Operational Risk Management for the Bat Unmanned Aerospace System

Daniel J. Hall, Jr.

ASCI 638 – Human Factors in Unmanned Systems

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide

July 21, 2014

 

Note: The following article was written for academic purposes only.  Unless properly cited and referenced; all limitations, values, and figures are contrived by the author.

 

Operational Risk Management for the Bat Unmanned Aerospace System

As a member of an expeditious Bat unmanned aerospace system (UAS) operational team deployed to an undisclosed location, the author was asked to assist in the development of an Operational Risk Management (ORM) tool to enhance Bat safety and operations.  According to Northrop Grumman Corporation (2014), the Bat is, “Runway-independent and fully autonomous, the Bat is a flexible, self-contained expeditionary system, designed to launch from a pneumatic/hydraulic rail launcher and recover into a net recovery system” (para. 2).  While operating in such austere conditions, it is paramount to conserve Bat assets and resources by thoroughly analyzing all phases of the flight operations and mitigate the associated risks.

As recommended by Barnhart, Hottman, Marshall, & Shappee (2011), all members of the highly experienced Bat team collaborate on the ORM tools for their specific circumstances.  According to Barnhart et al. (2011), “The main purpose for using the hazard analysis tool is to provide the user with a systematic approach to identifying, analyzing, and mitigating hazards early in the operation” (p. 126).  To that end, the first task accomplished by the Bat team is to brainstorm all the hazards to their flight operations.  It is decided that the basis for the list will be the limitations of the Bat UAS itself.

Preliminary Hazard List (PHL)

The following list of hazards was identified by the Bat team as critical items that must be evaluated prior to each Bat operation.

1.      Air Vehicle – Must pass preflight inspection to include minimum essential equipment, logs and records must be review for downing discrepancies

2.      Ground Control Station (GCS) - Must pass preflight inspection to include minimum essential equipment, logs and records must be review for downing discrepancies

3.      Operational Area – Restricted airspace, deconflicted with other users, and approved for Bat UAS operations only, surface to 10,000 feet above ground level (AGL)

4.      Radio Frequencies – Assigned and approved for Bat UAS operations only

5.      Launcher – Must pass preflight inspection to include minimum essential equipment, logs and records must be review for downing discrepancies, oriented so as to launch into the wind (+/- 30 degrees of launch heading, on level ground, no obstructions over 20 feet tall within 200 yards and +/- 30 degrees of launch heading

6.      Launch Winds - Bat will not launch in wind gusts over 25 knots

7.      Recovery Net – Must pass preflight inspection to include minimum essential equipment, logs and records must be review for downing discrepancies Oriented so approach is made into the wind (+/- 30 degrees of approach heading), on level ground, no obstructions over 20 feet tall within 200 yards and +/- 30 degrees of approach heading

8.      Recovery Winds - Projected winds will be monitored and all efforts made to recover the Bat with wind gusts below 25 knots

9.      Lightning - Operations will cease if lightning is observed within 25 miles of the GCS

10.  Rain - Bat will not operate in rainfall in excess of .5 inches per hour

11.  Icing - Operations in know icing conditions are prohibited

12.  Turbulence - Operations in areas of forecasted severe turbulence are prohibited

13.  Winds Aloft - Operations at altitude in winds forecasted to be 50 knots or greater are prohibited

14.  Minimum Crew - Consist of two UAS pilots, two UAS sensor operators, and three UAS technicians

15.  Fitness for Duty - All crew members will be assessed for fitness for duty by the Shift Supervisor

16.  Shift Profile - Crew shifts will be limited to a maximum of 12 hours and no more than eight hours of total flight time and no more than two launch and recovery evolutions each

As can be seen in the last section of this article, each item above directly corresponds to an Assessment Item in the final ORM Assessment Tool.

Preliminary Hazard Assessment (PHA)

Next the Bat team developed a scoring table to be used in the final ORM Assessment Tool.  The scoring table took into account the probability and severity of each Assessment Item identified as a potential hazard to their operations.  Each category was assigned a value of one to five with a five being the most probable or most sever possibility.  These categories can be thought of as follows:

·         Probability – “Frequent, probable, occasional, remote, or improbable” (Barnhart et al., 2011, p. 124)

·         Severity – “Catastrophic, critical, marginal, or negligible” (Barnhart et al., 2011, p. 124).

Operational Hazard Review and Analysis (OHR&A)

By implementing the following ORM Assessment Tool prior to each and every Bat mission, the Bat team could ensure that each facet of the flight and its associated hazards are thoroughly and methodically evaluated.  The ORM Assessment Tool could potentially highlight an area with an elevated risk to safety and alert the crew to be more cautions during that phase of the operation.  Finally, the ORM Assessment Tool serves as a historical document as to the conditions that may have led up to an incident, should one arise.

ORM Assessment Tool

In order to account for both the probability and severity of an assessment item the Bat team formulated the following scoring table.  The scoring table averages the values give for both probability and severity.  The average were then entered into the table.  Values of 1.0 through 2.0 were assessed as Low Risk and color coded green.  Values of 2.5 through 3.5 were assessed as Moderate Risk and color coded yellow.  Values 4.0 through 5.0 were assessed as High Risk and color coded red.

Figure 1. Probability / Severity Scoring Table

(Developed by the author)

Next, the Bat team developed the following ORM Assessment Tool to collate all the information evaluated during the assessment and the corresponding scoring values assigned to them.

Figure 2. ORM Assessment Tool

 

(Developed by the author)

The Bat team Shift Supervisor was assigned the duties of completing the ORM Assessment Tool above.  The values entered into the form are based upon the experience and judgment of the Shift Supervisor.  Values of 2.5 or higher are also color coded to draw the team’s immediate attention to the elevated risk associated with that phase of the operation.  Finally, the overall average and risk level is highlighted at the bottom of the ORM Assessment Tool.

References

Barnhart, R.K., Hottman, S.B., Marshall, D.M., & Shappee, E. (2011). Introduction to unmanned aircraft systems. New York, NY: CRC Press.

Northrop Grumman Corporation. (2014). Bat unmanned aircraft system (UAS). Retrieved from http://www.northropgrumman.com/Capabilities/BATUAS/Pages/default.aspx