(70a) Role of Qualitative Risk Assessments in Managing Project Start-Ups

A qualitative approach to performing risk assessments for project start-ups has recently been developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory with the goal of providing a simple tool to help manage projects that require cross-functional teams to implement a project with a variety of drivers and/or constraints. This approach focuses on the development of risk-based planning to guide selection of tasks to be performed during the planning and start-up phases of a project to reduce risk, lower costs, and improve chances of success. Examples of how the tool has been successfully implemented will be given.