Strategy management on: Human error
Human error in case of aviation has been rendered to as a sensitive topic due to the most recent event which occurred on 11th September, 2011. This research paper highlights the importance of understanding human error in case of the aviation sector. It must be kept in mind that, designing better techniques or computer systems would lead to safer environment for pilots as well as the passengers. The newly designed computer techniques would be quite helpful in reducing the human errors (Degani & Wiener, 1990).
Most of the people do not know that on 20th February, 1981 a modern Argentine jet with approximately 58 passengers on board was almost crashed over the World Trade Centre (WTC) in New York. The jet plane was put on hold, the ceilings were low & heavy fog in the sky made it very difficult for the pilot to land the airplane. Due to miscommunication between the pilot & the air traffic controller, the Jet plane went down straight approximately 1,500 km to the North Tower. The air traffic controller said that the height was 2700 feet & the WTC was 1749 feet high. The pilot asked for the confirmation & could not get any response due to radio interference. There was an alarming sound in the radar tracking station which signified low altitude. The air traffic controller asked the pilot to fly high & climb up to 3000 feet. Here where the error occurred. Due to language problem between the two, the plane crashed straight into the 110th floor of the WTC.
Errors are an indispensible part of one’s life. Despite of the best training provided to the pilot, one cannot always to eliminate the errors. No one at any point of time can make things happen which would be error free always. This research paper would highlight the human error with specific reference to the aviation industry. The main goal to reduce the human error is to eliminate the human errors in aviation by using different compute based technologies (Degani & Wiener, 1990).
There are various types of causal factors which mainly contribute to the accidents which takes place in case of the aviation industry. Human error has been defined as an inappropriate human behaviour which might lead to a decrease in the overall effectiveness of the system or the safety levels attached to it. An in-depth research on human errors refers to the type of mistakes which are made by the human beings while operating the system or designing a system or supervising the sub-ordinate or advising the worker (Deutsch & Pew, 2002).
There are various ways in which the human errors could be classified or categorized. Some of the reasons based to state why human errors have a narrow perspective are:
Þ Firstly, human nature is to blame the other person
Þ Secondly, the legal system is geared to share out blame
Þ Thirdly, the management try to blame out the workers in all the aspects when an error occurs
Human error in case of aviation sector could be seen with the number of accidents which take place. It must be seen that, the number of pilots are quite less as compared to the number of auto drivers therefore, the number of plane crash are quite less. Based upon the statistics, it could be seen that the chances of death on two wheelers is 30%-50% more as compared to travelling through an aircraft (Lee, 2001).
The pilot is not solely responsible regarding the fight when it is on board. There are many ground level people involved in making the entire journey a success. Any small human error might create an issue which would have an adverse effect over the smooth running of the aircraft (Deutsch & Pew, 2002).
The history of human errors in case of the aviation industry can be seen with regards to World War II. It was then when the pilots were unable to control the aircrafts due to varied reasons. Some of the common reasons for accidents of airplanes were due to the poorly designed air craft, poor displays & the untrained pilot which led to plane crash. After many decades, there has been a great influence of technology as well as the use computers in case of designing the aircrafts. But still, we can see there are major aircraft accidents. It must be seen that, the components of aircrafts along with the other equipments have become more sophisticated & reliable. Whereas on the other hand, an increase in the number of designers, corporate designers, manufacturers has led to high levels of human errors (Lee, 2001). The combination of both has resulted in more number of human errors in case of the aviation sector. The figure below highlights, aircraft accidents in the last decade:
(Source: Lee, 2001)
Based upon the research done by the Naval Postgraduate School, School of Aviation Safety a checklist was prepared highlighting the aircraft accidents as well as categorizing the human errors into the following eight factors (Deutsch & Pew, 2002). They are as under:
Þ Sensory-Perceptual Factors
Þ Knowledge or Skill Factors
Þ Personality and Safety Attitude
Þ Medical and Physiological Factors
Þ Communications/Crew Coordination Factors
Þ Risk Judgment/Decision Factors
Þ Supervisory Factors
Þ Design/System Factors
The first type of human errors refers to the sensory – perceptual factors. This includes the following aspects such as miscommunication regarding the altitude, speed, clearance or a miscalculated distance, etc. This factor also consists of visual illusion, false perception, spatial disorientation, loss of awareness regarding the situation, etc. The second type of human error refers to medical & physiological factors (Degani & Wiener, 1990). These factors include flying the aircraft under the influence of alcohol, drugs, in adequate nutrition, any illness, stress, fatigue, G-loc, etc. The third type of human error due to which accidents occur refers to lack of knowledge or skills. This includes inadequate knowledge regarding the entire system or procedure, misuse of the procedure, poor flight control, etc. The fourth type of a human error refers to safety & personality attitude. This includes showing off over confidence, excessive motivation, over flow of emotions (anger, frustration, happiness), social pressure, too assertive for a situation, etc. The fifth type of a human error refers to decision based factors (Lee, 2001). It includes high risk, mismatch with the actual risk associated with a particular task, not monitoring the flight progress, use of incorrect task priorities, deviate from the safety norms/ regulations, exceed the personal limits, etc. The sixth type of a human error refers to miscommunication amongst the crew members. This includes an inadequate mission, unsuccessful communication plan, miscommunication due to language barriers, unacknowledged communication, unproductive crew challenges, inappropriate delegation of work amongst the crew members, interpersonal conflict amongst the crew members, etc. The seventh type of human error refers to inappropriate design or failure amongst the entire system (Deutsch & Pew, 2002). This includes misinterpreted instrument, fail to respond towards the signal, misread the instructions, used the wrong operational mode & over dependence on the automated system. The last type of human error refers to the supervisory factors. This includes an inappropriate schedule of the crew, inadequate rest to the crew members; fall short in matching up with the standards, select wrong operational mode, violate rules & regulations laid down by the officials, unsuccessful monitoring of the crew qualifications & unsuccessful monitoring of the standards, etc (Harris, 2011).
Hence, it could be concluded that human error in case of aviation sector are situational & fair awareness regarding the same would lead to reduction in the human errors. The main goal which shall be taken into consideration would be to educate the human errors which would help to eliminate as well as reduce the errors in aviation industry. The research paper categorizes the various ways in which the human errors in aviation can be classified. Human errors are indispensible in nature & impossible to eliminate. Errors which occur in aviation are also inevitable in nature. It must be seen that, aviation sector was one of the first sectors to perform an in-depth study in order to decline the number of airplane accidents. Till now “it has been discovered that no matter how good the training is, it is quite difficult to reduce the human errors” (Degani & Wiener, 1990).
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