The human factor

‘There is only one real mistake in life: the one you don’t learn from.’

Achieving steady continuous improvement over time is the ideal outcome for any high performing individual or team, helping to enhance our professional standing so that we can truly enjoy the dynamic world of Aviation.

My practical insights will help make you ruthlessly professional!

WHAT ARE APPLIED HUMAN FACTORS?

In simple terms, applied human factors use contemporary behavioural and sports science (not the academic stuff – just the practical bits) to optimise the relationship between people, equipment, and the environment or conditions in which you operate. The people you work with, as well as your loved ones, all influence your behaviour and wellbeing within a work environment.

The effective application of human factors knowledge and skills contributes to enhanced professional standards. They challenge individuals and teams to innovate by providing new and enhanced skills to question the status quo and seek better ways of doing business. When human factors strategies are tailored to provide practical tools that make sense to you, they deliver a better understanding of the factors that allow you to excel under pressure, and help you understand why certain factors erode your normal performance.

There is only one real mistake in life: the one that you don’t learn from to make permanent and positive change (and avoid the process repeating). And best practice is holistic – it’s not only how you perform in the aviation environment, it’s how you apply the same techniques to take care of close friendships and relationships.

WHY THE ONGOING FOCUS ON HUMAN FACTORS?

Back in the 1970s and 1980s, serious aviation incidents and accidents occurred far too often and the consequences were devastating: families lost loved ones, and some businesses were shut down due to a loss of public confidence.

Yet today, more than 30 years later, many aviation organisations are considered highly reliable – they’re ultra-safe with personnel capable of handling, and recovering from, very challenging situations that involve many hazards, complex technologies and demanding work environments.

One of the key disciplines that has helped aviation achieve good operational success is the application of human factors. More recently, other hazardous industries including mining, oil and gas, and rail have come on board, with some of their human factors programs recognised as best practice.

The reality is simple: if you enter aviation as a career or as an exciting hobby you will at some stage be confronted with competing demands under time pressure. The outcome will be higher levels of stress and often a requirement to make a critical decision that will determine whether you get back safely or expose yourself (and others) to unnecessary risk or a serious incident. In those big open skies around you the world can change quickly – are you optimally prepared and focused?

READY TO ACHIEVE GREATER SELF-AWARENESS?

Attentional control and focus in a world of constant distractions (smartphones, iPads, Facebook, emails, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Instagram…the list goes on) is essential for developing specialist teams that can act decisively.

A good understanding and application of human factors (such as error-producing conditions, violation-producing conditions, and high workload) is critical to ensure personnel can maintain adequate situational awareness with consideration of their own limitations, plus an ability to make accurate and decisive decisions in time-constrained Environments.

The best individuals and teams in all parts of our industry are often not necessarily the most technically proficient; rather they’re the people who understand their own ‘human’ limitations: they have good selfawareness of their boundaries and they respond prior to losing the big picture.

It doesn’t matter in which sector you fly – for a hobby or as a professional career – applied human factors offer the key to a long-term, successful and rewarding aviation Experience.

A CASE STUDY

My first feature article in the April edition will further reflect on the Pel Air ditching from a whole-of-system perspective, considering the operator, the regulator, and the investigators that tried to make sense of what really Happened.

It and some follow-on articles will include insights into culture, egos, trust, decision-making, expectation bias, fatigue risk management, and systemic (organisational) Investigations.

Over the past 20 years, Ben has worked with diverse sectors across aviation, including high performance civil and military teams, regulators, emergency medical support operations, high and low capacity regular public transport, flying training, and mum and dad operators doing their best to make a small aviation business viable. He is a former military transport pilot, flying instructor and low-level aerobatics pilot.