Document Summary
Title: Risk Management Plan for The BNL Center for Functional Nanomaterials
Approved By: Robert Hwang and Michael Schaeffer
This document is a risk management plan for the Brookhaven National Laboratory Center
for Functional Nanomaterials project in Upton, New York. The BNL Center for
Functional Nanomaterials project is the design and construction of a laboratory building.
The scope of the project also includes obtaining the necessary equipment and
instrumentation for laboratory research. The building will have clean rooms, wet and dry
laboratories, conference rooms, and office space. Two important design factors for the
building are that it will incorporate human factors to encourage peer interaction and that
it must accommodate for the sensitive nature of nanomaterials research.
The risk management plan for this project is a customized approach based off of a
standard methodology defined in DOE M 413.3-1. One main feature of this risk
management plan is that it works using a risk management team, as defined in its
attachment A. It is the responsibility of the risk management team to develop strategies
and methods for identifying risk areas, tracking risk areas, responding to risks,
performing risk assessments, and assigning resources. The attachment to the document
clearly defines the process that the risk management team will follow to ensure a
successful risk management program. The risk management team meets quarterly or as
directed by the project director.
It was the responsibility of the risk management team to identify and analyze the risks of
the project. The team took input from the BNL engineering and technical divisions, and
used personal and BNL experience to identify risks. The risks were analyzed and are
recorded in an easy to understand form in this document. There are 16 identified risks in
all. For each risk the project element, likelihood of occurrence, expected consequence,
seriousness, risk categorization, likely causes, mitigation action schedule, and
responsibility is defined. The one page form is concise and to the point. It is a very good
way to record the risks so that they may be quickly reviewed by others involved in the
project.
The document specifies definitions for likelihood of occurrence, expected consequence,
and risk categorization. The likelihood of occurrence is defined by three groups: Very
likely (probability greater than or equal to 90%), likely (probability greater than 50%),
and unlikely (probability less than 50%). The expected consequence is also defined by
three groups: marginal, significant, and critical. These are defined in a table which is
copied below.
Risk categorization is found by comparing the likelihood of occurrence with the expected
consequence. These things are compared using the risk categorization matrix, which is a
simple three by three matrix with expected consequence listed on top and the likelihood
of occurrence listed down the side. A risk with a very likely occurrence and a critical
consequence is in the ‘high’ category and a risk with unlikely occurrence and marginal
consequence is in the ‘low’ category. This document clearly defines how risks are
assessed.
Attachment B of this document is the risk assessment summary and tracking table. This
table lists the 16 identified risks and all of the information listed before, but in this
condensed state, the information fits on three pages instead of sixteen.
This is a very complete example of a risk management plan that is currently in use. The
document clearly defines the way in which risks have been identified and assessed. It
lists who is responsible for which risks and what actions have been or can be taken to
mitigate the risk.