Human Factor

Dissemination   is  only half of this communication.  The information is sent out and received, but no reply is given.  The message carrier sends out information, not to one individual, but many in a broadcasting system.  An example of this transmission of information is in fields of advertising, public announcements and speeches.  Both the individual engineer and the organisation in which he works have a shared responsibility to keep abreast of new information.  Good dissemination of information within an organisation forms part of  its safety culture .   Maintenance organisation will be the sender and the individual engineer will be the recipient. “Planning”, that an engineer or team of engineers need to plan the way work will be performed.  Part of this process should be checking that all information relating to the task has been  gathered and understood.  This includes checking to see if there is any inform...

Swiss cheese model   of accident causation is a  model  used in risk analysis and risk management  and as the principle behind layered security. Reason has highlighted the concept of ‘ defences ’ against human  error within an organisation, and has coined the notion of ‘defences in depth’.  Examples of defences are duplicate inspections , pilot pre-flight functional checks ,  etc., which help prevent to ‘trap’ human errors, reducing the likelihood of negative  consequences.  When defences are weakened and breached that human  errors can result in incidents or accidents.  These defences have been portrayed    diagramatically,  as several slices of Swiss cheese . Some failures are latent , meaning that they have been made at some point in the  past and lay dormant. This may be introduced at the time an aircraft was designed or  may be associated with a management decision.  Errors made by front...

Form of Errors in aircraft maintenance engineering:       1. Error that results in a specific aircraft problem that was not there before the maintenance task was initiated;                      incorrect installation of linereplaceable  units,                                                                                failure to remove a protective cap from a hydraulic line before reassembly                     or damaging an air duct used as a foothold while gaining access to perform a task.        2. Error that results in an unwanted or unsafe condition remaining undetected while performing a maintenance task designed to detect aircraft ...

It is the nature of man to err. -  Cicero.  James Reason :  “Error will be taken as a generic term to encompass all those occasions in which a planned  sequence of mental or physical activities fails to achieve its intended outcome, and when  these failures cannot be attributed to the intervention of some chance agency”. “Because civil aircraft are designed to fly safely for unlimited time  provided defects are detected and repaired, safety becomes a matter of  detection and repair rather than one of aircraft structure failure.  In an ideal  system, all defects which could affect flight safety will have been  predicted in advance, located positively before they become dangerous,  and eliminated by effective repair. In one sense, then, we have changed  the safety system from one of physical defects in aircraft to one of errors  in complex human-centred systems” Various models and theories for error are : D esign-...

AME needs to keep his knowledge and skills up-to-date                Aviation industry is dynamic.              Operators change their aircraft,              New aircraft types and variants are introduced,              new aircraft maintenance practices are introduced.  To maintain his currency , AME must keep abreast of pertinent information relating to: new aircraft types or variants; new technologies and new aircraft systems; new tools and maintenance practices; modifications to current aircraft and systems he works on; revised maintenance procedures and practices. AME are likely to keep up-to-date by: undertaking update courses; reading briefing material, memos and bulletins; studying maintenance manual amendments CAR 145.A.35 Certifying and support staff-  (d) The organisation shall ensure that all certifyin...

Work logging and recording is possibly is the most critical communication area in aircraft maintenance and has been cause of quite a few incident.  Record should be updated as work progress.  ensure that an adequate record of the  work carried out is maintained.  This is particularly important where such  work carries on beyond a working period or shift, or is handed over from  one person to another.  The work accomplished, particularly if only  disassembly or disturbance of components or aircraft systems, should be  recorded as the work progresses or prior to undertaking  a  disassociated  task.  In any event, records should be completed no later than the end of the work period or shift of the individual undertaking the work.   Such  records should include ‘open’ entries to reflect the remaining actions  necessary to restore the aircraft to a serviceable condition prior to release. In the case o...

Communication : “The transmission of something from one location to another.  Thing  that is transmitted may be a message , a signal , a meaning , etc.  In communication both the transmitter and the receiver must share a common code ,  so that the meaning or information contained in the message may be interpreted without error”. We regularly communicate :    information;  idea  feelings; attitudes and beliefs Communication may be : Verbal/spoken - e.g. a single word, a phrase or sentence, a grunt; Written/textua l - e.g. printed words and/or numbers on paper or on a  screen, hand  written  notes; Non-verbal -      gesture, facial expression,tone of voice and body language    Graphic -           e.g. pictures, diagrams, hand drawn sketches, indications on  cockpit instrument; Symbolic -       e.g. ‘thumbs up’, wave of the hand, nod of th...

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs attempts to describe human motivation,   considered that humans are driven by two different sets of motivational forces:        1. those that ensure survival by satisfying basic physical and psychological needs;        2.  those that help us to realise our full potential in life known as self-actualisation needs (fulfilling ambitions,                etc.). Maslow's hierarchy of  needs  is often portrayed in the shape of a pyramid with the largest, most fundamental needs at the bottom and the need for self-actualization and transcendence at the top. Crux of the theory is that individuals’ most basic needs must be met before they become motivated to achieve higher level needs. Physiological needs   is a concept that was derived to explain and cultivate the foundation for motivation.              ...