Human Factor

 The key elements of a human factors programme are:  top level commitment to safety and human factors;   a company policy on human factors;   human factors training (of all appropriate personnel, including managers - not just certifying staff);  reporting, investigation and analysis scheme(s) which will allow reporting of errors, actual & potential safety risks, inaccuracies and ambiguities with Maintenance Manuals, procedures or job cards (not just those which have to be reported as Mandatory Occurrence Reporting (MOR)s); a clear disciplinary policy stressing that genuine errors will not result in punishment;  human factors and ergonomics audits / Line Operations Safety Audits (LOSA) (of workplaces, lighting, noise, tooling, adequacy of procedures, actual compliance with procedures, manpower, adequacy of planning, etc.);   the resources and willingness to act upon the findings arising from occurrence reports and audits, and to provided f...

         Human factors initiatives will be more effective if they are integrated within existing company processes, and not treated as something additional or separate or shortterm.                        Human factors initiatives have sometimes failed in the past because they have been marginalised and regarded as a temporary ‘fashion’. Much of human factors, in the context of maintenance organisations and Part-145 requirements, is common sense, professionalism, quality management, safety management – ie. what organisations should already have been doing all along.                                                                                                  ...

Safety and quality policy   is the part of the MOE.                                                                Safety policy define the  management’s intentions in terms of commitment to ensuring that aircraft are returned to service after maintenance in a safe condition.                                                      O rganisation should list (ideally in the MOE) the processes which contribute towards safety, including                                                                          ...

 An organisation with a good safety culture is one which has managed to successfully institutionalise safety as a fundamental value of the organisation, with personnel at every level in the organisation sharing a common commitment to safety.  One of the key elements is effective support from the top levels of the organisation, for safety. It is necessary for senior management to demonstrate their commitment to safety in practical terms, not just verbally or only as long as safety is a no-cost item.  It is all very well for an organisation to commit to putting in place, for example, a safety reporting and investigation scheme but if such a scheme is not resourced properly, or if safety recommendations are not acted upon, it will be ineffective.  It is also important that such commitment to safety is long-term, and that safety initiatives are not the first items to be cut in terms of financial support when the organisation is looking for cost savings.  Safety mana...