Blog Discussion 5.3: Human Factors in Aviation Maintenance

     Human Factors: Aircraft Move


    In todays Aviation industry, there are several policies and procedures in place to mitigate accidents or mishaps. Despite all of those things, human factors are a constant issue and cannot always be avoided. Human factors can be defined in many ways but mainly involves an individual in every aspect of an aircraft design process, flight, maintenance task, and even the mental/physical state on that individual such as stress, fatigue, and experience (Panger, 2015). There are a dozen of pinpointed elements of human factors: lack of communication, complacency, lack of knowledge, distractions, lack of teamwork, lack of resources; to name a few (Panger, 2015).

    As time goes on, aviation becomes more and more complex. The need to work as a team is one of the most important elements of human factors. Weakness in this area can cause chaos within the maintenance realm. Lets say a team of aircraft mechanics are preparing for an aircraft move. There are many different things that need to happen prior to this evolution. Tools and equipment need to be checked out, pre-operational checklists need to be executed, and qualified personnel need to be identified. The most common reasons an aircraft move can go south is due to lack of communication, lack of resources, and distractions. There are too many times where a maintenance team cuts corners to complete the task which usually results in some sort of mishap. Whether is be mechanical failure or damage to personnel or equipment.

    The team can avoid encountering these elements by constantly challenging their selves and each other. Consistently working on new qualifications, training on support equipment, and performing pre ops on every single shift. Another way to mitigate is to hold pre-briefs prior to moves where all qualified personnel are identified and a verbal step-by-step process is completed. 

    

References:

Panger, S. (2015). FAA dirty dozen: Common causes of human foctor errors: Journal of the military airlift command. Mobility Forum, 24(3), 39. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/trade-journals/faa-dirty-dozen-common-causes-human-foctor-errors/docview/1765612968/se-2?accountid=27203

    

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