CRM Crew Resource Management Reflects

CRM

Crew resource management reflects basic principles of human communications but applied directly within the unique cockpit environment. Cockpit mismanagement and conflict are major culprits in aviation accidents: "failures of interpersonal communications, decision making, and leadership" are responsible for most errors (Helmreich, Merritt, & Wilhelm 1999). Interpersonal strife, miscommunication, and errors in judgment are some of the areas crew resource management can address. A National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) workshop introduced the importance of crew resource management (CRM) in 1979 and since then CRM has helped avert a "significant" number of aviation accidents (American Psychological Association, 2004). The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA 2004) calls CRM an "integral part of training and operations."

With structured guidelines for dealing with conflicts, aviation personnel can prevent the problems that cause tragedies. Although the FAA does not offer one single method of CRM training, it does offer resources for aviation industry personnel to help each organization craft its own crew resource management program. The details of CRM may differ according to the needs of the organization, whether a commercial, private, or government carrier. The FAA notes that most CRM training focuses on " situation awareness, communication skills, teamwork, task allocation, and decision making within a comprehensive framework of standard operating procedures (SOP)." Because of its impact on public safety and on reducing aviation liabilities, CRM is mandatory for the FAA certification process (FAA 2004).

Situation awareness increases a pilot, copilot, or crew member's ability to respond to sudden changes to the status of a flight due to unforeseen circumstances. Crew resource management encourages situational awareness by helping aviation personnel pay better attention to their environments, their coworkers, their equipment, and their clients. Therefore, situation awareness focuses on improving accurate perceptions and reducing the chance that a crew member might misread or misjudge a scenario. Honing situation awareness takes much practice and time; perceptive pilots and crew members are usually seasoned employees who have decades of experience reading people and making split-second judgments when surprises arise. However, junior crew members and pilots can improve their awareness of situations simply by incorporating proven principles learned during CRM training.

Situation awareness applies not just to what is currently happening in the cockpit environment, but also to the crew's goals for the specific resolution of a conflict. Assessing a situation honestly and then comparing the assessment to an ideal scenario is another way of envisioning situation awareness. The ultimate object of situation awareness is to match cockpit decisions with desired outcomes.

Because cockpit personnel work together as a team, too, each individual should also be aware of his or her roles and the duties expected of each crew member. Situation awareness starts with self-awareness and the ability to know one's strengths and limitations in any crisis scenario. Role clarity and expected duties are generally taught to crew members undergoing CRM training. Situation awareness is in many respects the core of crew resource management.

Communication skills, however, are a key part of CRM training and implementation. Pilots, flight attendants, and ancillary crew members need to work together and cooperate under abnormally stressful circumstances. Effective communications start and end with honesty, and all crew members need to be up front about any issues, problems, or concerns. Confronting supervisors or subordinates demands tact and sensitivity. No crew member, no matter how senior his or her position within the organization, can rely on status as a reason to bark orders to subordinates. All crew members, no matter how junior their position within the organization, have a responsibility to report any suspicious situation to a supervisor. Subordinates also need to learn when and how to question authority because CRM depends on opening lines of communication with the main objective of ensuring flight safety. Cockpit communications may also depend on improving diversity awareness and sensitivity to difference. As Schultz (2002) points out, culture effects cockpit communication especially in a multicultural aviation industry.

Teamwork is also a major part of CRM, and teamwork depends on both situation awareness and on effective communication. Sharing information and collaborating to meet shared objectives is the essence of teamwork in a cockpit setting. The FAA (2004) itself stresses the importance of teamwork as being central to the CRM training process: "CRM training should focus on the functioning of crew members as teams, not as a collection of technically competent individuals" and "CRM training should provide opportunities for crew members to practice the skills necessary to be effective team leaders and team members," (p. 6). In crisis scenarios, a team holds the same objectives. Even when individual crew members have specific roles, responsibilities, and duties the entire cockpit works together as a whole. A collective response to a crisis will be better timed than a response executed by the same number of single-minded individuals. Collective action by a team ensures coordination of behaviors and effective emergency management. Teamwork also encourages crew members to throw aside interpersonal conflicts when a crisis arises and instead place the best interests of the team above personal pride. Technical expertise and years of experience cannot make up for a lack of cooperation.

Task allocation might take place on the fly, as crew members address unforeseen circumstances by assigning duties to flight crew who might not be fully prepared for them. However, task allocation is directly related to a crew member's professional title, role within the organization, and overt descriptions of job duties. In a crisis scenario, task allocation may require team members to perform duties they might not have performed otherwise but in general, crew members will have tasks assigned to them based on their areas of expertise. Crew resource management may depend on frequent drills that enhance effective task allocation in a crisis. The FAA (2004) recommends that cockpit and cabin crew working together regularly perform drills and training together.

Crew resource management depends on effective decision-making, often decisions made quickly. Once situation awareness is established and honed, and once teamwork is ensured via effective task allocation, the cockpit must face the difficult decisions that can help save the lives of every person on the plane. Decision-making therefore begins with awareness: knowledge and understanding of the situation and what actions are required to remedy a problem or bring about a desired outcome. Effective decisions depend on a strong command of standard operating procedures and knowledge of flight equipment. Decision-making in emergency situations also requires a keen sense of timing: of when to act as well as how. Timing often but not always implies quick reflexes. Sometimes crew members need more patience than haste to ensure a desired outcome.