7.5 - Research: Operational Risk Management

                                                                                                                            

7.5 - Research: Operational Risk Management

Greg D. Laxton

ASCI 638 – Human Factors in Unmanned Aeronautical Systems

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide

26 February 2017

Introduction

            The DJI Phantom 4 Pro retails for approximately 1,499 dollars and is a popular product from the largest sUAS maker DJI (DJI, 2017). DJI is a Shenzhen, China company and is the biggest consumer sUAS maker by revenue (Wall Street Journal, 2014). The Phantom 4 Pro is a very sophisticated sUAS which claims 30 minutes of flight time, 4K video resolution, a 7 km. control range and forward speed of 72 km/h (DJI, 2017).

            Prior to flying the Phantom 4 Pro, a user should conduct a risk assessment to identify and evaluate the hazards associated with operating a 3.1 lb. 72 km/h UAV (DJI, 2017). This is a prudent step and should help avoid injury to bystanders and possible damage to property.

Preliminary Hazard List

            The preliminary hazard list (PHL) is a product for the operator to identify “initial safety issues” (Barnhart, 2012, p. 124) associated with the intended uses of the sUAS. The columns below are examples from the PHL list in chapter 8, of the assigned reading (Barnhart, 2012, p. 125). For this exercise, we are planning to operate the DJI Phantom 4 Pro for one hour at a construction site. The contractor has asked us to evaluate the building and site development progress. This is our initial visit the site and before operating, the DJI team will need to identify hazards and assign a risk level to each.

            The building site for this exercise is an urban apartment building covering approximately 2 acres. The adjoining lots are inhabited on the West, South and East perimeters. On the West is another apartment building and the Sought and East sides have small strip malls. To the North of the construction site is undeveloped wetlands. The FAA waivers and city approvals are in place to operate the Phantom 4 Pro. Figure 1 has the summary of identified hazards and the assigned risk levels.

PRELIMINARY HAZARD LIST/ANALYSIS (PHL/A) Date:  02/26/2017                    Prepared By:   Laxton, G                             Page: 1 of 1
Operational Stage:     X   Planning     ___Staging     ___Launch     ___Flight     ___Recovery
HAZARD	PROBABLILITY	SEVERITY	RL	MITIGATING ACTION	RRL	NOTES
A) Pedestrians on perimeter sidewalks	High	High	High	Obtain permit to close sidewalks temporarily during filming	Low	Cleared sidewalks will offer a buffer zone between roadway and job site
B) Power lines on West boundary	High	High	Med	Place observer underneath in communication with operator	Low	Customer representative with high vis vest and hardhat
C) Overflight of people on job site	Medium	Medium	Medium	Broadcast to all that sUAS is in flight for next 30 minutes	Low	All customer safety gear in place
D) Lost link	Low	Low	Low	Brief customer representative on DJI lost link action plan	Low	Lost link plan to return DJI to specified clear area
E) Airspace	Medium	Medium	Medium	Assure maximum altitude	Low	sUAS can be programmed to limit maximum altitude
RL=Risk Level, RRL=Residual Risk Level

Figure 1 Preliminary Hazard Analysis of building site

Preliminary Hazard Analysis

            The preliminary hazard analysis (PHA) in Figure 2 was completed during staging on day one. The whole team has reviewed the PHA, offered inputs and agreed to the analysis. After the team visit to the site, no additional hazards were identified.

OPERATIONAL HAZARD REVIEW & ANALYSIS (OHR&A) Date:  02/26/2017                    Prepared By:   Laxton, G                             Page: 1 of 1
Operational Stage:     ___ Planning     _X_Staging     ___Launch     ___Flight     ___Recovery
ITEM #	ACTION REVIEW	PROBABLILITY	SEVERITY	RL	MITIGATING ACTION	RRL	NOTES
A) Pedestrians	Complete	Low	High	Medium	Additional personnel at all sidewalk access points	Low
B) Power lines	Complete	Low	Medium	Medium	Personnel in place	Low	Personnel assigned and in place
C) Overflight	Complete	Low	Medium	Medium	Direct overflight of individuals will be avoided by operator	Low	Flight route plan approved
D) Lost link	Complete	Low	Low	Low	Lost link procedure programmed into memory and ready	Low	Jerry was able to find and designate lost link target location
E)	Complete	Low	Low	Low	Airspace overlaying proposed work area is Class G	Low	No ATC approvals required
RL=Risk Level, RRL=Residual Risk Level

Figure 2 Preliminary Hazard Analysis during staging

sUAS Risk Assessment

            Once the PHL and OHR&A are complete for the specific area, and the operating crew have been identified and the pilot in command (PIC) assigned, then the standard risk assessment (RA) form is completed (figure 3). This form attempts to identify risks associated with every flight, and risks that might be present only on operations day, such as gusty winds or low visibility. The primary and backup pilots have been identified, and they will complete the form below. It is essential that the operating crew complete the RA form and the PIC is responsible for returning the completed document to the supervisor in charge.

sUAS RISK ASSESSMENT Date:  02/26/2017                    Prepared By:   Laxton, G                             Page: 1 of 1 UAS Crew/Station:     _Laxton (pic)__/_DJI A____        ____Hammond____/__DJI B___
Item	Pilot A	Pilot B	Description	Mitigation	Risk Level	Supervisor Concurrance
Crew experience (total)	425 Hours	27 Hours		none	Low	N/A
Crew experience (on type)	145 Hours	6 Hours		none	High
Observer experience	12 Hours		James May	None	Low	N/A
Regulatory compliance	Verified and will be responsible for all preflight duties	Assist Pilot A
Visibility			6 miles	none
Airspace			Class G	none
Winds			4-7 knots	calm after 1530 local time	Medium
Mission altitude			Under 400ft AGL	none	Low
Lost Link procedure			Return to Southwest corner of construction site	complete	Low
RISK LEVEL *All risks area identified as “high” will need supervisor of flying signature prior to operation

Figure 3 Preliminary Hazard Analysis during staging

Aircraft Number: ___DJI A_______ Aircraft Type: ___DJI Phantom 4 Pro________

Flight Released By: ____Jeremy Clarkson____ Date: __02/26/2017______ Time: ___1400_____

            Some of the considerations for this day are forecasted winds in excess of 7 knots, low operating experience of pilot #2, and regulatory compliance. The winds and visibility are obtained from the National Weather Service forecasted and are predicted to include gusts from 4-7 knots, with them dying down after 1530 local. The second pilot, J Hammond, has limited experience operating the Phantom 4 and lists only 6 hours of flight time in his logbook. This requires a “high” designation for assigned risk level. The supervisor, from the U.K. office, Jeremy Clarkson, will have to initial the RA form prior to flight. The airspace overlying the work area is Class G, and not requiring any ATC approvals before flight. The PIC will assume responsibility for flight restriction compliance under FAA Part 107 (Federal Aviation Administration, 2016).

Summary

            If the DJI Phantom 4 Pro operating team take the time to complete the PHL, OHR&A and finally the RA, they should be able to identify the hazards at the job site. Not all risk can be eliminated, but with proper hazard identification, a clear plan to mitigate the issues, and an honest risk assessment, the operation should be able to safely conduct the flights.

  

References

Barnhart, R. K. (2012). Safety Assessments. In Introduction to unmanned aircraft systems (pp. 123-135). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

DJI. (2017). Buy Phantom 4 Pro | DJI Store. Retrieved from http://store.dji.com/product/phantom-4-pro#/?_k=m6fq7l

Federal Aviation Administration. (2016, June 21). SUMMARY OF SMALL UNMANNED AIRCRAFT RULE (PART 107). Retrieved from https://www.faa.gov/uas/media/Part_107_Summary.pdf

Wall Street Journal. (2014, November 10). Who Builds the World’s Most Popular Drones? - WSJ. Retrieved from https://www.wsj.com/articles/who-builds-the-worlds-most-popular-drones-1415645659