Mission Aircrew School Chapter 14: Crew Resources Management (March 2011)

Mission Aircrew SchoolMission Aircrew School

Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Crew Resources Crew Resources

ManagementManagement(March 2011)(March 2011)

Aircrew TasksAircrew Tasks

CREW RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

•Discuss the fundamentals of Crew Resource Management (CRM)

•Discuss failures and error chain.•Discuss situational awareness.•Discuss how to regain SA once lost.•Describe barriers to communications.

•Define/discuss task saturation.•Discuss assignments and coordination of duties.

Why CRM?Why CRM?

Properly trained aircrew members can collectively perform complex tasks better and make more accurate decisions than the single best performer on the team.

An untrained team's overall performance can be significantly worse than the performance of its weakest single member.

We will cover behavior and attitudes of teamwork and communication among team members.

Safety StatisticsSafety Statistics General Aviation compared to CAP / per 100,000 General Aviation compared to CAP / per 100,000

hourshours

1996 7.79 7.651997 4.16 7.171998 4.76 7.431999 2.34 6.502000 0.94 6.572001 3.57 6.782002 7.37 6.692003 4.43 6.682004 5.23 6.492005 2.77 7.202006 1.84 6.352007 3.70 6.932008 2.84 6.862009 3.57 7.202010 1.78 6.89

YearCivil Air Patrol

All rates per 100,000 hours

*NTSB 2009 - Prelim RateNTSB - Avg of past 15 years

General Aviation

Safety StatisticsSafety Statistics

FailuresFailures

Parts and equipment.

•Mechanical failures

People.

•Human failures

The Error ChainThe Error Chain

A series of event links that, when considered together, cause a mishap.

Should any one of the links be “broken,” then the mishap probably will not occur.

It is up to each crewmember to recognize a link and break the error chain.

Situational AwarenessSituational Awareness

Know what is going on around you… AT ALL TIMES

Requires:•Good mental health•Good physical health•Attentiveness• Inquisitiveness

Loss ofLoss ofSituational AwarenessSituational Awareness

Strength of an Idea Hidden agenda Complacency Accommodation Sudden Loss of Judgement

Symptoms of Loss ofSymptoms of Loss of Situational Awareness Situational Awareness

Fixation Ambiguity Complacency Euphoria Confusion Distraction Overload

Hazardous AttitudesHazardous Attitudes

Anti-authority Impulsiveness Invulnerability Macho Resignation Get There It-us

RegainingRegaining Situational Awareness Situational Awareness

Reduce workload: Suspend the mission.

Reduce threats:•Get away from the ground and other

obstacles (e.g., climb to a safe altitude).

•Establish a stable flight profile where you can safely analyze the situation.

Remember: “Aviate, Navigate, Communicate”

How do we get it back?How do we get it back?

Trust your gut feelings “Time Out,” “Abort,” or “This is

Stupid.”•Pilot establishes aircraft in a safe

and stable configuration, and then discuss the problem

Sterile Cockpit•Limit talk to the minimum

necessary for safety.•Taxi, takeoff, departure, low-level

flying, approach, landing

Barriers to Barriers to CommunicationCommunication

Hearing• The biological function of receiving sounds,

converting them to electrical impulses, and having the brain interpret them

Listening• Correctly identifying what the sender has

sent in their message

Barriers to Barriers to CommunicationCommunication

Barriers to Barriers to CommunicationCommunication

Distracters•PHYSICAL/MENTAL: Noise, static,

simultaneous transmissions; fatigue and stress

•WORDING: Incomplete or ambiguous message, too complex or uses unfamiliar terminology

•PERSONAL: Boring, lack of rapport or lack of credibility

Task SaturationTask Saturation

Too much information at one time Too many tasks to accomplish in a

given time

Usually occurs when an individual is confronted with a new or unexpected situation and loses SA

Task SaturationTask Saturation

Keep your workload to an acceptable level

If you feel overwhelmed, tell the others before becoming saturated and losing you situational awareness

Watch your team members for signs of saturation

Identification of Identification of ResourcesResources

External and internal

Identify your resources, know where to find them, and how to use them to accomplish the mission

Assignment of DutiesAssignment of Duties

CAPR 60-3 Flight-related –

•Aircraft commander (PIC) Mission-related –

•Mission commander (MO)

Crew CoordinationCrew Coordination

Understand and execute your assignments

Communicate Question

SummarySummary

Pay close attention to all briefings

Understand the “big picture”

Watch for task overload in yourself and other crewmembers

SummarySummary

67% of air transport accidents occur during 17% of the flight time - taxi, takeoff, departure, approach and landing. Keep casual conversation and distractions to a minimum during these phases of flight.

Begin critical communications with instructions, then explain

SummarySummary

Successful missions hinge on each and every crewmember

Learn how to use the procedures and tools available to you, and use them correctly

Never stop learning

SummarySummary

Don’t be afraid to ask questions Never criticize someone for asking

questions Anyone can call:

•“Time Out,” •“Abort,”•“This is Stupid”

Remember that the Mission Pilot must make the final decision based on the crew’s input.

QUESTIONS?