Commandant
2100 Second Street, SW
United States Coast Guard
Washington, DC 20593-0001
Staff Symbol: G-WKS-4
Phone: (202) 267-6863
COMDTINST 3500.3
23 NOV 1999
COMMANDANT INSTRUCTION 3500.3
Subj: OPERATIONAL RISK MANAGEMENT
Ref:
(a) Team Coordination Training, COMDTINST 1541.1
1.
PURPOSE. This Instruction standardizes the Coast Guard's Operational Risk Management (ORM) policy
and outlines procedures and responsibilities to implement it.
2.
ACTION. Area and district commanders, commanders of maintenance and logistics commands,
commanding officers of headquarters units, assistant commandants for directorates, Chief Counsel, and
special staff offices at Headquarters shall ensure this Instruction is distributed to the widest extent possible
and all personnel comply with its provisions.
3.
DIRECTIVES AFFECTED. None.
4.
BACKGROUND. Human error causes a significant number of mishaps that have resulted in the loss of
personnel, cutters, boats, aircraft, and equipment. Many times faulty risk decisions have placed our personnel
at greater risk than necessary. After four major marine mishaps between 1991 and 1993, including the
capsizing and sinking of the F/V SEA KING, the National Transportation Safety Board issued two
recommendations documenting the need for Coast Guard risk assessment training. Reference (a) formalizes
the Team Coordination Training (TCT) program to combat human error by focusing on improved team
performance to prevent mishaps. This curriculum and other similar programs, such as Crew Resource
Management (CRM), contain risk management principles that outline a systematic process to continuously
assess and manage risks: the ORM process.
a.
Risk Management Workshop. In the Fall of 1996, the Coast Guard held a multi-dimensional
workshop whose participants included afloat, aviation, marine safety, Auxiliary, Research and
Development, Quality and Performance Consulting, and training