I bring you a weekly bite-sized chunk of the science behind helicopter human factors and CRM in practice, simplifying the complex and distilling a helicopter related study into a summary of less than 500 words.
TITLE:
Crew Resource Management for Automated Teammates (CRM-A).
WHAT?
This paper proposes extending Crew Resource Management (CRM) to include automation as an active teammate, rather than a passive tool. It introduces CRM-A, a framework for integrating increasingly capable automated systems into crew operations through structured communication, shared awareness, and defined roles.
WHERE?
Concept developed by researchers at NASA Ames Research Center and San José State University, US.
WHEN?
Published in 2018.
WHY?
The authors argue that many safety issues don’t stem from technical failure, but from breakdowns between humans and automation. Drawing a parallel with the origins of CRM in the 1970s, the paper suggests aviation is entering a similar transition where focus needs to shift from improving human–human teamwork to improving human–automation teamwork. Automation is becoming ever more capable but remains brittle and opaque when outside its design envelope.
HOW?
The paper takes a conceptual and integrative approach, drawing on:
- The historical evolution of CRM.
- Emerging Human–Autonomy Teaming (HAT) research.
- Mapping of core CRM competencies (communication, leadership, monitoring, decision-making) onto human–automation interaction.
It introduces several key constructs:
- Bi-directional communication: automation shares intent and reasoning, not just outputs.
- Mutual performance monitoring: pilots monitor automation, and automation monitors pilot actions.
- Working agreements: predefined rules governing authority, delegation, and escalation between human and automated system.
FINDINGS:
The paper concludes that:
- Automation should be treated as a collaborative agent, not just a tool.
- Effective operation requires shared SA between pilot and automated system.
- Core CRM behaviours remain valid but must explicitly include collaboration with automation as an actor.
- Systems must be able to communicate intent, explain actions, and adapt to the operator.
- New mechanisms such as working agreements are required to define roles and authority.
- Human leadership remains central, but now includes managing automation behaviour and trust calibration.
SO WHAT?
Although written before the current AI revolution, this paper is arguably more relevant now than when it was published. Advances in AI have accelerated the shift toward systems that can generate recommendations, adapt to context, and behave more like cognitive partners rather than parameter driven tools.
This means the transition from automation as equipment to automation as a teammate is no longer theoretical but could be becoming an operational reality.
- CRM needs to evolve to include human–AI teaming as a core competency.
- Pilots will need skills in interpreting, managing, and challenging automation, not just operating it.
- Future safety risks are likely to arise from misaligned understanding between human and system, rather than simple system failure.
- Training and design must emphasise transparency, communication, and role clarity, ensuring automation fits into crew dynamics rather than disrupting them.
In this context, CRM-A provides a possible framework for next-generation CRM, bridging traditional human factors with the demands of increasingly intelligent, adaptive cockpit systems.
REFERENCE:
Shively, R. J., Lachter, J., Koteskey, R., & Brandt, S. L. (2018). Crew resource management for automated teammates (CRM-A). In International Conference on Engineering Psychology and Cognitive Ergonomics (pp. 215–229). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91122-9_17
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