Beyond Aviation Human Factors

The authors believe that a systematic organizational approach to aviation safety must replace the piecemeal approaches largely favoured in the past, but this change needs to be preceded by information to explain why a new approach is necessary. Accident records show a flattening of the safety curve since the early Seventies: instead of new kinds of accident, similar safety deficiencies have become recurrent features in accident reports. This suggests the need to review traditional accident prevention strategies, focused almost exclusively on the action or inactiona€?s of front-line operational personnel. The organizational model proposed by the authors is one alternative means to pursue safety and prevention strategies in contemporary aviation; it is also applicable to other production systems. The model argues for a broadened approach, which considers the influence of all organizations (the a€?blunt enda€) involved in aviation operations, in addition to individual human performance (the a€?sharp enda€). If the concepts of systems safety and organizational accidents are to be advanced, aviation management at all levels must be aware of them. This book is intended to provide a bridge from the academic knowledge gained from research, to the needs of practitioners in aviation. It comprises six chapters: the fundamentals, background and justification for an organizational accident causation model to the flight deck, maintenance and air traffic control environments. The last chapter suggest different ways to apply the model as a prevention tool which furthermore enhances organizational effectiveness. The value of the organizational framework pioneered by Professor Reason in analyzing safety in high-technology production systems is felt by his co-authors to have an enduring role to play, both now and in coming decades. Applied now in this book, it has been adopted by ICAO, IFATCA, IMO, the US National Transportation Safety Board, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, the Bureau of Air Safety Investigation, (BASI, Australia) and British Airways, among others. Every effort has been made to ensure that the book is both relevant to the operational environment. The readership includes aviation management, pilots, air traffic controllers, maintenance engineers, accident investigators and civil aviation authorities; training, operational, non-technical and quality control personnel in aviation, other modes of transportation and other high-technology production industries.

Captain Daniel E. Maurino is the Coordinator of the Flight Safety and Human Factors Study Programme, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Professor James Reason is Professor of Psychology at the University of Manchester, England. He is the author of Human Error. Captain A. Neil Johnston is an Airbus 330 Captain with Aer Lingus. He is Associate Editor of The International Journal of Aviation Psychology and co-editor of Aviation Psychology in Practice. Dr Rob Lee is the Director of the Australian Bureau of Air Safety Investigation (BASI). He was formerly with the Royal Australian Air Force.