TRACEY RUSSELL
Directorate of Assessments and Prevention
Ground Division
U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center
Fort Rucker, Alabama
An often-quoted Greek philosopher stated, “The only constant in life is change.” This is certainly true for the evolution of safety processes and how we collect, analyze and utilize information gleaned from mishap investigations.
When the Army Safety Management Information System (ASMIS) 2.0 mishap and near-miss reporting tool is released in the near future, you will find many changes to the reporting process beyond the reporting platform itself. To comply with Department of Defense (DoD) mishap reporting requirements and to provide improved data for analysis, mishap categories have changed significantly. Common terminology must be used to properly aggregate mishap data provided from all the military services. This is a driving force behind the new mishap categories. There are also “minimum data elements” each of the services is required to report on mishaps, which will result in various data points that are required to successfully submit a mishap report to the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center.
To ensure the appropriate data elements are collected while avoiding irrelevant questions (e.g., asking if a Soldier injured while running PT was wearing a seat belt), users will select a mishap category under Aviation or Ground to create a report. They will then go through a series of questions/instructions to enter information. Further information may be required based on specific responses. Many of the data fields utilize a menu to select from rather than free text in order to standardize data for analysis. The new mishap categories for reporting are as follows:
Aviation
- Manned — A mishap involving an Army aircraft flown under the control of onboard personnel.
- Unmanned — A mishap involving an Army aircraft operated without the possibility of direct human intervention from within or on the aircraft. It is operated by personnel on the ground or in a manned aircraft.
- Aerostat — A mishap involving an Army aerostat. Note: Aerostat is a generic term used to describe lighter-than-air platforms that are tethered and considered operational when the system platform (or launchpad) is manned and power is applied to winches and other safety release devices as part of the launching process.
Ground
- Motor Vehicle — A mishap involving a motor vehicle while it is in operation.
- Sports, Recreation and Physical Training — A mishap associated with leisure, sports and physical fitness activities. Leisure/recreational activities are those often done for enjoyment, amusement or pleasure. This includes both mandatory and voluntary, group and individual fitness activities (unit runs, physical training tests, organized unit fitness training, etc.) and events that occur onboard DoD vessels.
- Industrial/Occupational — A mishap that involves operations similar to those performed in private industry that is not included in the other mishap categories such as a motor vehicle. This includes, but is not limited to, equipment maintenance, facility construction and maintenance, health care provision, veterinary services, laboratory research, public law enforcement, firefighting, transportation, and administrative and clerical tasks. It also includes mishaps that occur onboard DoD vessels that result from shipyard, repair facility or private contractor operations.
- Weapons/Explosives — A mishap involving individual weapons, weapon systems, ammunition or explosive materials. Any unplanned or planned explosion or functioning of explosive materials or devices, which results in unintended damage or injury (not as a result of enemy action) that are not guided missile, chemical agent or radiation mishaps. They include the inadvertent actuation, jettisoning, and releasing or launching of explosive devices and impacts of ordnance off range/target. They also include the accidental (negligent) discharge of small-arms weapons (in unit arms rooms, on guard duty) and hunting or recreational shooting accidents.
- Combat Skills/Military Unique — A mishap that occurs while conducting combat operations or military training activities/exercises designed to develop or maintain individual or collective combat or peacekeeping skills. This includes those skills or tasks that are directly associated with training for or conducting combat operations such as locate, close with, and destroy the enemy with fire and maneuver, and to repel the enemy assault by fire and close combat. It also includes these events that occur onboard DoD vessels.
- Military Parachuting (Personnel) — A mishap that occurs during operations involving the aerial delivery of personnel involving the use of aircraft. It does not include off-duty, recreational parachuting or skydiving activities. These should be reported as Sports, Recreation and Physical Training mishaps. Military parachute training not involving jumping from an aircraft in flight should be reported as Combat Skills/Military Unique.
- Military Parachuting (Cargo) — A mishap that occurs during operations involving the aerial delivery of equipment involving the use of aircraft.
- Military Diving — A mishap involving military dive operations, including construction/fabrication, tactical diving, and marine diving accidents classified as Type II Decompression Sickness or Pulmonary Over Inflation Syndromes. It does not include off-duty, recreational diving or dive operations in direct support of an afloat vessel. Recreational diving should be reported as Sports, Recreation and Physical Training mishaps.
- Military Vessels — A mishap involving shipboard-unique events, including collision, grounding, flooding, line handling, docking, resupply, rigging and shipboard fires. It does not include industrial and occupational events defined elsewhere, even though they took place while afloat.
- Rail — A mishap involving railroad-unique events involving Army-owned rail equipment, including impacts, derailment, a runaway train, fire/explosions initiated by the rolling stock or other rail-specific mishaps. It includes specialty equipment used for track repairs, inspections and construction. It does not include industrial and occupational events defined elsewhere, even though they occurred on or near rail cars. It also does not include damage to Army equipment damaged solely as a result of loading and unloading while the rail car is not in motion.
- Other Ground — A ground mishap that does not meet the criteria of other ground mishaps. This includes on-duty injury and property damage cases that do not fit elsewhere and other off-duty mishap types.
The entry of information in the tool will be further categorized in the database to provide greater detail for analysis. For example, while all motor vehicle mishaps will be entered in the same reporting category, the output will allow that information to be presented in subcategories such as Government Motor Vehicle and Private Motor Vehicle. Private Motor Vehicle will be further categorized into PMV-2, PMV-4 and PMV-Pedestrian/Non-Motorist. The new application will also provide visibility to a multitude of mishap information to support decision-making at the appropriate level in the risk management process.
It is a well-known fact that human beings are resistant to change. Without a doubt, the new ASMIS 2.0 mishap and near-miss reporting tool is going to present a significant change to the reporting process. We ask that you embrace the change and work with us to continuously improve our Army’s tools and processes as we deploy this mishap and near-miss reporting tool and the follow-on applications that will complete the Army Safety Management Information System.