Category Archives: Crew Resource Management

The Structured Debrief: The Big 7

The Structured DebriefDuring my time in the military a debrief often began with the question, “Any flight safety points?” A closed question. A question that invites a no. It was meant to show the primacy of flight safety in what we were doing. What it actually did was immediately put people on the spot ifContinueContinue reading “The Structured Debrief: The Big 7”

Debrief to learn: El debriefing para aprender

El empleo del ‘debriefing’ como herramienta de entrenamiento para los profesionales aeronáuticos es la manera más eficaz para aprender, hablar de la toma de decisiones, adquirir/revisar habilidades técnicas y mejorar el trabajo en equipo. Effective debriefing as a training tool for aviation professionals is the most effective way to learn, to talk about decision-making, toContinueContinue reading “Debrief to learn: El debriefing para aprender”

What does the language barrier mean to the multi-national cockpit?

  The challenges of piloting an aircraft can often load us up enough without overlaying the cognitive effort involved in transmitting and receiving information in a language other than our own. But plenty of pilots out there do just that every day. In aviation, those of us lucky enough to have English as our motherContinueContinue reading “What does the language barrier mean to the multi-national cockpit?”

What delivering two years of CRM training has taught me.

Something over two years ago I decided I would throw my hand in at applying to be a CRM Trainer and Human Factors Facilitator. CRM had never really been my thing. My experience of Human Factors/CRM training up to that point was that ‘facilitators’ tend to be either evangelical to the extent that their fervourContinueContinue reading “What delivering two years of CRM training has taught me.”

A machine for jumping to conclusions:

Human Decision-making: Extracts from Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking Fast and Slow. Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel prize winner for his work, first became famous for his article Judgement under uncertainty (1974) Heuristics and Biases. The Article was produced from research funded by US Department of Defense and Office of Naval Research. He expanded this into a bookContinueContinue reading “A machine for jumping to conclusions:”

Aviation safety culture and the paradox of success:  Can safety innovation keep pace with technological progress?

The aviation industry is hailed as a pioneer of safety practices, of open reporting, of just culture, and in learning from its mistakes. And given its remarkable safety record, this reputation is perhaps justified. Nevertheless, it would be both complacent and counter to those values themselves to believe that the goal of safety has alreadyContinueContinue reading “Aviation safety culture and the paradox of success:  Can safety innovation keep pace with technological progress?”

“PF & CM:” Pilot Flying & Crewman Monitoring

Training Monitoring for Helicopter Technical Crew (Part 2) The response to my last post underlined how little technical or non-technical material out there is written with the niche skill-set of the helicopter technical crew community in mind. There is certainly an interest and appetite for its consumption among those who play a part in thisContinueContinue reading ““PF & CM:” Pilot Flying & Crewman Monitoring”

Training Monitoring for Helicopter Technical Crew

I have been asked to deliver training on Monitoring to Technical Crew as part of a bespoke course to qualify them to assist single-pilot operations from the front seat. After considering how to approach the session and content I have been left asking more questions than I started with. Being a fan of simplicity, IContinueContinue reading “Training Monitoring for Helicopter Technical Crew”

EBT & ATQP…What now for CRM?

  Let’s start by unravelling that jumble of acronyms: EBT – Evidence Based Training ATPQ – Alternative Training and Qualification Programme CRM – Crew (Cockpit) (Complete) Resource Management What is Evidence Based Training? EBT is a shift in philosophy away from traditional, prescriptive training and checking methods in which, for example, you repeat the setContinueContinue reading “EBT & ATQP…What now for CRM?”

Human perception & the mental model

Memory and meaning I cdnuol’t blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid. Aocdcrnig to rscheearch at Cmadrigbe Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht odrer the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt thnig is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghitContinueContinue reading “Human perception & the mental model”

TEXTING AND FLYING?

Texting & Flying: Pilot distraction & the myth of multi-tasking. On August 26, 2011, at about 6:41 pm CDT, a Eurocopter AS350 B2 helicopter operated by Air Methods on an EMS mission crashed following a loss of engine power as a result of fuel exhaustion a mile from an airport in Mosby, Missouri. The pilot,ContinueContinue reading “TEXTING AND FLYING?”