Crew Resource Management Essays (2056 words) - Aviation Safety

Crew Resource Management Crew Resource Management : The majority of aircraft accidents are caused by human error and an accident or incident is linked together by a chain of errors. Most of these accidents could have been avoided by the crew if they would have been communicating to each other better. Some common errors that occur among the crew are poor task delegation, assertiveness, and distractions. Crew training in communication and teamwork will increase the crews' performance level. Programs like Crew Resource Management (CRM) have been developed to try to help the crews work together and reduce the human factor in accidents. CRM includes training in leadership/followership, assertiveness, management, communication, teamwork, decision making and task delegation. Through programs like CRM crews learn to work together as a team and when they are working together it is less likely there'll be an accident. INTORDUCTION : Background The cause for most aircraft accidents (65% ) are by crew error (FAA News, 1996). When the Crews performance level is low due to poor teamwork and communication this is when accidents happen. How can crew error be reduced? Even though human error can't be reduced completely through constant training and effort by the crew performance will increase and accidents will be reduced. Purpose/Audience This report is intended for a general audience and will show how important it is for the flight and cabin crew to work together and communicate as a team. This report will also examine the CRM program. Sources Sources have been obtained for this report from the Internet and from the Waldo Library, Western Michigan University and Kalamazoo, Michigan. Scope Teamwork and communication are a critical factor in the crew's operation of aircraft. Accidents can be prevented when these two factors are considered. COLLECTED DATA : Importance of Communication among the Crew People communicate to each ot her every day. From a kids talking to their parents about their report card, to doctors working in an operating room. In order for us to understand one another we must be clear in what we say. For instance, if a doctor tells a nurse to pull a certain plug on a machine, he'd better be clear on what he says or the nurse might end up harming a patient. Likewise, the cabin and flight crew must work together. In a typical cockpit the flight crew is very busy and they need to be well organized to handle the many tasks they perform. They need to communicate properly and clearly for safe operations, if they don't their actions could result in a tragedy. Main Cause of Aircraft Accidents Mechanical problems and technical malfunctions do contribute to aircraft accidents, but human error is the main cause, accounting for 65% of the accidents (FAA News, 1996). This figure is quite high, and if it were possible to reduce human error the accident rate would drop significantly. Acciden ts that occur because of human error are not a direct result of just one error but of a chain of errors. The human error chain results when one bad decision leads to another which leads to the accident. The question is, how can we reduce human error in the cockpit? Studies have shown that most incidents could have been prevented if communication and leadership skills were improved. Duties of Crew Members In order to have a clear understanding of who's involved in the crew, these positions with their duties will be discussed. There are usually 2-3 flight crew members and 1-3 flight attendants aboard an airliner. In the flight deck are the Captain, Co-pilot and flight engineer. When there are only two flight crew members there's no flight engineer. (This is to reduce costs). The Captain is the Pilot in Command (PIC). He/she has the final authority of all decisions and all responsibility rest on his/her shoulders. The Co-pilot assists the Captain in his/her duties, like calc ulating fuel consumptions, weight and balance, navigation etc. He/she is Second in Command (SIC). The Flight Engineer helps reduce the work load of the Captain and Co-pilot. Some of his/her duties may include fuel consumption rate, weight and balance and communicating with the cabin crew. The cabin crew consists of the Flight Attendants. Besides serving coffee