Adeesh Sharma

Aviation industry has witnessed tremendous growth over the last decade due to the increasing need for new aircraft to fuel global travel demand. The expansion of aircraft fleet comes with its own set of challenges towards management of human factors in the manufacturing process. There is a need for awareness of workers towards safety, and training needs to be followed by engagement of workforce in the framing of safety rules. Thus to ensure there is very little deviation on the shop floor with regard to the safety rules, the safety-related trainings must incorporate the views of both management and workers across the organisation.

Moreover, when workers are happy with the working conditions and are adequately protected against injuries, they are bound to become more productive. The key here is to transform theoretical knowledge on safety into action and take adequate learning from past errors. The experienced transferred down the hierarchy from senior workers to their subordinates is one of the ways to enforce a culture of safety within an organisation. It is also a common observation that the position that workers hold within an organisation influences their behaviour towards safety practices as opposed to their previous jobs in other organisations.

The differences in the safety culture as practised by different sets of workers reflect in their performance on the shop floor. This rubs off on co-workers as most often than not workers are competing and complementing each other on achieving an organisation’s key objectives such as productivity, quality, safety and security. It leads to ambiguity during decision-making, lack of resources and adequate knowledge that together contribute to occupational hazards and unwanted outcomes. Therefore managers should consider the dependency between safety and responsibility and perceive the necessity to establish equilibrium between the two.

Other key factors that affect worker performance are motivation levels, communication, ergonomics practices and automation of processes. Right communication of best practices to be followed is of specific relevance as it plays a critical role in ensuring safety through a proper understanding of human factors and safety practices. Managers and supervisors must be proactive in communication of opinions and requirements to workers and they must be aware of potential sources of conflict between production and safety goals. A lack of proper communication between managers and workers can cause lesser clarity of work objectives and priorities, which is further associated with unsafe behaviours and inconvenient working environment.

Proper management of Ergonomics has been linked to accident prevention since ages and a comfortable environment for work increases the confidence of personnel and in turns prevents recurrence of injuries and increases productivity.

Latchways ManSafe fall arrest systems

Latchways ManSafe fall arrest system are used to ensure worker safety at height throughout the aerospace industry. The innovative ManSafe Wingrip system is fast becoming the industry standard solution to the problem of protecting individuals whilst working at height on Aircraft. WinGrip can span the length of any aircraft wing and allow up to fours workers to access all areas of the wing without ever disconnecting making WinGrip the right choice for anyone who is serious about protecting individuals without slowing down or hindering maintenance times and quality. WinGrip singles also allows the user to attach to any other parts of the aircraft including the fuselage, vertical and horizontal stabilisers as well as the wing if needs be. WinGrip has been designed by aircraft engineers who know the reasons why we left out any electrical components making it safe to use with fuel tanks open and the system is rated for restraint and arrest in wet or dry conditions. WinGrip is the smallest and lightest vacuum anchor in the world and its so easy to use which is why Airbus now specify the system in the AMM for all aircraft type and Boeing use WinGrip during the build of the B787 Dreamliner.

At airports, ManSafe horizontal and inclined systems are used on building roofs, gantries and structures such as fuel tanks. ManSafe vertical systems are to be found on towers, ladders and telecommunications installations. And ManSafe systems for window maintenance are commonly used to safeguard cleaning windows and atriums. Airport customers include Lap Chep Kok, Stanstead, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Edinburgh. ManSafe overhead systems are used by the likes of Boeing, Continental Airlines and British Aerospace in hangers where workers build or repair aircraft and need assured safety while operating on the wings or fuselage.

Similarly, the innovative ManSafe Wingrip system is employed where there is a need for a temporary safety at height system such as when conducting maintenance on the wings or fuselage of an aircraft parked on the apron or in a hanger without a permanent safety system.