Human factors in aviation safety

Human Factor in Aviation Safety

Introduction

One of the permanent subjects in aviation safety is human factors in aviation. As the development of flight equipments and systems has become more controlled, measureable and reliable, more and more professionals, researchers and experts in the field of air transportation are focusing their attentions on the operator of those equipment and system, human being. A number of studies are conducted to learn how human operates those machines and what social and psychological factors come into play while operating the aviation equipments and systems. Human factors in aviation is a comprehensive study of human's limitations, capabilities, behavior and how these factors and knowledge are integrated into the system that is designed for air transportation with the goals of enhancing performance, safety and the general well-being of the operator of systems. Human factors do not just contribute “in the air”, but “on the ground” people with a job description of air craft maintenance also contributes in the overall safety and performance of aviation system. To aviation safety, proper maintenance is essential. History has shown the significant contribution of improper maintenance to the aviation incidents and accidents. Workers who are supposed to do maintenance sometimes tend to omit the tasks or do it as quickly as they can due to fatigue as they work long hours in a day. Examples include missing parts, incorrect installation of parts, and omitting the necessary checks which are prescribed in Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR). Though precise and exact statistics are unavailable, experts are of the view that majority of maintenance errors in aviation industry are inconsequential, however, small portion results in an accident which most of the time turns into a calamity, therefore those maintenance errors pose a great threat to the aviation safety. Whether it's in the air errors or on the ground errors, they are difficult to detect as human mistakes are unpredictable. Proper training of personnel in the aviation industry is the only way to minimize the errors thus promoting the safe aviation operations (Burchell, 2000).

Literature Review

The realization of human error as opposed to mechanical failure on the part of professionals in commercial aviation industry made the term “human factors” increasingly popular. Human error is one of the most frequently cited reasons for aviation incidents and accidents. Narrow interpretation of human factors in aviation is often considered synonymous with CRM (Crew Resource Management) or MRM (Maintenance Resource Management). However, the term is much broader in its scope as well as its knowledge base. Human factors involves collecting information about the limitations, abilities and other characteristics of human and the application of that information to jobs, tasks, machines, systems, tools and environment to produce effective, comfortable and safe human use. In aviation industry, human factors is devoted and dedicated to gain better understanding of the safe and efficient integration of humans with technology. The knowledge gained through proper understanding is then applied into the training, design, procedures and policies in aviation industry to help human perform better ...