Culture of Assurance - risk assessment, management at United Space Alliance L.L.C

Internal Auditor, June, 2001 by Geoffrey Atwater

An innovative business environment provides a launching pad for the success of America's space operations.

MANAGING AMERICA'S SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRAM is a unique and challenging mission. Meeting the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) rigorous standards and ensuring the safety of all those involved in the program requires a sound, well-controlled business environment. At United Space Alliance, LLC (USA), the unusual risks we encounter in performing space-operations work demand a remarkable amount of attention to detail. For example, just a single tool lost by a mechanic could find its way into an engine compartment, potentially resulting in catastrophic consequences. Or, tiny amounts of water accidentally trapped in an orbiter tile by the oil from a stray fingerprint could freeze under certain conditions, shattering the tile and exposing astronauts to reentry risk. Experience has demonstrated that seemingly small risks can sometimes lead to disaster.

USA has developed a set of practices that help to ensure situations like these do not occur. Five elements combine to form the basis of our approach:

* Our attitude toward safety and quality.

* The application of risk principles to everyday decisions.

* A pervasive concern for ethical conduct.

* A system of business and process controls that ensures the company operates as management intended.

* A risk-based audit approach.

Each of these activities has a robust and effective program for increasing levels of awareness within their respective areas and is linked at every level of the company to the work that is performed daily. These practices have evolved to a state that we describe as the "culture of assurance."

SAFETY

At USA, safety is our No. I priority. Our concerns range from industrial issues that affect the working environment to systems related factors that affect space operations.

USA has developed several initiatives to promote safe practices and to increase awareness regarding safety issues. For example, we reward employees for helping improve the safety of the space program and include an assessment of employees' personal contributions to safety as a part of their annual performance evaluations. In addition, we provide mandatory and voluntary safety training and hold promotional events such as awareness presentations on focused topics by guest speakers. We also encourage safety awareness away from the job to ensure that our employees will be back for another day of work. Every staff meeting or formal presentation, for example, begins with a safety message applicable to work or home.

On an organizational level, we measure contributions to safety improvements as part of USA's goals and objectives. Furthermore, we adhere to NASA's Space Flight Operations Contract (SFOC) program requirements, which include a rigorous set of guidelines that customers use to evaluate our performance in the areas of flight safety, crew safety, and asset protection.

USA also upholds its commitment to safety by emphasizing quality in all of its activities. We are required by NASA to maintain a quality certification from the International Standards Organization (ISO 9001). We have two ISO audit groups in Florida and another in Texas. The combined efforts of these groups serve to help promote a high level of awareness of the company's quality motto: "Products and services for human space flight -- safe, on time, and error free."

RISK ASSESSMENT

Throughout the history of the human space program, risk assessment has always been a central activity. In keeping with this tradition, USA has developed a system that captures risk-assessment activities in a unified process. We culled industrial best practices and formed them into a decision-support method that can be applied at all levels of the company. The resulting process is integrated with management objectives that address "what can go wrong" rather than "how to get there from here" and ensures that risk is a key consideration in day-to-day planning and decision-making activities.

KEEPING SCORE. In addition to a process definition, our organization has developed a set of tools to aid in identifying and mitigating risk. One of these tools, the "SFOC Risk Assessment Scorecard" (see pages 60-61), addresses risk concerns related to our "Space Flight Operations Contract" with NASA and has helped add consistency in applying risk assessment to decision making across the space program. The scorecard uses our five program goals of safety, mission success, schedule, supportability, and cost to define the consequences of risk.

IDENTIFYING HOT SPOTS. The hallmark of risk awareness at USA is our recently inaugurated risk associated trouble spots (RATS) program, which encourages and rewards employees for reporting unsafe conditions or dose calls related to our five SFOC program goals. RATS enables us to address risk at all levels of the space program by:

* Engaging every employee in risk identification.

* Assigning management the responsibility for managing the program.