ONLINE TRAINING: SORA fundamentals

Course QUick overview

The Specific Operations Risk Assessment (SORA) was created by the Joint Authorities on Rulemaking for Unmanned Systems (JARUS) as a way of estimating the risk of airborne drone operations. The guidelines they established were recommendations that have now been adopted by aviation authorities around the world as an acceptable means of compliance (AMC) for drone operators.

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What is the SORA methodology?

The SORA methodology is a framework that helps both regulators and drone operators know how to implement airborne operations safely. JARUS receives feedback from regulators on the current methodology and iterates based on those comments, which means SORA is being updated on a continual basis. This course is about the current standard: SORA 2.0.

There are 10 main steps involved in the SORA process:

The concept of operations (ConOps)
Determination of the intrinsic ground risk class (GRC)
Determination of the final ground risk class (GRC)
Determination of the initial air risk class (ARC)
Application of strategic mitigations to determine the residual air risk class (ARC)
Tactical mitigation performance requirements (TMPR) and levels of robustness
Final specific assurance and integrity level (SAIL) and operational safety objectives (OSO) assignment
Identification of operational safety objectives (OSOs)
Adjacent area and airspace considerations
Comprehensive safety portfolio

During the course, Lorenzo Murzilli will explain what each of these steps means and what organisations need to know, including likely changes that will come in SORA 2.5.

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#Video

Introduction to the online SORA training

This first part is all about the training program itself, providing the participant with an overview of the content to be covered and a general description of the course with key points. It also includes a brief presentation of Murzilli Consulting, their activities, and Lorenzo Murzilli himself. The aim of this introduction is to draw a structured map of the course, define the objectives and introduce the training provider.

Duration

6:54

JARUS Introduction

This part of the training introduces the Joint Authorities for Rulemaking of Unmanned Systems, better known as JARUS, and describes who is part of it and how the participants are distributed to cover all topics. The background and evolution of JARUS gives a context to better understand the origins of the SORA and have a clear picture of the main roles and responsibilities. An overview of the working groups that collaborate in the development of the SORA makes it easier to understand its structure. The different categories of drones defined by JARUS (Open, Specific, Certified) are explained and used as a starting point to help determine the cases covered by the SORA.

Duration

4:04

Drone categories

This part covers the different categories in which UAVs are classified: Open, Specific, Certified. The participant is presented with a description of each of the categories and explanations regarding the way authorities consider operations in the different categories. Links are being made with how JARUS, EASA, and the FAA deal with this system and what the differences exist between Europe and the United States. The requirements for operational approvals differ for each category and this training explains the background for such differences. Finally, the content gives an introduction to specific requirements such as the Design Verification (DVR) or the Type Certification (TC).

Duration

5:09

The SORA process

What is the SORA? This part of the training opens the topic and highlights the key points of the process. The aim of the SORA is defined and its philosophy explained. The explanation of the general concept includes the context in which the SORA was developed and the logic that is behind it. The input of the SORA, called the ConOps, is introduced in simple terms and opens the way to a deeper understanding of how the risk of an operation can be assessed. The different steps of the SORA are mentioned and the whole structure, including Main Body and Annexes, is depicted. Finally, the content explains the outputs (objectives and requirements) provided by the SORA and their impact on the applicant’s strategy. Ultimately the safety portfolio completes the whole picture and brings in the last piece of information.

Duration

6:26

The SORA process detailed

This training content describes in both pictures and words all parts of the SORA process, from the beginning to the end. It goes through all steps in detail: from the Conops and Annex A to the intrinsic Ground Risk Class (GRC), from Mitigations M1-M2-M3 and Annex B to the final GRC, including Annex F that contributes to making the GRC steps more quantitative. We discuss the importance of the Decision Point that corresponds to the limit of what the SORA can cover. We explore the Air Risk Class (ARC), both initial and final, and discuss the strategic and tactical mitigations that allow to reduce the risk. Annex D is also described and finally we reach the SAIL determination process. Once all these steps are behind, we proceed to the OSO assignment and end up covering the final step 9: adjacent airspace consideration and its containment.

Duration

10:27

Compliance and cases

When it comes to compliance, the SORA provides information on how comply with the requirements and reach the numerous safety objectives. This part of the training dives into how the applicant should collect and present evidence. The aim is to be able to build a comprehensive safety portfolio that contains all the required items. Some additional topics come into discussion such as “no-go” operations, harmless drones and pre-defined scenarios. After having gone through this part, the participant should have a better understanding of the complete content expected in the final SORA document to be provided for an operational authorisation application.

Duration

5:56

A summary of all steps of the SORA

This part gives a quick overview of the whole SORA process and summarizes all steps. It describes how to find the final GRC and final ARC after having applied the respective mitigations, and how to deduct the corresponding SAIL afterwards. Ultimately, it reveals how to find out the OSO that apply for the previously determined SAIL and find which robustness level each of them has to fulfill. Altogether, this gives the SORA process flow in a nutshell.

Duration

5:02

Semantics of the SORA

This part of the training focuses on the semantic model of the SORA and covers all its elements: the flight geography, the containment area, and the operational volume. For each of these, the boundaries are defined and the link with normal, contingency, and emergency procedures is brought into light. An explanation of the ground risk buffer provides the participant with a deeper understanding of its purpose and a clearer idea of how to size it. The links with the surrounding area highlight the importance of having a broad horizon when evaluating risks.

Duration

6:19

The concept of robustness

The robustness of the safety objectives is a central point of the SORA since it makes the difference between SAILs in terms of requirements and therefore has a significant impact on the feasibility of the operation. The robustness is a combination of two aspects, the integrity and the assurance, which are both well described in this part of the training. A key element of the robustness is the dynamics between the integrity and the assurance and their interaction. The training also gives concrete examples and describes the different levels of robustness available in the SORA: none/low, medium, and high. In the SORA, the robustness is defined in a qualitative way, therefore this chapter explains the differences with a quantitative assessment and the reasons for this choice.

Duration

7:30

The ConOps and GRC explained

In this chapter, the main topic covered is the Ground Risk Class. The participant is led through a complete explanation of the iteration process and learns how to figure out the intrinsic GRC of an operation. The content covers the use of the table provided in the JARUS Package for this step of the SORA and provides an introduction of the future quantitative table that is currently being developed. Key notions like the controlled ground area and the kinetic energy are explained and important definitions provided.

Duration

7:56

The strategic mitigations

This part is focusing on the strategic mitigations that are available to reduce the intrinsic GRC. The three different types of mitigation are described including the criteria to evaluate their robustness : M1 - Strategic Mitigations for Ground Risk, M2 - Effects of UA impact dynamics are reduced (parachute, FTS), and M3 - An Emergency Response Plan (ERP) is in place, operator validated and effective. We also explore the future changes to be expected in the next version of the SORA and we illustrate with examples the most common mitigations used by operators and how to apply them. Finally, the calculation of the resulting risk score closes this part.

Duration

4:22

The ARC and associated mitigations

The Air Risk Class corresponds to the risk of encounter in the airspace. This part details how to find in which ARC an operation belongs, depending on multiple parameters. The flow chart provided in the JARUS Package for this step is explored and explained, along with the key air risk definitions such as atypical airspace (including local specificities), airport environment, heliport, and many more. To conclude the air risk assessment, Step 5 covers how to find the final ARC after having applied various tactical mitigations. The notions of Tactical Mitigation Performance Requirement (TMPR) and risk ratio are also defined and illustrated with examples.

Duration

5:19

How to find your SAIL and the corresponding OSO

This part explains how to use the table to find the SAIL by combining the final GRC and the final ARC. The link between all three components is explained and connected with the structure of the table. Following this, we dive into the differences that mark the limit between SAILs and understand the logic for these delimitations. Once the SAIL is established, we move on to finding the corresponding Operational Safety Objectives (OSO) and the link between the SAIL and the robustness level of each OSO is put into evidence.

Duration

5:32

Step 9 & 10: Adjacent area and Safety Portfolio

When conducting UAS operations in a defined airspace volume, the adjacent areal needs to be taken into account as well in the risk assessment. In this part of the training, the focus is set on Step 9 of the SORA which precisely covers this complex topic. Here, the participant learns how to show compliance with the all the requirements but also how to build a proper comprehensive safety portfolio. This altogether constitutes the conclusion of the SORA and once it’s completed the process comes to an end.

Duration

3:47

The ConOps and Annex I (Glossary)

This last part of the training gives the opportunity to repeat all the most important aspects of the SORA in a more detailed manner and navigate through the whole process one more time. The aim is to provide more concrete examples to the participant to clarify any remaining uncertainty. As a starting point of this last pass, the structure of the ConOps is described in more detail and the content of its two parts, operational (A1) and technical (A2) aspects, is revealed. The responsibilities of each of the stakeholders are highlighted and the general aim of the ConOps becomes clearer. The training also provides insights on what authorities intend to do with the SORA, what they use it for and what they expect to find in it. The various points covered by each section of the ConOps reflect the elements the authorities need to acquire knowledge of. Additionally, Annex I completes this part by bringing in the glossary, the organisation overview, operations description and limitations, procedures, staff training.

Duration

6:45

The Ground Risk Process detailed

Once again the training goes through the whole ground risk process but this time in more detail. The aim of this process is more precisely defined and the consideration of critical infrastructures is explained. This part additionally describes the structure of these steps and makes parallels with how the ground risk model is built. We clarify the GRC determination step-by-step, we learn to combine all aspects to finally find the result in the table. To complete this process, the mitigations available to reduce the intrinsic GRC are mentioned again but this time they are defined using Annex B and the participant discovers how to really evaluate their robustness. The specific case of tethered operations and the importance of the sequence in which mitigations are applied complete the chapter. Evaluation criteria and values close the topic.

Duration

14:32

The Air Risk Process detailed

To complete the previous chapter about the air risk process, we add important definitions and local specificities. This additional part on the air risk covers the different categories and the mitigations available to reduce the risk. The difference between the strategic mitigations and the tactical mitigations is also explained and for both types we describe when and how to apply them. Finally, the airspace classification completes the picture along with the content of Annex C. The key points of this part are: the detect-decide-avoid loop, TMPR, and how to make sure the chosen mitigation is applicable and efficient in the chosen airspace.

Duration

24:40

SAIL & OSO detailed

This part of the training highlights the links between the SAIL of an operation and the associated OSO, illustrated by the content of Annex E that covers the robustness of OSO. The logic behind the grouping of OSO according to their topic is also described as an important part of the understanding of the SORA. Ultimately, the training provides a description of the table used for this step, along with examples to illustrate and explain the levels of robustness and how they work.

Duration

6:12

Adjacent Airspace & Safety Portfolio detailed

To close this training program, we go together through the final Step 9 of the SORA that covers the adjacent airspace. Ultimately and as a conclusion of the SORA process, the participant learns in more detail how to build a comprehensive safety portfolio.

Duration

2:48

#Downloadable files

SORA Fundamentals slides

JARUS Guidelines SORA

Educators

Lorenzo Murzilli

Founder & CEO at Murzilli Consulting

Lorenzo is a graduated aerospace engineer, innovation manager and specialist in aviation, system safety and drones. He is the Founder & CEO at Murzilli Consulting, a digital consulting agency focused on aviation. Leader of the Joint Authorities for Rulemaking on Unmanned Systems WG-SRM, he oversees the work of more than 100 professionals in several task forces developing recommendations for safety and risk management of drones operations worldwide.

Guest lecturer at the Zürich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) and the Xihua University, previously with Leonardo, Pilatus Aircraft and the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation, Lorenzo has developed a striking ability to boost innovation in safety-critical environments and enjoys exploring the intersection of safety and disruptive technologies that can advance the human race forward.

Course QUick overview

The Specific Operations Risk Assessment (SORA) was created by the Joint Authorities on Rulemaking for Unmanned Systems (JARUS) as a way of estimating the risk of airborne drone operations. The guidelines they established were recommendations that have now been adopted by aviation authorities around the world as an acceptable means of compliance (AMC) for drone operators.

99 CHF +VAT

1.00 CHF = 0.9 GBP = 1.01 EUR = 1.08 USD

Purchase course

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