HUMAN FACTORS PANEL

AIM of the Panel Discussions:

To generate interest and encourage debate within all sections of the symposium registrants and develop action items to achieve our goal of reducing helicopter accidents over the next 10 years by 80%. The aim is to generate ownership of the suggested solutions.

DELIVERABLES

The conclusions of the Human Factors Panel supporting the IHSS goal to reduce helicopter accidents by 80% over the next 10 years.

FATIGUE IN HELICOPTER OPERATIONS

QUESTIONS

  1. To what extent are the various sectors (e.g. EMS, military) of the helicopter community exposed to operational conditions conducive to fatigue?
  2. What specific elements contribute to fatigue in these sectors?
  3. What countermeasures can be used to combat the potential effects of fatigue?

DELIVERABLE

  1. How can we reduce the impact of fatigue on helicopter incidents and accidents?

AUTOMATION

QUESTIONS

  1. Will automation help us reduce human error?
  2. What are the pitfalls that we have observed when introducing new technologies?
  3. How can we improve the design and integration of new systems?
  4. How do we view management by consent versus management by exception and when should we use one over the other?
  5. How do we define and structure the work of an exception manager?
  6. What cues does the exception manager base decisions on, if they have been detached from the system they are responding to?

DELIVERABLE

  1. How can we improve automation and the introduction of automation to help meet the IHSS goal.

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

QUESTIONS

  1. To what extent are the various sectors (e.g. EMS, military) of the helicopter community exposed to unprotected conditions of the physical environment?
  2. What elements of the physical environment continue to pose a risk to operators?
  3. What current or emerging technologies might help to mitigate the risk from the physical environment?

DELIVERABLES

  1. Which elements of the physical environment require amelioration?
  2. How we mitigate the risk of the physical environment of cockpits?

PILOT DECISION MAKING

QUESTIONS

  1. For the various sectors (e.g. EMS, military) of the helicopter community, where are the major decision-making problems (e.g. flight into poor visibility)?
  2. What are human factors associated with each type of decision making problem?
  3. What mitigation options (e.g. training) are available to improve pilot decision making?

DELIVERABLE

  1. How can we enhance pilot decision making?

PROCEDURAL NON-COMPLIANCE

QUESTIONS

  1. To what extent is procedural non-compliance an issue in each sector (e.g EMS, military) of the helicopter community?
  2. What factors influence non-compliance in each sector?
  3. How will we mitigate the risks associated with procedural non-compliance?

DELIVERABLE

  1. How do we mitigate the risks associated with procedural non-compliance?

HUMAN FACTORS IN MAINTENANCE

QUESTIONS

  1. What areas of maintenance are most susceptible to human error?
  2. What human factors issues are associated with being away from base and how do they differ from home base procedures? Are risk assessments carried out?
  3. What role, if any, does fatigue play in helicopter maintenance at home base versus off-site?
  4. What is the impact of crew pairing (pilot and AME)?

DELIVERABLE

  1. How will we reduce human error associated with helicopter maintenance?