The successful management of programs for human factors certification of advanced aviation technologies

摘要

In recent years there have been immense pressures to enact changes on the air traffic control organizations of most states. In addition, many of these states are or have been subject to great political, sociological and economic changes. Consequently, any new schemes must be considered within the context of national or even international changes. Europe has its own special problems, and many of these are particularly pertinent when considering human factors certification programs. Although these problems must also be considered in the wider context of change, it is usually very difficult to identify which forces are pressing in support of human factors aspects and which forces are resisting change. There are a large number of aspects which must be taken into account if human factors certification programs are to be successfully implemented. Certification programs would be new ventures, and like many new ventures it will be essential to ensure that managers have the skills, commitment and experience to manage the programs effectively. However, they must always be aware of the content and the degree of certainty to which the human factors principles can be applied - as Debons and Horne have carefully described. It will be essential to avoid the well known pitfalls which occur in the implementation of performance appraisal schemes. While most appraisal schemes are usually extremely well thought out, they often do not produce good results because they are not implemented properly and staff therefore do not have faith in them. If the manager does not have the commitment and interest in his/her staff as human beings, then the schemes will not be effective. Thus, one aspect of considering human factors certification schemes is within the context of a managed organization. This paper outlines some of the management factors which need to be considered for the air traffic control services. Many of the points received attention during the plenary sessions while others were covered by the working groups when the question arose of how various aspects of human factors certification programs would be managed. Management and organizational issues will certainly need to be included in any frame of reference by those who may be involved in developing certification programs.