The FAA’s and NTSB’s problem is that they have created it for themselves. Their continued labelling of the human as a failure, concluding the need for more training and assessment adds little to the quest for improved safety, but increases the confusion and complexity of training and operation.
Operations are very safe; however on rare occasions, weaknesses in the safety process disrupt normal defences. As long as investigation and regulatory activity continues to focus on the human as the weakest defensive link, as something which must be improved, then the greater the problem of identifying what should be trained and assessed – how to improve the human.
There are many academic views of this, but the one which stands above all others is that ‘it is difficult to change the human condition, but it is possible to change the conditions of work’ (J Reason) – identify and monitor those aspects which influence human behaviour.
Thus for ‘monitoring’, how can we assess that which we cannot identify or train? Should we assess individual pilots, crews, operators; assess what, what objective, what standard, what training; safety involves all aspects, their relationships, their potential to add to the process, and the means of improving this. This is much more than training and assessment.
It is important to appreciate the effects of change. Older systems required a high degree of monitoring, this is less so now. We still need to monitor the vital instruments, but which ones are vital, when, where, how. This depends on context, understanding the situation, the task, and realisation of the overall safety objective – balanced by economics.
Modern monitoring is less focussed on instruments or systems, but more on the objective and means of achieving it – the process of flying, situation awareness, and management.
The FAA and NTSB might achieve a more meaningful output by including themselves in any criticism of human activity, revise their misguided beliefs to match the current safe operational world, to appreciate what has changed and what is required in future scenarios.
These high level organisations should improve their awareness and implementation of the safety initiatives required for an already safe industry.