"Check 3-GPS": Off-duty risk management concept

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Candice C. Page
  • Headquarters Air Combat Command Public Affairs
JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. --  The Air Combat Command Safety Office recently released the new off-duty Risk Management (RM) concept "Check 3" to help Airmen prevent injuries and hazards when planning off-duty activities.

Though the Air Force has made a continued effort to make Airmen and their families aware of hazards they may face while participating in off-duty activities, they continue to see increases in accidental injuries and death with majority of them occurring off-duty.

Although the current RM processes, (ID hazards, assess hazards, develop controls, implement controls and evaluate), are effective in preventing hazards and injuries on-duty, ensuring Airmen remember to use them for off-duty activities has been a continuous issue.

Col. Larry Nixon, ACC director of safety, says lengthy processes and hard to remember acronyms may create issues with personnel actually remembering what RM steps to execute during an off-duty activity.

"The new concept "Check 3" implies - there are three areas to "check" - Gear, Plan and Skills (acronym = GPS)," said Nixon. "For instance, "G" or gear may encompass details such as personal protective equipment, your vehicle, or availability of drinking water. "P" or plan may encompass the timeline, weather, sequence, emergency contact/backup, as well as other facets. "S" or skills may mean are you rested for the activity or your overall experience level with the activity. After an individual runs their Check 3 assessment, if an issue appears in any area of GPS, the individual can look to adjust an area to mitigate hazards."



The safety office believes this approach to off-duty RM allows a much easier and realistic approach. It will be mentally easy for Airmen to remember and execute.

"We are Airmen 24/7, it's not just at work that we perform our wingmen duties and Airmen duties," said Nixon. "Off-duty RM is very important because if I am injured off-duty I am no longer an asset to the Air Force. It doesn't matter if Airmen are injured off-duty or on-duty; if they cannot perform the task and the mission they are assigned."

More information pertaining to the "Check 3" concept will be released over the next few months.