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

Section F—Step 4—Make Control Decisions
34. Introduction. Step 4, Make Control Decisions, involves two major dimensions. The first is the
selection of the risk controls to actually use from among those developed in the Develop Risk Controls
step (step 3). The second is the decision whether or not to accept the residual risk present in a mission or
project after applying all practical risk controls. The decision maker selects the control options after being
briefed on all the possible controls. It is not an ad hoc decision, but rather is a logical, sequenced part of
the risk management process. Decisions are made with awareness of hazards and how important hazard
control is to mission success or failure (cost versus benefit). Control decisions must be made at the
appropriate level. The decision maker must be in a position to obtain the resources needed to implement
the risk controls he or she approves. Usually, the earlier in the life of the process that control is
implemented, the cheaper it is. Modifying aircraft ten years after production costs the Air Force millions,
whereas modifications during production would have been more cost effective. When making control
decisions, it is important to keep in mind the law of diminishing returns. There is a point at which it is no
longer cost effective to continue applying control measures for the small amount of additional return in
terms of reduced risk. Figure 11 depicts the actions necessary to complete this step.
Figure 11. Step 4—Make Control Decisions Actions.
ACTIONS FOR STEP 4—MAKE CONTROL DECISION
ACTION 1:
SELECT RISK CONTROLS
35. Action 1—Select Risk Controls. For each identified hazard, select those risk controls that will
reduce the risk to an acceptable level. The best controls will be consistent with mission objectives and
optimum use of available resources (manpower, material, equipment, money, and time). Implementation
decisions should be recorded in some standardized format for future reference.
36. Action 2—Make Risk Decision. Analyze the level of risk for the operation with the proposed
controls in place. Determine if the benefits of the operation now exceed the level of risk the operation
presents. Be sure to consider the cumulative risk of all the identified hazards and the long term
consequences of the decision. When a decision is made to assume risk, the factors (cost versus benefit
information) involved in this decision should be recorded. Documentation is important to provide future
leaders and managers the steps necessary to mitigate or accept the hazard associated with the risk. This
will be critical to the success of Step 6 (Supervise and Review) in the overall risk management process.
36.1. If the costs of the risk outweighs the benefits, re-examine the control options to see if any new or
modified controls are available. If no additional controls are identified, inform the next level in the chain of
command that, based on the evaluation, the risk of the mission exceeds the benefits and should be
modified.
36.2. If the benefits of the mission outweigh the risk, with controls in place, determine if the controls can
all be implemented at your level in the chain of command. If they cannot, notify the chain of command of
the need for assistance.
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ACTION 2:
M AKE RISK DECISION