Human Factors and Crew Resource Management

Human Factors and Crew Resource Management

 

Introduction

In the aviation industry, managers are concerned more with human factors than other aspects of aviation (Hayward and Lowe, 2000). This concern is based on realities that have been encountered through experience all over the world. The reality that influences the heavy focus on human factors is the high number of accidents caused by human error. It is estimated that more than 80% of all aviation accidents are caused by human error. Therefore, the manager’s perspective is mainly focused on the human factors and crew resource management that aims at minimizing risks and increasing efficiency. This focus deals with aspects such as training, creation of communication avenues and promotion of teamwork among crew members. Training requires motivation and safe working environment to enhance the potential of crew members and other aviation industry employees.

Human Factors Training

Human factors refer to how employees interact with their work environment and others at their place of work (Kanki, Helmreich and Anca, 2010). In aviations, the sum of the interactions between the living and working conditions determines whether a crew expert has the ability to safely control an aircraft or not. The ability to control an aircraft depends on the relationship among skills, personality and knowledge that a crew expert has. Given the complexity of flying operations, efficiency and operational skills can only be maintained through rigorous training. A good combination of skills knowledge and personality is used to measure a person’s level of professionalism. Managers, therefore, perceive human factors as an integral part of the aviation industry, which must be enhanced continuously. Therefore, human factors training should be an ongoing process that is part of an organization’s culture and work environment. To ensure that the right skills, knowledge and personality are nurtured; an education system should be developed for all crew members depending on the specialty. One such education system is Crew resource management.

Crew Resource Management

Crew resource management is a management model for responding to errors and threats in aviation (MacLeod, 2005). Managers perceived reduced threat and error as a means of attaining efficiency and success in their work. As such, they support crew resource management and define the aspects that should be included in the model. The following elements are included in the crew resource management:

• Detection of threats by being aware of the situation
• Response to threats using training, and following standard operation procedures, communication and coordination.
• External and internal operations’ awareness

To ensure the elements mentioned above are fulfilled, the crew resource management is crafted to include the following aspects in its structure:

• Decision making and communication skills
• Team building
• Workload

Decision making and communication skills

The core skills that are enhanced by crew resource management include communication and decision making skills (Salas, Bowers and Edens, 2001). These skills entail building up interpersonal skills among crew members with the aim of optimizing their performance. Managers are aware of the fact that information in aviation operations should be offered, requested or given promptly so that effective decision making can be done. Managers, therefore, ensure that the crew resource management programs instill knowledge on communication styles common within the industry for easy interpretation and swift action by the crew. If information is insufficient, or poor communication exists, efficient decision making may be hindered. Consequently, far reaching consequences may arise such as accidents.

Team Building

Team building involves concepts such as team management and leadership. Large aircrafts requires a team of people and not just the pilot. As such teams are required to work together and maximized their synergy especially in times of crises. The need for effective teams is necessitated by complexities that arise due to emergence of new technologies and changing customers’ tastes and preferences. The focus of crew resource management is on people’s behaviors in teams. One challenge that faces the teams is the differences in behavior in individual team members. They think and behave differently due to varied perceptions. Proper training through crew resource management reduces potential conflicts and enhances cohesion and understanding. Team leaders are also offered training in team management. Since teams are composed of different people with diverse backgrounds, conflicts are inevitable. The success of any team depends on how well the members are able to solve their problems amicably. Team leaders are, therefore, offered specialized training in managing teams to enhance its cohesion.

Workload

The concepts that managers perceive to be crucial to crew members include mission planning, work distribution and stress management. Accidents result when team capabilities are overwhelmed by workload. Although high workloads are known to cause accidents, low workloads have surprising been found to harbor potential to cause accidents. This potential arises from complacency by the crew members caused by low-arousal level factor.

Motivation

High morale at work translates to high performance and work output. Managers perceive motivation as one of the driving forces of a successful organization. People must have self drive to put to use their best effort in ensuring that the organization they work for achieve maximum success. As mentioned earlier, people have different perceptions and attitudes. When motivation is put under consideration, different people have different levels of motivation. There are those who are motivated more by extrinsic motivators while others are intrinsically motivated. The managers are in the aviation sector are keen to identify those factors that motivate different employees. To ensure that all employees are motivated to excel in their jobs, different rewards systems are created with the aim of rewarding those who have performed exceptionally well. Those employees who are extrinsically motivated prefer working conditions to be conducive for them to perform their duties maximally. They work beast when equipment and other physical aspects of their job are working according to their expectation. Safety at workplace, especially for crew members is very important (Flin, Connor and Crichton, 2008). When safety measures are taken, the crew members feel secure and are able to deliver quality service to their clients. On the other hand, some employees are intrinsically motivated and prefer job satisfaction. They are interested in growing and developing their jobs because they give them inner satisfaction. Managers are able to perceive the different needs and satisfy them according to different organizations’ policies. Managers use promotion slots as a way of motivating the intrinsically motivated employees. They also ensure good working conditions for employees who are extrinsically motivated.

Conclusion

Managers’ perspectives on crew resource management and human factors are mostly focused on training employees. The training takes place through crew resource management and concepts such decision making and communication skills, workload and team building. Moreover, managers are fully aware of the need to motivate employees more so because aviation is a service industry that involves immense interaction between crew members and clients.

 

References

Flin, R.H., O’Connor, P., & Crichton, M. (2008). Safety at the Sharp End: Training Non-Technical Skills. New York: Ashgate.

Hayward, B.J., & Lowe, A.R. (2000). Aviation resource management: proceedings of the Fourth Australian Aviation Psychology Symposium. New York: Ashgate.

Kanki, B.G., Helmreich, R.L., & Anca, J.M. (2010). Crew Resource Management. Academic Press.

MacLeod, N. (2005). Building Safe Systems in Aviation: Beyond Crew Resource Management. New York: Ashgate Publishing.

Salas, E., Bowers, C.A., & Edens E. (2001). Improving Teamwork in Organization: Applications of Resource Management Training. New York: Taylor & Francis Group.

 

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