Chapter

17

Introduction to Crew Resource Management

Introduction							325
Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	. .	. .	. .	. .	. .		.325
Hearing Versus Listening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	. .	. .	. .	. .	.	.	326
Question Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	. .	. .	. .	. .	. .		.327
Methods of Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	. .	. .	. .	. .	.	.	327
Communication Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	. .	. .	. .	. .	.	.	328
Overload							329
Situational Awareness and Mental Models . . . . . . . .	. .	. .	. .	. .	. .		.329
Decision Making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	. .	. .	. .	. .	.	.	330
Personality							331
Where We Focus Our Attention . . . . . . . . . . . .	. .	. .	. .	. .	. .		.332
How We Acquire Information . . . . . . . . . . . . .	. .	. .	. .	. .	.	.	333
How We Make Decisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	. .	. .	. .	. .	.	.	334
How People Live . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	. .	. .	. .	. .	.	.	334
Behaviour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	. .	. .	. .	. .	. .		.335
Modes of Behaviour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	. .	. .	. .	. .	. .		.335
Team Skill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	. .	. .	. .	. .	. .		.336

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Introduction to Crew Resource Management 17

Introduction

These notes have been designed to increase your awareness of human factors. Crew Resource Management (CRM) has been developed to improve teamwork. Debate has therefore occurred regarding its relevance to the student who is operating as a single pilot. Should it be delayed until the start of a pilot’s multi-crew career?

Having worked through these notes you may recognize that many of the concepts behind CRM are extremely applicable to this early stage of training. This is because CRM is fundamentally a ‘life skill’ applicable to all situations, professional and social. Moreover, it should be viewed as an integral and essential part of your course and your personal development.

Remember, as with all skills, CRM needs effort and practice for improvement and because of this it has to be introduced as early as possible in your career and then developed alongside your flying skills.

This introduction is split into 4 main areas with a summary in the form of Team Skill Requirements:

•Introduction and Communication.

•Situational Awareness.

•Decision Making.

•Personality, Behaviour and Feedback.

•Summary Team Skills.

In 1978 a United Airlines aircraft experienced an undercarriage problem on the approach to Portland, Oregon. The Captain placed the aircraft in a hold close to the airport to consider the situation. After forty minutes the fault had been resolved and yet after a further twentyfour minutes the aircraft, still in the hold and perfectly serviceable, only a few miles from the airport, ran out of fuel and crashed with loss of life.

This accident triggered United Airlines to move aviation into a new era in which the above and many other accidents were finally investigated fully. This deep investigation into the human factors contributing to the accidents had to be given time and substantial financial support to achieve results and from this CRM was eventually born.

Pilot error was no longer taken at face value as the cause of the accident and research into human factors and the development of aviation CRM courses and training began.

Communication

During this period a number of areas are examined relating to the actual transfer of information and indeed the way that information is transmitted.

Effective Communication

There is a strong tendency for a person transmitting information to assume that it is unambiguous and will be received exactly as intended.

The exercise in one-way communication, in which only the transmitter is allowed to speak, highlights that this is not the case.

With the one-way limitation the successful completion of the exercise varies considerably for a variety of reasons. The need for concise communication and the ability of the transmitter to

Introduction to Crew Resource Management 17

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recognize the difficulties of perception at the “receiver’s end” and then adapt to the situation being the major factors.

However, the main point that should have been appreciated from this simple exercise is the need of the receiver to question and summarize the transmitter’s intention or need. In the second “twoway” communication exercise, in which this could occur, you will have noted that the information transfer was much more effective and that accurate completion of the exercise was achievable even though the test itself was harder.

As effective communication, both in the aircraft and air to ground, is fundamental for the safe operation of aircraft, many points from this session should be recognized and remembered.

The main points are:

•Effective communication must be two-way. This allows for the transmitter’s intention to be clarified when necessary. (Hence the need for reading back information on the radio, the importance of questioning when unsure and the need to create an atmosphere in which questioning/thinking is encouraged).

•The need for concise communication using language appropriate to the receiver’s background; the use of flying terms which assist concise communication between pilots will have little meaning to someone who is not familiar with those flying terms.

•The recognition that even two-way communication is imperfect and that error can occur which leads back to “questioning” if unsure.

Hearing Versus Listening

So far we have concentrated on the role of the transmitter in the process of communication. However, the role of the receiver is just as important.

Whilst hearing is the physical process of collecting sound transmitted, listening involves the understanding process of interpreting that sound. Listening is therefore an active process and requires concentration! The flight deck of an aircraft is a noisy environment and one in which there are many distractions from the operation of the aircraft to the administration of the crew.

To encourage listening the transmitter should:

•Keep the transmissions short as the receiver’s attention will reduce with time. Large quantities of information should be transferred in parts with the receiver being invited to respond or question in between.

•Try hard to ensure that the receiver’s attention is not elsewhere; there is little point in asking for flap operation when the receiver is busy on the radio! You are unlikely to achieve the desired response in this case. Similarly in-depth, theoretical discussions between instructor and student should take place in a quiet room on the ground, not when the student is airborne, working hard!

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