Identifying risks

Aerospace and defense organizations in the United States and the United Kingdom are relying on risk management software from Herndon-based Active Risk to help develop the F-35 fighter jet.

“We produce enterprise and project risk software,” says Loren Padelford, Active Risk’s executive vice president and general manager. “Our software helps them understand the impact that risks have on their cost for the project and the schedule for delivery. We work with long-term, high-value projects.”

The company’s Active Risk Manager software is now being used in major energy, infrastructure and defense capital projects in the U.S., Europe, Asia, South America, Australia and the Middle East. Current projects include Crossrail, a 73-mile railway under construction in southeast England, and the Kuala Lumpur Mass Rapid Transit System in Malaysia’s capital city.

Customers use the software to identify risks and the impact they would have on a project. “It tells people the action that needs to take place,” Padelford says. “It allows people to be aware at all times of what is taking place in their business and to manage risk.”

The U.S. Air Force uses the risk management software to determine where it can save money on products that it uses for long-term projects. “It allows them to understand where they are spending their money and if that spending is doing anything positive. It can identify areas of concern,” Padelford says.

Any type of risk can impact project cost and scheduling. “High-profile capital projects cannot afford to leave risk management to chance,” says Padelford.