Abstract
In the aviation industry, misfortunes have and will continue to take place. Technological advancement has made it possible to make larger and more complicated airplanes. This means that the number of people needed for the efficient working of these machines has inevitably increased. Moreover, the probability of human error has also increased dramatically. Various investigations have been carried out to ascertain the cause of most aircraft accidents. It has been revealed that most of these misfortunes are due to mishaps in crew coordination, and particularly crew communication. These issues are what led to the introduction of the concepts of crew resource management. The aim of this paper is to analyze the role of CRM and its influence in the current aviation industry.
Introduction
Throughout the history of the aviation industry, those involved with airline safety have sometimes committed fatal errors. These mistakes have resulted in serious injuries or the death of innocent individuals. These individuals had every right to be given better attention by their caretakers. Such fatal mistakes can be attributed to many factors. These factors can include unfavorable weather conditions, mechanical malfunctioning of airplanes, and terrorist acts. Apart from these factors, maybe the most significant and primary factor can be attributed to ‘human error.’ These can involve sheer negligence, lack of adequate expertise, personality faults, exhaustion, and lack of proper training. Nevertheless, it is ironic that in most instances, fatal injuries were caused by errors committed by healthy and adequately trained caretakers. This paper gives a comprehensive analysis of the concepts of crew resource management.
Overview of CRM
Crew resource management or called Cockpit resource management (CRM) is a concept that has been developed over the past two decades to improve the safety of individuals traveling using airplanes. CRM training, which puts emphasis on interpersonal communication, leadership, maintaining situational awareness, and decision making in the cockpit, was originally established by NASA in 1979 after finding out that the main cause of most airline accidents was due to human error. CRM is defined as “using all available resources-information, equipment, and people – to achieve safe and efficient flight operations” (Wiener, Kanki, and Helmreich, 1993, p.4). Therefore, training in CRM entails communicating the basic concept of human factor elements that aims at improving air safety and improving the effectiveness of flight operations.
The training in CRM concepts mainly focuses on the cognitive and interpersonal techniques that are required to manage an aircraft within the aviation industry. Less emphasis is put on the technical knowledge and skills that are necessary to fly and operate an airplane. In this perspective, cognitive skills refer to the complex interplay of mental processes that are needed to gain and maintain situational awareness, for solving problems and for making decisions, whereas interpersonal skills are related to communications and an array of behavioral activities associated with teamwork. Moreover, the skills do not only relate to the multi-crew airplane but are also aimed at perfecting single-pilot operations. This is because they need to communicate effectively with the other airplanes and with the different ground support groups so as to enable the success of the flight. CRM training for aircraft attendants has been introduced and practiced by various aviation organizations throughout the world, for example, the U.S. Air force requires all its aircrew members to undertake yearly training in CRM concepts so as to minimize accidents caused by human error. The success of CRM has enabled it to be adopted in other related fields such as air traffic control, airplane design, and aircraft maintenance (LeSage, Dyar, & Evans, 2010).
Communication
Effective interpersonal communication is essential in good crew management. This is also emphasized in most management positions. The flow of information must take place in a clear and concise manner for the success of any flight mission. Information should be requested from the crew members and provided in an appropriate manner so as to enable the pilot to come up with precise resolutions. This concept also necessitates the crew members to comprehend the communication styles of every one of them. This is important for proper interpretation and in accurate determination of the responses to be given. Finally, effective interpersonal communication requires an appreciation of the unique roles and leadership responsibilities of every crew member; thus, the main emphasis in CRM training focuses on effective interpersonal communication.
Communication generally refers to the process in which information is transferred through the use of speech or a variety of symbols and displays between two or more individuals. Messages can also be transmitted by non-verbal means such as gestures and body language; therefore, effective communication is important for the safe operation of flights. The process of effective communication involves three aspects. These are the sender, message and receiver. The initial step in the process of effective communication is referred to as encoding whereby the sender transfers the content of his or her idea to the receiver. The information is transferred in the best possible way so as to enable the recipient to comprehend it without much difficulty. On receiving the encoded message, the recipient then interprets the information in a process called decoding, which is followed by a certain act of response by the recipient.
In the present issues with safety in supersonic international travel, there are many factors that are to be looked at when evaluating effective communication from the perspective of CRM. One of these factors is the role of dialect. The international air traffic language is English. However, it is difficult to standardize the accents and intelligibility of an air traffic controller or aircraft crew so as to enable a smooth flow of information while on transit. For instance, a mishap of communication can take place between a Russian aircraft and a German control facility. Another problem that may hinder effective interpersonal communication can be attributed to the fear of communication-related to seniority in civilian aviation or rank in military aviation, and it should be trounced over to improve air safety. Every crew member ought to be able to make beneficial input to the flight without harboring fears of reprimand; therefore, every individual ought to accept suggestions from other crew members. It is also important to note that the standardization of aviation communication can also be a barrier to effective interpersonal communication. Although the operating instructions and technical orders are recorded in a standardized way so as to avoid confusion and establish a common language, this may at times act as a barrier of communication, especially when the most experienced crew members use technical jargon that the less experienced crew members are unable to understand comprehensively.
The role of effective interpersonal communication can be applied to the case study in which Eastern Airlines Flight 401 en route from New York to Florida was involved in an accident that took place on the night of December 29, 1972 (Kilroy, 2008). However, on arriving in Miami, a mishap of communication occurred that led to the unfortunate demise of 101 people on board. While the aircraft was about to land, the crew ignored it because of a minor warning light. Therefore, the captain and the flight crew never cared to manage the cockpit and there was no positive exchange of control information between the Captain and the First Officer. Under these circumstances, the crewmembers failed to communicate effectively with one another. All of them were too much concerned with the problem at hand and they failed to communicate about the right things in the correct way. The barrier of effective communication due to seniority is also evident here where the Captain failed to delegate authority effectively. The crew assumed that the autopilot was flying while the Captain was carried over by what the other crewmembers were doing, while no one was flying the plane. Perhaps this accident could have been prevented if the crew members were trained in effective communication skills in the context of CRM.
Teambuilding
A crew is a group and possibly the most important resource in CRM since it reduces the limitations and imperfections of individual humans. Therefore, multi-piloted airplane cockpits were constructed to ensure that the crewmembers support one another during flights. Team building refers to the process of influencing an organized group towards realizing its objectives; therefore, teambuilding efforts should direct and coordinate the work of group members. This involves coming up with a plan, developing visions of the objectives that should be accomplished, and devising means of accomplishing these objectives.
The success of a leader is evident when he or she is able to ensure that the output of his or her team exceeds that which could have been accomplished by the sum of the efforts of the individual crewmembers acting in isolation. This process is referred to as synergism and a process of interaction between the crewmembers produces it, which involves maintaining receptiveness, attentiveness, cooperativeness, and assertiveness. The practice of synergism ensures that every person is motivated and encouraged to give his or her views in building a better team. Nevertheless, effective interaction is unlikely to take place if the individual team members do not acknowledge their responsibility within the group. A successful leader will ensure that his or her team members understand their responsibilities and they are able to change their roles depending on the situation at hand and the action to be taken. Because of operational reasons, new teams are usually constituted of different team members on every flight. Therefore, the leadership of an organization should be able to motivate and foster an environment whereby good teamwork can flourish. It is also certain that good leadership within an organization, which aggressively supports CRM, will also encourage teamwork. This is because CRM and teamwork cannot be divided in the context of maintaining effective management techniques.
The Tenerife accident, which occurred on March 27, 1977, is an illustration of the importance of teamwork (Freissinet, 2010). In this incident, the Dutch captain Van Zanten, who was the head-training pilot for KLM 747 with over 1,500 hours, ignored the advice of his crewmembers and decided to take off. The captain did have a certain amount of prestige because of his status as the chief training officer in this aircraft. Perhaps, the accident could have been prevented if the captain had allowed the input of the other crewmembers.
Aeronautical Decision Making and Situational Awareness
The nature of the processes that take place before a decision is made is complex. This is because it relies on the structure of the decision task and the conditions surrounding it that are to be taken into consideration. Nonetheless, aeronautical decision-making is not very simple. While on the flight, crews usually make very many different types of decisions. However, the bottom line is that all of them entail situational assessment, making choices among alternatives, as well as evaluation of possible risks. It is important to note that the decisions vary in terms of the level to which they call on the various kinds of cognitive processes.
Situational awareness refers to the “conscious recognition of all the factors and conditions-operational, technical, and human-which affect the safe operation of an aircraft” (Royal Aeronautical society, 1999, para.8). Therefore, this concept requires proper awareness of situational cues in order to engage in the most appropriate act of response. In the case of a pilot of an airplane, most of the information from which situational awareness is developed comes from the equipment that he or she uses during a flight. Therefore, the process of constructing a correct mental picture of the whereabouts of the flight depends on some degrading influences, for example, stress, exhaustion, or boredom. In these circumstances, sharing knowledge and information with other crewmembers helps him or her to confirm the accuracy of mental models and avoids accidents that normally occur due to loss of situational awareness.
The accident that took place on December 28, 1976, involving United Airlines Flight 173, which was on a scheduled flight from Stapleton Airport to Portland International Airport, is an example of a failure of the Captain to maintain proper situational awareness. An emergency had occurred that required the aircraft to spend some time cycling the airport (AirDisaster.com, 2008). However, while on the final approach the plane burst into flames. The captain failed to delegate duties properly to his flight crew and it seems he wanted to ‘micro’ manages everything and everyone. He neither asked nor gave guidance to the cabin crew as to how long it should take to prepare the passengers, or trust them to get the job done in a timely manner.
Conclusion
From the time that man was able to fly, he has been endowed with the responsibility of ensuring that air travel remains as safe as possible. This started from the beginning of days when people attempted to operate a plane without injury, to the now supersonic complicated aircraft. The concept of CRM is not entirely new. It has been evolving and can involve non-human aspects, for example, computer-controlled limitations as well as the disagreements that occur in the airline industry. Safety in the aviation industry depends on effective interpersonal communication, the building of good teams, making better in-flight decisions, and observing situational awareness. Among these factors, effective interpersonal communication is the most essential in good crew management.
Reference List
AirDisaster.com. (2008). Investigation: United Airlines Flight 173. Web.
Freissinet, S. (2010). Tenerife crash. 1001crash.com. Web.
Kilroy, C. (2008). Special Report: Eastern Airlines Flight 401. Web.
LeSage, P., Dyar, J. T., & Evans, E. B. (2010). Crew resource management : principles and practice. Sudbury, Mass.: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
Royal Aeronautical Society. (1999). Crew Resource Management.Web.
Wiener, E.L., Kanki, B.G., & Helmreich, R.L. (1993). Cockpit Resource Management. California: Academic Press.