The Six Requirements to Implement Aviation Safety Culture
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By P.S. Ganapathy- Senior Aviation Consultant ([email protected]) Safety is a continuous journey without destination. In spite of the best efforts by all concerned in the air transport industry, human error continues to dominate with over 70% as the major cause of accidents / incidents in aviation. Though number of proactive measures such as emphasis on training/ recurrent training of aviation personnel, establishment of safety management system and proactive voluntary reporting system etc had been implemented, human errors continue to happen. Further we continue to witness consistent growth in the civil aviation sector.
It is the responsibility of every stake holder to ensure that any significant capacity expansion is carefully managed and supported through strategic regulatory and infrastructure developments in addition to all stakeholders’ active involvement in implementing recommended safety measures on a continuous basis. Therefore, there is an urgent need to build a robust safety culture within every organization.
Safety Culture is the set of enduring values and attitudes regarding safety issues, shared by every member at every level of an organization. Safety culture refers to the extent to which every individual and every group of the organization:
Our culture determines what we regard as important and what we see as normal and acceptable. Simply Safety Culture is what each person believes about the importance of safety and how he or she contributes in light of that belief. It is about understanding what risks are associated with the job, and what your responsibility is regarding that risk. No doubt, SMS has improved the safety standards throughout the aviation industry. It is true that every organization’s management of safety may be robust and efficient. But we need to understand that none of it works if there isn’t a concrete safety culture underpinning the effort.
Industry safety statistics indicates that several earlier accidents could have been prevented had there been a good safety culture in place.
No amount of training and re-training can build the safety culture and it is the mindset of the organization and individuals that can significantly contribute to that culture which focuses on safety at all times. Those 6 parameters are embedded in the very word “CULTURE”
Communication
The mirror of the organization is communication which demonstrates how well an organization is running by how it communicates within itself. Is communication effective from those in charge, to the employees, and back again. Do the employees understand the safety objectives of the organization? Do they voluntarily report the safety concerns without any fear? Are these concerns are addressed and feedback given to the employees? Are the results of the internal safety audit and investigation findings communicated? Safety related information must be provided to the employees on regular basis in a transparent manner and then only communication would be effective for the feedback to remain strong. Communication also becomes the key element in promoting harmonious relationship within the organization and this is vital for safety promotion.
Unwavering Commitment
Providing a written statement for implementing safety measures in the safety management system manual and displaying safety commitment notices at workplaces do not make any sense if it is not applied in action. It is not only about staying committed to the task but also providing the requisite resources. For committed leadership there is no budget for SAFETY and they should walk the talk at all times. This is what called unwavering commitment.
Listening to Learn and Learning to Listen (4L) Organization management must show willingness to listen to the inputs from the employees and draw right conclusions and implement the reforms. 100% of the problems are known only to down the line employee who is performing the day to day task. Through the process of listening we learn the good practices and unlearn the bad ones. Listening is the critical process of communication. The four “L” process is an effective one towards achieving empowerment which is a key to motivation.
Teamwork
Flight safety is a shared responsibility and undoubtedly it is a coordinated joint effort. It works in an excellent manner if everyone involved feels like they are on the same team. Everyone wants to be a part of the decision making and certainly no one likes it when they feel as though they have no say in what happens to them. Top management to down the line employee must be on board for the safety culture to remain intact. Sharing adds strength to each individual member of the team besides creating the needed synergy.
Uncompromising Governing Values
Assertiveness, Compliance to rules / regulations and most importantly Ensuring “no violations” (ACE) should become the governing values of all safety personnel while performing their tasks. Intentional unsafe behavior should not be tolerated by management and colleagues under any circumstance. The employees have to motivate themselves to act safely and by acting as role models.
Responsibility and Respect In the safety management system the most important pillar is identifying hazards and the associated risk assessment to manage the risks. Everyone is accountable for the responsibility of reporting the hazards in a timely manner. It just does not do any good if people notice hazards and fails to report. Taking responsibility to initiate suitable action is considered as a positive approach to enhance safety. Respect for the hazards and risks that are associated with the tasks in the organization and respect for the basic human limitations for the performance of the task are vital for promotion good safety culture.
Encouraging employees to report safety concerns Every report is a safety tool. Organization must ensure that an open and just safety reporting environment exists. Employee input is actively encouraged when addressing safety issues. People are encouraged or even rewarded for providing essential safety related information. There is always a line of demarcation between an acceptable and unacceptable behavior. It is important to remember that reporting will stop if it is not acknowledged and no feedback. In such circumstances safety will witness dilution which is unacceptable.
Conclusion: To embrace the above listed 6 characteristics of CULTURE, the individual should focus on change of ATTITUDE to become positive (100%) as the sum total of both the words is 100. (Alphabets A,B,-----Y,Z are assigned respectively numerical values 1,2,-----25,26)
Thus ATTITUDE nurtures your CULTURE. Hence be proactive and imbibe SAFE ATTITUDE to build a strong SAFETY CULTURE. |