Somehow through these 'conferences' I hope that the message finally gets through, and strong enough to get past TCAS and AAR, that the way we are being managed is not effective and complicit in any incidents we have.
It is a matter of perspective;
From our point of view (the ones on the line doing the job, rostered to the max, with numerous changes from FCI to FCN to FTN, on such a diverse network dealing with many different cultures, dealing with a multitude of different approaches ILS,NPA,Circling,PRM,SAAAR, on SR, LR and ULR flights), that somehow our skill, experience, CRM etc has managed to keep things as safe as they can possibly be.
From the management point of view (who do not currently fly, have never flown our type of operations to as many places so frequently with such a diverse compliment of crew) 'they' cannot understand why we hold them in such low esteem and they do not understand why serious incidents are continuing to happen.
And their reaction to these incidents? More of the same; more control, more 'training', more micromanaging interference leading to even more pressure on the line demanding more from our ability to cope.
To resolve this negative model from spiraling even further down into the hole that we all must work together to prevent, management have to look at the fundamental problems of the way they manage. This has to go above TCAS and AAR. They are the the ones responsible for the current situation and are the ones preventing any real effective change from taking place. They are either keeping a lid on the problems to save their own a*ses or unable to deal with those above them, those who are the only ones who can actually make change happen.
TCAS and AAR are responsible in my opinion for setting the current low tone of management. They are the face, two faces of management we have. But whilst they are responsible we alone will be held to account when things go wrong.
I hope something positive comes from these conferences but, as in previous meetings, we should be prepared to keep our expectations low as the disappointment is usually high.
Last edited by Marooned; 24th Apr 2009 at 14:08.