Airport Risk Identification And Prioritization Practices

Airports are using tools that help them identify risks within their environment. Most airports are providing a means to report risk. Smaller airports use low-cost options such as email, a 24/7 phone number, or a suggestion box. Larger airports have embraced safety management or enterprise risk management programs that include more expensive reporting and tracking systems. The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP Synthesis 106: Airport Risk Identification and Prioritization Practices provides information about the existing tools that airports use for identifying common hazards and the processes used for measuring, monitoring, and prioritizing the associated risks.

TRB's Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Report 74: Application of Enterprise Risk Management at Airports summarizes the principles and benefits of enterprise risk management (ERM) and its application to airports. The report discusses implementation of the iterative ERM process, including roles and responsibilities from airport governing boards to all staff members. The project that developed ACRP Report 74 also developed an electronic tool that can be used to support the ERM process by creating a risk score and a risk map that can be used to identify mitigation strategies. The tool is included in CD-ROM format with the print version of the report.

The International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) decision to require aviation organizations to adopt Safety Management Systems poses a major problem especially for small and medium sized aviation companies. The complexity of regulations overstrains the aviation stakeholders who seek to fully advantage from them but have no clear guidance. The aim of the book is to show the implementation of such a new system with pragmatic effort in order to gain a gradation for smaller operators. This approach should illustrate the leeway in order to adapt the processes and to show the interfaces between Corporate Risk Management and Safety Management. The book shows how to build a system with reasonable effort, appropriate to the size and complexity of the specific operator. It also gives inputs on the key aspects and how to effectively operate such a system with the various interfaces. Furthermore, the book highlights the importance of Corporate Risk Management independent of Safety Management Systems based on ICAO.

At head of title: Airport Cooperative Research Program.

Reviews the range of risks to airports from projected climate change and the emerging approaches for handling them, based on surveys of airports in the U.S., Toronto, and the U.K..

" TRB's Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Report 87: Procuring and Managing Professional Services for Airports provides guidance for procuring and managing professional services at airports for use by airport owners and operators. For the purposes of this report, professional services include planning, environmental, architectural and engineering, information technology, financial, legal, and other key professional services provided to airports. The report covers the procurement process, including scoping, pre-selection process, selection criteria, evaluation, and contract negotiations, and processes for managing professional services contracts. " -- Publisher's description.

"TRB's Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Report 116: Guidebook for Successfully Assessing and Managing Risks for Airport Capital and Maintenance Projects establishes a step-by-step process for evaluating and managing risk for capital and maintenance projects that can be scaled depending on the complexity of the project. Chapter 8 is structured to be a quick user's guide."--Publisher description.

International flights bound for the United States continue to be targets of terrorist activity, as demonstrated by the October 2010 discovery of explosive devices in air cargo packages bound for the United States from Yemen. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is responsible for securing the nation's civil aviation system, which includes ensuring the security of U.S.-bound flights. As requested, GAO evaluated (1) the steps TSA has taken to enhance its foreign airport assessment program since 2007, and any remaining program challenges; (2) TSA's assessment results, including how TSA uses the results to guide future efforts; and (3) what opportunities, if any, exist to enhance the program. To conduct this work, GAO reviewed foreign airport assessment procedures and results, interviewed TSA and foreign aviation security officials, and observed TSA conduct a foreign airport assessment. While these interviews and observations are not generalizable, they provided insights on TSA's program. This is the public version of a sensitive report GAO issued in September, 2011. Information that TSA deemed sensitive has been omitted.Since 2007, TSA has taken a number of steps to enhance its foreign airport assessment program, some of which were taken in response to GAO's prior recommendations. However, challenges remain in gaining access to some foreign airports, developing an automated database to better manage program information, prioritizing and providing training and technical assistance to foreign countries, and expanding the scope of TSA's airport assessments to include all-cargo operations. TSA has various efforts under way to address these challenges. Based on GAO's analysis of TSA's foreign airport assessments conducted from fiscal year 2006 through May 2011, some foreign airports complied with all of TSA's aviation security assessment standards; however, TSA has identified serious noncompliance issues at a number of foreign airports. Common areas of noncompliance included weaknesses in airport access controls and passenger and baggage screening. Moreover, GAO's analysis showed variation in airport compliance across geographic regions and individual security standards, among other things. However, TSA has not yet taken steps to evaluate its assessment results to identify regional and other trends over time. Developing a mechanism to evaluate its assessment results could help support TSA's priorities for aviation security training and technical assistance, inform its risk management decision making by identifying any trends and security gaps, and target capacity building efforts. Opportunities also exist for TSA to make additional program improvements in several key areas. Providing TSA decision makers with more specific criteria and definitions could provide greater assurance that such determinations are consistent across airports over time. In addition, there are opportunities for TSA to increase program efficiency and effectiveness by, for example, conducting more targeted foreign airport assessments and systematically compiling and analyzing security best practices. Taking such actions could help TSA better focus its assessments to address areas of highest risk, and identify security best practices and technologies that may be applicable to enhancing the security of both foreign and domestic airports. GAO recommends that TSA develop a mechanism to evaluate its assessment results to identify any trends, and target resources and future activities; establish criteria for determining foreign airport vulnerability ratings; and consider the feasibility of conducting more targeted assessments and compiling information on aviation security best practices. DHS agreed with the recommendations.

When discussing the risk of introducing drones into the National Airspace System, it is necessary to consider the increase in risk to people in manned aircraft and on the ground as well as the various ways in which this new technology may reduce risk and save lives, sometimes in ways that cannot readily be accounted for with current safety assessment processes. This report examines the various ways that risk can be defined and applied to integrating these Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System managed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It also identifies needs for additional research and developmental opportunities in this field.

Describes various project delivery methods for major airport capital projects. The guidebook also evaluates the impacts, advantages, and disadvantages of these various project delivery methods. The project delivery methods discussed include design-bid-build (DBB), construction manager at risk (CMR), and design-build (DB). The guidebook offers a two-tiered project delivery selection framework that may be used by owners of airport projects to evaluate the pros and cons of each delivery method and select the most appropriate method for their project. Tier 1 is an analytical delivery decision approach that is designed to help the user understand the attributes of each project delivery method and whether the delivery method is appropriate for their specific circumstance. Tier 2 uses a weighted-matrix delivery decision approach that allows users to prioritize their objectives and, based on the prioritized objectives, select the delivery method that is best suited for their project. The report will be helpful to airports with determining the most appropriate project delivery methods (e.g., DBB, DB, or CMR) for various types of airport capital projects.