BY ORDER OF THE AIR FORCE PAMPHLET 91-215 SECRETARY ...

9.3. Enhanced decision-making skills. Decisions are based on a reasoned and repeatable process instead
of relying on intuition.
9.4. Improved confidence in unit capabilities. Adequate risk analysis provides a clearer picture of unit
strengths and weaknesses.
10. Acceptability of Risk.
10.1. Applying risk management requires a clear understanding of what constitutes “unnecessary risk,”
when benefits actually outweigh costs. Accepting risk is a function of both risk assessment and risk
management. Risk acceptance is not as elementary a matter as it may first appear. Several points must be
kept in mind.
10.1.1. Some degree of risk is a fundamental reality.
10.1.2. Risk management is a process of tradeoffs.
10.1.3. Quantifying risk alone does not ensure safety.
10.1.4. Risk is a matter of perspective.
10.2. Realistically, some risk must be accepted. How much is accepted, or not accepted, is the
prerogative of the defined decision authority. That decision is affected by many inputs. As tradeoffs are
considered and mission planning progresses, it may become evident that some of the safety parameters are
forcing higher risk to successful mission completion. From the commander’s perspective, a relaxation of
one or more of the established safety parameters may appear to be advantageous when considering the
broader perspective of overall mission success. When a commander or manager decides to accept risk, the
decision should be coordinated whenever practical with the affected personnel and organizations, and then
documented so that in the future everyone will know and understand the elements of the decision and why
it was made.
10.3. General risk management guidelines are:
10.3.1. All human activity involving a technical device or complex process entails some element of risk.
10.3.2. Do not panic at every hazard; there are ways of controlling them.
10.3.3. Keep problems in proper perspective.
10.3.4. Weigh risks and make judgments based on knowledge, experience, and mission requirements.
10.3.5. Encourage others to adopt similar risk management principles.
10.3.6. Operations always represent a gamble to some degree; good analysis tilts the odds in your favor.
10.3.7. Hazard analysis and risk assessment do not free us from reliance on good judgment, they improve
it.
10.3.8. It is more important to establish clear objectives and parameters for risk assessment than to find a
“cookbook” approach and procedure.
10.3.9. There is no “best solution.” There are normally a variety of directions to go. Each of these
directions may produce some degree of risk reduction.
10.3.10. To point out to a mission planner how he can manage risk better is much more effective than to
tell him his approach will not work.
10.3.11. Complete safety is a condition that seldom can be achieved in a practical manner.
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