazardous event actually occurring. This may be reported in non-numeric
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(qualitative) terms, such as frequent, occasional, or improbable; or in numeric (quantitative) terms such as once in ten thousand trips, or 1X10-4 /trip.
Prioritization may be accomplished either subjectively by qualitative analyses resulting in a comparative hazard risk assessment or through quantification of the probability of occurrence resulting in a numeric priority factor for that hazardous condition. The Figure below shows the APTA Matrix for hazard risk assessment that can be applied to provide qualitative priority factors for assigning corrective action. In this matrix, an identified hazard assigned a hazard risk index of 1A, 1B, 1C, 2A, 2B, or 3A might require immediate corrective action. A hazard risk index of 1D, 2C, 2D, 3B, or 3C would be tracked for possible corrective action. A hazard risk index of 1E, 2E, 3D, or 3E might have a lower priority for corrective action and may not warrant any tracking actions.
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