MGB341 Uber Air- Risk Management Plan Assignment Solution

The future of transportation

Uber plans to introduce VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft in cities by the year 2023. The shared ride concept of Uber would still apply. Melbourne will join Dallas and Los Angeles as the first cities to host Uber Air aircrafts (Uber, 2019). The objectives of this project are:

• VTOL aircraft to revolutionize transportation
• Aerial ridesharing at scale
• Environmentally friendly technology 
• Quiet and comfortable flight
• Safety 
• To become market leaders of the future transport industry

 Introducing a game changer into the market has its benefits and hazards especially when it comes to technology. 

Benefits of Uber Air and the technology used

The concept of routine air travel has been thought of from a long time and it is a step towards the future that people have been most anxious about. Delivering this technology would provide Uber a first mover’s advantage at scale at least. Travelling would be hassle free and would increase in efficiency with another mode of transport. The technology used for the VTOLS is expected to be a replica of the drones that have been quite popular in recent times mainly used for coverage of events and sports. The VTOL would be electric powered and is expected to reach a speed of 20mph with a single person on board, although 4 passengers could board the prototype. Just like traditional aircrafts these VTOLs would have to hold up to the quality tests for safety and only once they clear the tests would they be allowed to be launched for public use (Marino, 2019).  

Hazards and Threats Associated with Uber Air

There are a number of foreseeable threats that Uber could face which are surrounded by the concern of safety of these VTOL aircrafts. Insurers face a risk of coverage of such aircrafts and identifying related risks. Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has already issued a number of challenges that Uber will face which include Aircraft safety certification and trained pilots for the VTOLs. Introductions of the “Skyports” (stations for takeoffs and landing) would require a whole infrastructure and if the VTOLs are going to be eVTOLs (electronic) then charging ports would have to be installed as well (QBE, 2019). Safety would be the primary concern of Uber in order to deliver a project that would truly revolutionize transportation. 

Risk Identification Techniques 

The major risk that Uber Air faces is delivering a safe product that people could easily accept and use in routine transport. Throughout the project the quality management team will be in charge of ensuring the standards required to be followed to ensure that the VTOLs are made as safe as possible. The project management has to complete the requirement before the project starts and the requirements should also generate a quality management plan that would oversee the quality of the products used and the safety tests schedules that would test the product at specified intervals under different conditions (Bryde, 1997). Developing a product that require safety, top priority for Uber Air, requires a development of a risk identification technique that would recognize the all risks beforehand so that all these risks can be mitigated before any serious concerns are born (Opdahl, 2012). The risk management plan would include all possible risks that can be foreseen and quality management team would work in order to mitigate all the aforementioned risks during the developmental process these risks would be identified through quantitative and qualitative analysis and then there severity would be assessed using the risk matrix, furthermore the following steps would be included throughout the project: