Crew Resource Management and Human Factor Program - Example

Crew Resource Management (CRM) and Human Factor Program Name Institution Crew Resource Management (CRM) and Human Factor Program Introduction CRM is a route and training method in schemes where human inaccuracies can have deathly consequences. It finds use in improving air safety and centers on interpersonal communication, control, and decision making. It has been adopted in other organizations such as marine and fire stations. It improves circumstantial awareness, individual- awareness, leadership, insolence and communication (Harris & Muir, 2005). Human factor is defined as an area in psychology that focuses on different issues such as ergonomics, safety in the place of work, human blunders, product blueprint, human potential and human-computer interface. It works with human psychology to design products and create work environments that enhance efficiency while diminishing safety issues (Kendra, 2012). This paper is intended to weigh arguments for and against CRM and human factor as a mandatory requirement for operating Pavlovian Airlines in Australia, providing a conclusion for each argument. Currently, the programme is expensive to install and takes a lot of time before it is self-sustaining. It has been neglected by some airlines, which to not apply it across all departments, as it should be. In addition, the system keeps on being received, adding costs to an organization when adopting newer versions. On the other hand, safety is crucial in any organization. It has been found that where the system has been adopted, there are significant changes in human error levels. It is a mandatory requirement in some places and this gives a reflection of its efficiency in error reduction. Consequently, the system reduces costs within an organization as well as accident levels. PART ONE: Reasons for Operating in Australia Crew Resource Management (CRM) emerged from crash of a United Airlines DC-8-61 in 1978. The programme was innovated to improve safety through trainings, evaluations and responsiveness to changes in technology, operations and training methodologies. Before innovation of the programme, plane could still fly and land safely. This one accident is the one that triggered innovation of the programme. Besides, there are different other reasons a plane accident can occur. CRM therefore should not hinder start of operations of Pavlovian Airlines but will be adopted once the airline is operational and able to afford (Harris & Muir, 2005). Currently, most airlines are bankrupt; the cost of fueling is high CRM programme is expensive to adopt. CRM programme is therefore becoming difficult to adopt and maintain. Even within operating airlines, the standards and quality have degraded due to the high costs. Therefore, there is no basis for preventing the airline from being operational (Harris & Muir, 2005). Recently, there has been report about an accident and incidents that put human at risk. This is in presence of a CRM in the airlines. It is therefore evidence that the programme does not achieve the required objectives. Airlines operating with or without CRM programme are the same. Following deterioration of the programme, the government is planning to restructure the same so that it is more effective (Harris & Muir, 2005). Installing the current programme is just a loss because the programme is not effective and will soon be replaced by a new one. It is therefore justified that Pavlovian Airlines operate in the mean time as the government restructures the current programme. From a research carried out to determine customer employee relationship, it was found that during a customer company interaction, customer service behavior affected the relationship between the customer and the organization. It also contributed to the success of the organization. The results implied that CRM is an enabler of customer relationships, but that could not achieve its full potential unless an organization has a customer-centric culture (Lutz, 2007). A pavlovian airline has already laid strategies to cultivate this culture, which is more important than CRM. In addition to being expensive, CRM and human factor needs can temporarily be replaced with punishments and trainings to keep employees on toes. Training programmes such as situation awareness and the nature and importance of briefings is a basic error management technique. Similarly, joint training of cabin and cockpit crews extends the scope of error management to all employees without necessarily embracing CRM (Helmreich, 1999) . Punishments include circulating memos and suspension in serious cases. Integrating CRM and human factors is like planting a tree in a desert. The tree must be nurtured until its roots are deep enough to sustain the tree. The process is long and expensive for a new airline (Mancuso, 2008). However, it is possible to integrate it once the airline has taken root. From the already existing airlines, there are many cases of outstanding performance of individual employees and departments but inefficiency in organizational level. This is evidence of duplication and inconsistency in practical application of the systems. To ensure a corporate culture in such an organization, there is need for change of policies, philosophies, policies, procedures and practices systematically across all departments (Mancuso, 2008). It is therefore clear that effective operation of CRM and human factor is a long-term and time-consuming process, where it already exists, it does not heed to all requirements. Therefore, Pavlovian Airline can still start operating without the system and integrate it once there are enough resources to do so. Pavlovian Airline has defined a philosophy, which acts as a tool to determine program and department direction and prioritization. From this philosophy, the airline has set coherent and consistent of policies, procedures, and practices for every department ((Mancuso, 2008). These policies and procedures in the mean time play a short time role of human factors. In high-risk situations such as aviation, error is contributed to by natural limitations in addition to human performance therefore; CRM can never be the only tool in error management (Helmreich, 1999). It is just one of the tools to manage error and its place can still be taken up by other cost effective tools to achieve the same or even better objectives. CRM and human factor are part of the tools used to maintain safety in an aviation industry but not the only one. It is expensive to install and operate with need for extra costs of labour and training time. Error in an aircraft can result from natural causes as well as technical problems. Furthermore, it is almost impossible to lower error rate to zero when operating human made machines that are operated by human beings. There is therefore little basis against operation of the airline in Australia. In addition, there are strategies put in place to ensure safety of the crew and the public. Furthermore, there is evidence of instances where human factor principles have been neglected in a company, yet operations continue as usual with few incidents and accidents reported. With this argument, there is not substantial reason as to why the airline should be denied operational rights in Australia without CRM. PART 2 Arguments against Operating in Australia The concept of CRM has evolved in the last two decades with regular valuations and changes to diversify scope and handle emerging issues (Helmreich, 1999). Though there is not substantiated record success in curbing human related incidents and accidents, it has worked to ensure human safety, risk preparedness and reliance on internal responsibility instead of compliance to ensure safety among others (Mancuso, 2008). It is therefore important to adopt the system in the airline before operations start because safety is mandatory to any airline. From a research carried out, attitude has been shown to affect the rate of accidents and incidents caused by crews. Employees with a positive attitude less often cause accidents and incidents than those with a negative attitude. Since the programme works towards an all round objective of shaping the employees and the organization’s operations, it is useful in changing the attitude of employees and safety consequently. Being a good pilot is more than just being a good stick and rudder pilot. It encompasses the ability to manage the workload, use the resources available, make good decisions, and maintain situational awareness. Therefore, technical training does not equip airline staff with enough skills to protect human lives. CRM comes in to cover up for this deficiency of skills. It is mandatory, must be in accordance with the provisions of ADVISORY CIRCULAR 120-51, Crew Resource Management Training, and CFR, SFAR 58 and there is therefore no short cut to not installing it (Harris & Muir, 2005). In most cases, accidents and incidents are caused by human error. It is imperative to recognize that that human inaccuracy is an unavoidable outcome of a human-operated system and the circumstances that lead to blunders can be managed. To deal with these slip-ups, organizations are using professional factors and human factors divisions to help out the organization with the recognition and administration of risk and conditions related to human fault. Where CRM and human factors systems are not installed, the management cannot be questioned and all blame of an accident is burdened to the staff regardless of whether the management contributed to the error (Mancuso, 2008). Where CRM and human factors are not in use, correction of human error is mostly done with punishment in form of memos for example and trainings. These solutions are just quick fixes and are temporally. The underlying causes of the errors are not identified therefore the error repeats itself after sometime. Integration of CRM and human factors happen at all levels of the organization; the management, the work place and the task. It is more than just training employees and works towards managing human error at all levels (Mancuso, 2008). To integrating human culture in an organization, enough resources are necessary. It is a long time consuming process, but once it has taken root, it becomes self-sustaining. It eliminates the need for quick fixes, which in the end do not have any long-term benefits (Mancuso, 2008). Human factors work to manage human error by analyzing human performance in policies, procedures, machines, operational support structure and human resource. It uses multiple disciplines such as psychological, physiological, psychosocial, biomechanical, systems science and management science to ensure performance and minimize human error. It is therefore a discipline that without which an airline puts lives at risk (Mancuso, 2008). Its economic costs are much lower that costs of potential accidents and incidents. There is a problem of pilots being erroneously over confident. This is where a professional pilot feels that he or she can be able to leave personal issues behind while flying. They also feel that they can react to emergencies in the same way they do in normal circumstances. This feeling has been found to contribute to accidents and incidents. Pilots need to realize that every human being is prone to stress that need management hence embrace CRM. Failure to embrace CRM promotes the attitude hence puts all persons on board at risk (Helmreich, 1999). CRM has had recorded achievement in reducing human error in the cockpit. The programme is mandatory in places like Canada. Human factor training need to be extended to maintenance personnel who work under pressure and expected to be 100% efficient. A mistake in their work can cause serious catastrophes. Unlike the pilots who communicate their experiences work, the maintenance personnel in most cases are reserved and do not speak out. It has been observed that most airlines fully equip this team with technical skills and ignore the human factor despite the fact that 80% of human factor errors are attributed to maintenance errors (Grey owl, 1997). Where time has been taken to introduce maintenance management resources, dramatic results have been obtained. It is a major achievement towards obtaining zero incidents in the aviation industry. Holding workshops with the maintenance personnel gives a better insight to error prevention as they open up and give personal experiences in human error prevention (Grey owl, 1997). From a study done to evaluate causes of error in the maintenance department, it was found that 93% of the errors were caused by technicians’ emotional mind. It is said that repetitious work is mostly controlled by the emotional mind while work that is more technical is controlled by rationale mind. 7% of the errors occurred during trouble shooting which is more technical. This is an indication of the needs for human factor tools at work especially in situations of pressure, stress and demand for performance (Grey owl, 1997). Human factor involves analyzing human behavior. It gives an understanding of personal behavior and the behavior of colleagues at work. It enables people to have comfortable communications, handle stressful situations and conflict. Most working situations require teamwork, which cannot be achieved unless there is mutual understanding among team members. A weakness of one member is compensated for by the strength of another. Human factor programmes is therefore crucial if human error and efficiency in aviation industry is to be achieved (Grey owl, 1997). Historically human error has caused or contributed to over 50% of aviation accidents. Of these, 50% resulted from a flight crew error, and an additional 35% were attributed to air traffic controller error. In an effort to find the root cause for this, it was found that flight crews fall short of efficiently managing the resources accessible to them (Pizzi, 2000). In a survey done to analyze the role of CRM in mitigating these errors, it was found to improve the average rating of employees to above average after the training. Before the training, performance of most employees was below average (Pizzi, 2000). Aviation industry is one of those industries where in emergency, one need to make a rational decision fast and remain in a sober state regardless of the kind of emergency. Besides hiring well-qualified staff, an airline should also consider how they handle emergency issues. CRM and human factor is the system that enables employees reacts fast and effectively in cases of emergencies. Crewmembers trained under this programmes and those not trained are very different in the rate of errors in emergencies (Gordon, 1998). CASA has therefore invested and supported different training programmes, which vary with different departments in the industry. Adoption of CRM and human factor has the most dramatic results in error management. It keeps the employees in shaper focus preventing catastrophic accidents in the end. It leads to more improved work quality, safer working environment and a responsible work force. In addition, it may lead to reduced costs, reduced work related accidents, reduction of warranty claims; fewer missed deadlines and reduced events, which can be traced back to maintenance error (Grey owl, 1997). In the end, CRM and human factor reduce costs of maintenance, ensures deadlines are hit, reduces the rate of claiming warranties of machines as well as reduce work related injuries. The high initial costs are recovered flight crews fail to effectively manage the resources available to them in these cost reductions. Employee attitude has been found to contribute to high error rates. This system assists in boosting a positive attitude among employees as well as cooperation and understanding with an aim of enhancing teamwork. PART 3 Judgments CRM is a safety system that is currently going through changes to ensure error is managed in the best way possible. It may not embrace all sources of error and in its presence; accidents and incidents are expected to occur. However, this does not imply that the system is a failure. There are records of success where it has been embraced. In cases of deficiency in error management strategies, pilots should develop effective strategies and provide a focal point for CRM skills, which are not amenable to proceduralization. (Helmreich, 1999). Although planes were still operation before initiation of CRM and human factor, there has dramatic improvement in accident and incident rates. In researches done to compare the two scenarios, respondent are shown to be delighted with the system about the improvements made in reduction of human error. Responses such as "Where were you 20 years ago?" "This type of training is long overdue", "You have changed my attitude towards my life, thank you!” (Grey owl, 2004) are an indication of the role played by CRM and human factor. Installation of CRM programmes is expensive, especially in the current situation of the economy. Fuel prices are equally high and there is dire need to cut off operational as well as initial costs (Harris & Muir, 2005). There is no quantified data on the economic opportunity cost of safety when human factor is foregone. However, putting the public and employees lives at risk does not compare to the cost of installing CRM. In addition, the airline will face a competitive challenge with the current airlines whose system is already in place. CRM and human factor is mandatory and must be in accordance with the provisions of ADVISORY CIRCULAR 120-51, Crew Resource Management Training, and CFR, SFAR 58 (Harris & Muir, 2005). Where these provisions have been ignored, follow up need to be done to ensure human safety is not compromised. In addition, correct adoption of CRM and human factor has been found to reduce human error significantly. It has been shown that most of the accidents and incidents are caused by human error especially when under pressure. Aviation activities require high precision due to the kind of risk involved. CRM and human factor integrates a complex interrelationship of factors that enhance overall safety in an organization. The rate of success in different factors may be different. For example, it may not work well in boosting customer-centric culture (Lutz, 2007), but may be very effective in enhancing decision-making and communication. Being a poor performer in some areas does not mean it should be done away with. Its merits are more than demerits and are a crucial investment in any airline. In a work environment where the risk is high, pressure is high and accuracy is 100%, working environment for the employees should be suitable to absorb the pressure. As presented, repetitious activities is mostly influenced by emotional mind of an employee (Grey owl, 1997). The emotional minds need to be focus enough to avoid errors at work. In this regard, using punishments as a means of keeping employees focused is a wrong strategy. Punishments influences employee mind negatively. They may change in the short term but does not address the root cause of problems in an industry. Employees respond to the punishments as compliance instead on internal responsibility (Helmreich, 1999). Trainings on the other hand are expensive and may not achieve desired results. Failing to install CRM and human factor in Pavlovian Airlines will be more of a cost in itself. Besides employee management, human factor works towards ensuring all bodies of an organization achieve the set goals (Mancuso, 2008). Where CRM and human factor has not been adopted, employees fear the management and cannot challenge it. In some cases, the management contributes to errors and failure in a company. It is therefore important to create a work environment with free communication between the management and employees. With such communication, root causes of problems are identified and sorted out. Success of CRM cannot be measured with the number of accidents that occur as they are few, it also cannot be measured with the number of incidents as now all employees freely report incidents, it however can be measured with the attitude of employees towards their job and towards each other (Pizzi, 2000). From studies done, there is significant change of attitude towards aviation by all related workers and the public. This change of attitude in turn influences the error rates and incidents and accidents reduce after all. From presentation by both CASA and Pavlovian Airlines representative, it is possible to conclude that CRM and human factor plays a vital role in safety issues in aviation industry. Being a high-risk industry, compromising safety systems and programmes is tantamount to murdering citizens of Australia and other nations who may use the airline. As a nation, protecting the right of Australian citizens is a prime responsibility of the government. It cannot therefore allow operation of a company that places citizens’ lives at risk. There is no short cut to operating without a fully adopted CRM programme in any airline in the country. For those reported to have neglected this system, they clearly know that it is breaking rules and regulations of the country and stern measures will be taken against them. Since CRM and human factor are compulsory for airline industries, CASA should be working towards ensuring the system in place achieves intended objectives. The system should work to not only ensure a team of perfectly technically trained personnel, but should also ensure teamwork among crewmembers (Gordon, 1998). The training should focus on behavior as well as personal responsibility. It should teach aviation staff to be effective team leaders and team members. In addition, staff needs to be equipped with skills of handling personal issues at work in order to stay focused (Gordon, 1998). It is important for airlines to realize that their staff has social lives as well which contribute to performance at the work place. There is therefore need for an effective human factor programme to work with the psychology of employees so that personal issues do not jeopardize their work. Crewmembers can in addition participate in role playing. This is where members practice their roles and how they would handle issues in a real life situation. It enables the management to note strengths and weaknesses of each member, to identify areas that need improvement and access leadership skills, teamwork and decision making of employees (Gordon, 1998). Conclusion Besides being an expensive exercise, CRM has played a major role to raise the safety bar of not only the aviation industry but also other industries. It equips employees with human skills such that they are not only technically effective dummies at work but also humans who can handle their personality in work situations. It has been evidenced that before introduction of human factor programmes, the rate of errors that led to accidents and incidents was higher than after introduction of the programme. Though the rate of accident occurrence cannot be used to prove this, change of attitude, reduction of work related accidents, reduction of claiming warranty, better teamwork, leadership skills and better decision making are some of the attributes that can be used to measure success of CRM. From the positive attributes associated with CRM and human factor, operational costs end up reducing. This covers up for the high initial cost of adopting the programme. In some places, the programme is compulsory, this shows that it plays a major role in ensuring safety of the public and concerned human resource. In Australia, there are policies governing CRM and human factor, therefore there is not shortcut to operating without the system in place. The argument put across to operate with other safety systems in place in void considering the effectiveness of CRM, no other system works better in safety enhancement that this. Though punishments and frequent training may be an option, they work only for a short period. Technical training in itself is not enough to manage error rates. They are used to bandage problems instead of dealing with the root cause. The problem recurs after some time. They are thus more expensive in the end and when forgotten, the company goes back to the same problem. Pavlovian Airlines therefore, should not be allowed to operate in Australia unless in heed to CASA and the judge’s demands of installing a CRM and human factor programme. References Lutz Richard, (2007) Human and Organizational Factors That Affect CRM Success retrieved on 11/5/2012 from http://www.destinationcrm.com/Articles/Web-Exclusives/Viewpoints/Human-and-Organizational-Factors-That-Affect-CRM-Success-44767.aspx Harris Don, Muir C Helen(2005) Contemporary Issues In Human Factors And Aviation Safety Ashgate Publishing, Mancuso Vince (2008), Moving from Theory to Practice: Integrating Human Factors into an Organization, Delta Air Lines Helmreich L.Robert (1999) The Evolution of Crew Resource Management Training in Commercial Aviation The University of Texas, Austin. Grey owl, (1997), Importance of MRM Training Volume 8 issue 3 1997 Civil Aviation Training (Cat) Kendra Cherry (2012), What Is Human Factors Psychology? Psychology. Retrieved on 12/5/2012 from http://psychology.about.com/od/branchesofpsycholog1/f/human-factors.htm Pizzi, Laura (2000) Chapter 44. Crew Resource Management and its Applications in Medicine Ergonomics abstract, Volume 32, Issue 3 Gordon O Richard (1998), Crew Resource Management Training retrieved on 12/05/2012 from http://www.crm-devel.org/resources/ac/ac120_51c.htm Read More