Article review
This is a review of the article “Establishing a Total Safety Culture within a Flight Department” by Homan, W.J., Rantz, G. W and Balden, R. B and published by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 1998.
The article presents principles and procedures based on behaviour. These procedures and principles are successfully applied to modify safety attitudes within Flight departments. It addresses the constraints and flaws of human condition and methods of employees to learn safe behaviour. It then goes ahead and propose management of crew resources as a tool of increasing general safety in the Aviation industry. Additionally, it identifies senior corporate management as vital to the success and safety of corporate flight operations. Lastly, it discusses the critical issues around the corporate culture and the eventual objectives of totally safe principles and gives proposals that can increase the degree of safety in aviation business
Introduction
Evidence from National Business Aviation Association (1998) shows that the Aviation business has extensively grown in the last 20 years same with the safety record of the industry. Flight department safety statistics are better than that of operators of air taxi and can be compared to that of leading airlines. For instance, its rate of accident is about 023 for every 100,000 operation hours and the rate of fatality at around 0.06 in the same scale. This can be attributed to adoption of duo flight crews, standardization if the recurrence training and sophistication of flight equipment (Homan, Rantz & Baden, 1998). However, this does not mean that everything is well in the industry.
Aviation traffic is projected to increase in the coming future and concentrating to vengeance on the standards of safety is the only way to reduce the rate of accidents and fatality. Prioritization of safeties in all the levels and ensuring that it permeates in the whole organization are the solutions of to achieve ultimate safety in the aviation industry lies in. However, this is not easy to accomplish due to its complexity (Homan, Rantz & Baden, 1998).
We mostly think that safety is a type behaviour that occurs naturally yet the vice versa is true. Research has shown that it is a natural human tendency for staff to depend on simple and quick shortcuts to get their task done. Other than using safety centred standard operating process, several defensive strategies were created to aid staff cope with the urge of taking shortcuts (Homan, Rantz & Baden, 1998). Organizational approach is needed to make incorporate safety in the workplace. For instance, job training on safety and reducing peer pressure to take a risk.
Safety approach based on behaviour
This approach focussed on the noticeable actions of the staff together with the setting of the organization which the actions. The safety theory is fit because over 80% of aviation accidents are due to human error. It advocates for the removal of communication barriers so as to inaugurate a continuous degree of awareness thus guiding a complete safe culture which will be across the institution (Homan, Rantz & Baden, 1998).
Personal safety attitudes improving
According to Jensen (1989), there are several dangerous attitudes that will expose safety in the aviation setting. First is the anti-authority arrogance found in staffs that dislike being told what to do. The second is the impulsive attitudes which are found in staff who often feel the urge to do something immediately even without following the set procedure. Third, the attitude of Macho which is shown by staffs that keep on trying to ascertain that they are superior to everyone. Lastly, is the resignation attitude whereby staffs do not see himself able of bringing a significant deal of the Merence.
These attitudes will end up creating a risky and poor performance. Staffs are encouraged to examine their thoughts and focus at countering the. Identifying the limitations to human performance is also necessary to identify since most of them believe in human error. The recognition and consciousness of human conditions go a lengthy way in handling critical blunders as they get catastrophic.
Management of crew resource
This is the effective use of every available resource so as to reduce the human associated accidents and improve teamwork and awareness of situation so as to enhance the human and machine interface. It has broadened its focus to include specialized training on team coordination and technical maintenance.
Corporate Culture
In the structure of the corporate world, assumption made by managers laid the culture’s foundation. The assumption reveal the managers’ standards on how the conduct business and their expectation of how staffs should conduct themselves (Homan, Rantz & Baden, 1998). Behavioural scientist claim that rewarded actions are more likely to repeat until it is in the system or the corporate culture. Finally, the employee perception of the managers’ values and deeds is vital to the reshaping of corporate culture.
Conclusion
A complete approach to safety in needed to accomplish a totally safe culture in the aviation industry. Using the approach based on behaviour could help find out what went wrong and give solutions on how to evade future accidents (Homan, Rantz & Baden, 1998). In the current trends in the business world like mergers and buy outs can result clashes in corporate culture creating a rather confusing and mostly unsafe environment conditions.
Corporates should strive to get the highest level of protection for them to be able to avoid potential safety threats. Furthermore, managers should focus on creating a staff setting that is positive by opening channels of communication among the personnel. Finally, all personnel should be aware that this is a continuous process and it needs commitment, response and teamwork to maintain it.
Reference
Homan, W.J., Rantz, G. W and Balden, R. B. (1998). Establishing a Total Safety Culture within a Flight Department. Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research, 8(2). Retrieved from http://commons.erau.edu/jaaer/vol8/issue 2/3
Erickson, J. A. (1997). The relationship between corporate culture and safety perfomance. Professional Safety. 42(5), 29-33.
Jensen, R S. (1 989). Aeronautical Decision Making-Cock~it Resource Management. The Ohio State University Research Foundation, Columbus, Ohio
National Business Aviation Association (1998). Business Aviation Fact Book. Washington, DC: NBAA publications
