Project Example

RAMCAP^TM (Risk Analysis and Management for Critical Asset Protection) is a seven-step methodology which enables asset owners of the nation's critical assets to perform self-assessments of their risks relative to specific attacks.  Risk is defined as a function of the likelihood of attack, the vulnerability to the attacks and their consequences.  With this information, alternative risk-reduction and resilience enhancement initiatives can be evaluated for their ability to reduce the vulnerability, likelihood and/or consequences.  The reductions in risks are the benefits of the initiatives that can be used in estimating the benefit/cost ratios and allocating resources to specific initiatives.  RAMCAP^TM is a risk analysis and management process with a common methodology, terminology and metrics, to assist asset owners and government officials to compare risk within and across industry sectors.  Such direct comparisons are essential to support rational decision-making in allocating limited resources to reducing risk and enhancing resilience of critical infrastructure.

RAMCAP^TM for the water and wastewater sector incorporates many stand-alone tools developed specifically for the sector but applicable to a wide variety of critical assets.  Among the tools for use in completing a risk assessment that AEM helped to develop are:

• Toxic Gas Release consequence estimator (fatalities, injuries and impact costs)

   

• Distribution System Contamination consequence estimator (fatalities, injuries and impact costs)

   

• Analysis of natural hazards (floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and seismic events) consequence estimator

   

• Evaluation and quantification of Economic Impacts to the Community

Use of the RAMCAP^TM approach permits the owner/operator of the nation's critical infrastructure to make reasoned business decisions, improve operations, reduce risk and increase the system's resilience.