alf5071h
4th Dec 2012, 13:20
“They wanted systems that could take responsibility instead of people” (ww.nytimes.com/2012/11/15/world/europe/bbc-failures-show-limits-of-guidelines.html?smid=li-share&goback=.gde_1191767_member_171675115&_r=1&) is an excerpt from The New York Times on recent events at the BBC, referring to a style of management.
Could similar excessive use of rules and procedures lead to a failure in flight safety?
“One compared what happened to a plane spiraling out of control in which the pilot, rather than pulling on the controls, reaches for an instruction manual and begins to check off steps. … there is no choice but to reach for the manual.”
Could the underlying principles of such an organisational ‘failure’ apply to areas of aviation; if so what might be learnt?
Are there early warning signs; what could / should be done?
Further excerpts for thought:
“… established elaborate bureaucratic procedures … put an increasing emphasis on “compliance.”
“… it appears that people overseeing the program were too cautious, so that top managers were left unaware …; managers may have relied too much on rigid procedures at the expense of basic … principles.”
“… because it had been “lawyered” and “complied,” meaning it had passed the requisite legal and compliance tests, and been “referred up” the chain of responsibility, [I] was considered sound — even though no one, apparently, had asked standard questions like whether [I] was credible.”
“… people along the chain were more concerned with checking the right boxes than with asking the right questions.”
Could similar excessive use of rules and procedures lead to a failure in flight safety?
“One compared what happened to a plane spiraling out of control in which the pilot, rather than pulling on the controls, reaches for an instruction manual and begins to check off steps. … there is no choice but to reach for the manual.”
Could the underlying principles of such an organisational ‘failure’ apply to areas of aviation; if so what might be learnt?
Are there early warning signs; what could / should be done?
Further excerpts for thought:
“… established elaborate bureaucratic procedures … put an increasing emphasis on “compliance.”
“… it appears that people overseeing the program were too cautious, so that top managers were left unaware …; managers may have relied too much on rigid procedures at the expense of basic … principles.”
“… because it had been “lawyered” and “complied,” meaning it had passed the requisite legal and compliance tests, and been “referred up” the chain of responsibility, [I] was considered sound — even though no one, apparently, had asked standard questions like whether [I] was credible.”
“… people along the chain were more concerned with checking the right boxes than with asking the right questions.”