The changes since my old sector 3 days are astonishing. Less controllers working more traffic. Sectors combined when historically they weren’t. Complexity through the roof. Work life balance non existent. Rosters re-written to mean more days at work.
This is the goal though. Most of the people running the industry have bought into the concept of ‘lean management’.
The primary purpose of lean management is to produce value for the customer by optimizing resources and creating a steady workflow based on real customer demands. It seeks to eliminate any waste of time, effort or money by identifying each step in a business process and then revising or cutting out steps that do not create value. The philosophy has its roots in manufacturing.
There is a tension between aviation safety and ‘lean management’ principles. A balance must be struck.
After the space shuttle Challenger exploded in 1986, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard P. Feynman asked NASA officials what risk of failure each mission carried. NASA engineers said about 1 in every 100 flights was likely to experience a catastrophe. NASA managers put the risk closer to 1 in 100,000.
Most of the people running the industry look quizzically at you if you start having real conversations about risk and safety. They have probably done a few courses but because they don’t live it, and feel it when the margins are eroded, they rarely understand it.
The above quote about the Challenger explosion illustrates the clear difference between management trained employees, and operational employees when assessing risk. I’m not saying the divide is that great in Australian aviation, but in my experience there is definitely a divide that I have witnessed when discussing specific risks to flight safety. When your bum isn’t in the hot seat, and many other things are competing for your attention, it’s not likely you will reach a high level of understanding on the subject of risk, especially when the worst possible outcome for you is to have to do a 30 second hand-wringing ‘we’re deeply sorry’ interview on TV.
Good luck to the hard working ATCO’s.