102 Safety Fundamentals

Question 1

Risk Management

Answer 1

Force preservation does not have a single solution. However, every effort should be made to prevent a situation that will degrade mission capability rather than planning to deal with the situation after it occurs. Risk mitigation is central to the idea of readiness and must not be an afterthought in actions during combat, in training, and in garrison. RM is one of the best means available to eliminate senseless and needless loss of life, injury, and materiel damage.
 Active participation of every Marine in the RM process of identifying, assessing, and controlling risks arising from factors experienced on a daily basis such as uncertainty, ambiguity, and change will allow for informed decisions.
 This process is one in a range of tools to be used by personnel at all levels for minimizing risk to an acceptable level commensurate with completing the task at hand or accomplishing the mission

Question 2

Inherent Risk

Answer 2

Risk is inherent in every phase of tasking, missions, and operations due to today’s complex and dynamic environment.
 As hazards and risk are present both on and off duty, it is incumbent upon all Marines, both military and civilian, to understand how to assess and manage risk to achieve mission success and preserve combat readiness.

Question 3

1st key Aspect of RM

Answer 3

Enhancing Task or Mission Accomplishment by increasing the probability of success

Question 4

2nd key Aspect of RM

Answer 4

Minimizing risk to acceptable levels commensurate with the benefit or value of mission or task accomplishment while providing a method to effectively manage resources

Question 5

3rd key Aspect of RM

Answer 5

Enhancing decision making skills based on a systematic , Reasoned, and Repeatable process

Question 6

4th Key Aspect of RM

Answer 6

Providing systematic structure to perform Risk Assessment

Question 7

5th Key Aspect to RM

Answer 7

Providing Improved Confidence for Individuals to make informed risk decisions, Adequate risk analysis provides a clearer picture of the hazards and of unit capabilities

Question 8

6th Key Aspect of RM

Answer 8

Preserving personnel and materiel by avoiding unnecessary risk, thus reducing mishaps and their associated costs

Question 9

7th Key aspect of RM

Answer 9

Providing an adaptive process for the continuous feedback through the planning, preparation, and execution phases of any evolution

Question 10

8th Key aspect of RM

Answer 10

Identifying feasible and effective control measures, particularly where specific standards do not exist.

Question 11

RM does not

Answer 11

 Inhibit flexibility, initiative, or accountability.
 Remove risk altogether or support a “zero defect” mindset.
 Remove the necessity for practice, drills, rehearsals, and tactics, techniques, and procedures.
 Sanction or justify violating orders or the law

Question 12

Four Principles of RM

Answer 12

• Accept Risks when benefits outweigh the costs
• Accept no Unnecessary risk
• Anticipate and Manage risk by planning
• Make Risk decisions at the Right level

Question 13

Accept Risk when benefits outweigh the cost

Answer 13

Our Marine Corps tradition is built upon principles of seizing the initiative and taking decisive action. The goal of RM is not to eliminate risk, but to manage the risk so the mission can be accomplished with the minimum amount of loss. The process of weighing risks against the benefits and value of the task or mission helps maximize success. Balancing costs and benefits is a subjective process. Therefore, personnel with knowledge and experience of the mission or task must be engaged when making risk decisions.

Question 14

Accept No unnecessary Risk

Answer 14

An unnecessary risk is any risk that, if taken, will not contribute meaningfully to task or mission accomplishment or will needlessly jeopardize personnel or materiel. Risk is managed through relentless training, awareness of the risk being confronted, and a clear-eyed understanding of the mission at hand. Training and the confidence derived from it will directly result in increased performance and a better control of those risks that are an inescapable part of daily existence. The acceptance of risk does not equate to the imprudent willingness to gamble. Additionally, if all detectable hazards have not been identified then unnecessary risks are being accepted. The RM process, in conjunction with sound safety principles, identifies hazards that might otherwise go unidentified and provides tools to reduce or offset risk. End state: take only risks that are necessary to accomplish the task, activity, or mission

Question 15

Anticipate and Manage Risk by planning

Answer 15

integrating RM into planning at all levels, and as early as possible, provides the greatest opportunity to make well-informed risk decisions and to implement effective risk controls. This engaged approach enhances the overall effectiveness of RM by reducing mishaps, injuries, and costs. Hazards and controls that have been identified during reconnaissance and preplanning should be in the operations order.

Question 16

Make Risk Decisions at the Right Level

Answer 16

RM decisions are made by the leader directly responsible for the operation. While anyone can make a risk decision, the appropriate decision level should reside whereby the leader can make decisions to accept, eliminate, or reduce the risk. Prudence, experience, judgment, intuition, and situational awareness of leaders directly involved in the planning and execution of the mission are the critical elements in making effective RM decisions. When leaders responsible for executing a mission determine that the risk associated with that mission cannot be controlled at their level, or goes beyond the commander’s stated intent, the risk decision shall be elevated within their chain of command to the first staff noncommissioned officer or officer within the unit. If unable to mitigate the risk at the unit level, the risk decision shall be elevated to the next commander in the chain of command.

Question 17

Three levels of RM

Answer 17

In depth level
Deliberate level
Time Critical level

Question 18

In Depth

Answer 18

refers to situations when available time for planning is not a limiting factor and involves a very thorough risk assessment

Question 19

Deliberate level

Answer 19

refers to situations when there is ample time to apply the RM process to the mission planning evolution.

Question 20

Time Critical

Answer 20

This is the level at which personnel operate on a daily basis both on and off duty. The time critical level is the normal RM level used during the execution phase of training or operations as well as in planning during crisis response scenarios. At this level, there is little or no time to make a plan resulting in an “on the spot” mental or verbal review of the situation

Question 21

Five step process for RM

Answer 21

Identify Hazards
Assess Hazards
Make Risk Decisions 
Implement Controls
Supervise

Question 22

Identify Hazards

Answer 22

A hazard is defined as any condition with the potential to negatively impact the task or mission. Hazards can also cause property damage, injury to personnel, or death, which highlights the importance of hazard identification

Question 23

Assess Hazards

Answer 23

For each hazard identified, determine the associated degree of risk in terms of probability and severity.

Question 24

Make Risk decisions

Answer 24

Step 3 is accomplished in two sub steps in order to make informed risk decisions:
 Identifying and assessing risk control options
 Ultimately making risk decisions
 Reject the risk
 Avoid the risk
 Delay an Action
 Transfer the risk
 Compensate for the risk

Question 25

Implement Controls

Answer 25

The critical check for this step is to ensure that controls are converted into clear, simple execution orders understood at all levels

Question 26

Supervise

Answer 26

Supervision involves conducting follow-up evaluations of the controls to ensure they remain in place and have the desired effect

Question 27

Head protection

Answer 27

Safety helmets protect against impact, penetration, and electric shock. Head-hazardous areas are designated where there is reasonable possibility of head injury caused by cuts, bumps, falling or flying objects, and from limited electric shock and burns. Industrial head protection appropriate to exposure shall be worn during the entire work shift by Marine Corps personnel assigned to head-hazardous or hardhat areas. Any other personnel entering head-hazardous areas shall wear appropriate head protection

Question 28

Hearing protection

Answer 28

Hearing protective devices shall be worn by all personnel when they enter or work in an area where the operations generate noise levels of, greater than 84 dBA (8 hour TWA) sound level, 140 dB peak sound pressure level or greater. A combination of insert type and circumoral hearing protective devices (double protection) shall be worn in all areas where noise levels exceed 104 dBA (8 hour TWA) sound levels. Additionally, all personnel exposed to gunfire in a training situation or to artillery, mortar, or missile firing, under any circumstances, shall wear hearing protective devices.

Question 29

Foot protection

Answer 29

All Marine Corps personnel occupationally exposed to foot-hazardous operations or areas shall be furnished appropriate safety footwear at organizational expense. Foot-hazardous operations are those, which have a high incidence of, or a potential for, foot or toe injuries. Some of these operations or areas include; construction material handling, maintenance, transportation, weapons, supply, warehousing, vehicle maintenance facilities, aircraft maintenance, fuels, and avionics.

Question 30

Eye Protection

Answer 30

Marine Corps personnel working in eye-hazardous areas or operations identified in PPE survey shall be provided adequate eye protection at government expense. All persons entering an eye-hazardous area or a hazard radius of an eye-hazardous operation, including other workers, supervisors, or visitors, shall also be required to wear eye protection.

Question 31

Hazardous material

Answer 31

Any material that, because of its quantity, concentration, or physical or chemical characteristics, may pose a hazard to human health or the environment during use, handling, storage, transportation, or spill

Question 32

Hazardous Waste

Answer 32

Any discarded material (liquid, solid, or gas) which meets the definition of HM and/or is designated as a hazardous waste by the Environmental Protection Agency or a State authority.

Question 33

Material Safety Data Sheet

Answer 33

A document that contains on the potential health effects of exposure to chemicals, or other potentially dangerous substances, and on safe working procedures when handling chemical products.
 Contains hazard evaluations on the use, storage, handling and emergency procedures related to the material.
 Contains the hazards of the product, how to use the product safely, what to expect if the recommendations are not followed, what to do if accidents occur, how to recognize symptoms of overexposure, and what to do if such incidents occur.