CRM Issues
 

Hi all,

I'm looking for either advice or direction as to where to find information relating to the CRM.

I have seen it mentioned in numerous places, but I'm too sure what CRM involves, or what it means for that matter so assistance would be gratefully appreciated.

Also, any other advice relating to be being an effective 1st officer would be great.

Many thanks
Fra :)

CRM - Crew or Cockpit Resource Management is the art of getting the best out of all the people, equipment and other resources available to you at all times. It's often compressed into meaning the cross-cockpit relationship netween Captain and FO, but there's far more to it than that. At its most expansive, it includes cockpit ergonomics, company procedures and many other apparently peripheral things which demonstrably affect a crew's performance in times of stress.
The CAA/JAA prescribe what books you need to study to pass their exams, and your airline will have its own CRM training procedures when you get there. In the mean time, just think about how you would get the best out of a person in the other seat who's tired, fed up with the company, just been abandoned by girlfriend/husband/lover, crashed the car and has a £15000 overdraft. That should get you thinking along the right lines!

CRM is exactly as described by Scroggs. However, for your ATPL exams you will study HPL (Human Performance and Limitations) which really deal with the individual (physiology, health, information processing, basic psychology etc.) to prepare you for the inevitable errors occurring due to human limitations.

Any airline you go to will likely have a CRM course, dealing with effective interaction and communication with everyone else involved in a successful trip. that includes you, your fellow flight crew members, cabind staff, ATC, maintenance staff, dispatch - the list goes on.

The bridge between is the MCC (Multi-Crew Co-operation or Co-ordination), invented by JAA to make more cash (ok - that's my one and only sarcastic dig). MCC deals with (or should deal with) the flight deck relationship between two people, since most modern airliners have a 2-man flight deck crew.

So don't dive in too deeply to CRM at this stage - that will come later. Concentrate on the bits you need at each stage and, assuming you are the "right material", you will absorb the rest and hopefully put it to good use as you progress.

Thanks guys,

Your help is always appreciated

Regards.

Fra