Five Seconds to Safety – The Realities of Safety in Aviation
By: Walter Chartrand
Air BP
We hear it all the time: Safety this, safety that. Blah. Blah. Blah.
Fuel Suppliers, ground support manufacturers, insurance companies and even trade associations
continue to harp on FBOs, year in and year out, about the virtues of safety.
Why? What is so important that these companies spend an enormous amount of dollars, time and
resources on a topic that appears to be so logical?
Aside from the inherent risks of aviation activities, safety should be the cornerstone of any
employee activity in any industry. Companies that employ safe, consistent measures benefit from
lack of injury, lower insurance premiums and a host of benefits directly associated with troublefree organizations. The soap box preachers of safety, including the author, do so in order to warn,
assist and educate businesses that don't want liability issues, broken airplanes, or even a loss of
life on the ramp.
And yet, the response from the audience, overall, usually borders on apathy and even
indifference. When asked about a training or safety program, often is heard something like this:
"Sure we have a training and safety program. We have the decal on the door and the patch on
our shirts." The question is, Is this truly a program by which they live?
And then, the following week, the tail of your client's aircraft is crumpled against the hangar
during a routine taxi. The damage requires a new tail and a new wall and, minutes later, the
lineman involved calls in sick with a sore neck.
"I was never trained to do that…?"
Training is the heart of understanding exactly what safety issues are in play and how to minimize
the risk. The key focus should be on ensuring that we do not ask any employee to perform a task
that they have not been properly trained to do. That sounds so simple, and when we present that
concept virtually everyone agrees. Yet, when we perform a Root Cause Analysis evaluation after
an incident, invariably we hear the statement: "Well, I was never really trained how to do that."
In our industry, there are many high profile careers for which an extensive amount of training is
required – airplane pilots, air traffic controllers or aircraft mechanics, to name a few. These
careers employ regimented training steps that are well defined in order to achieve a satisfactory
level of academic knowledge and practical experience. However, if we focus on the general
aviation ground service segment of the industry, we see a starting line service position treated as
a menial task performer that requires little training and, many times, only self-supervision. Many
times there is no formal and documented training program, and almost never is there a recurrent
training program for tenured employees.
The 5-Second Rule
In the Air BP training format, we ask that any line service technician ask a very simple question
before undertaking any activity. This question usually takes no more than 5 seconds to answer
and results in the individual engaging the process of "thinking safety." It solicits a quick review of
the issues at risk and what precautions should be put into place before the activity is undertaken.
The question also alerts an individual to the possibility that they may not know all they should
about the task or the equipment to be used to complete the task safely. The question is, What
harm or damage could result from my actions? Instantaneously, the individual starts to review the
possibilities of what "could" happen. This puts the individual in a precautionary state that has
them thinking about the "what if's" and exactly what to do to prevent them.
Managing Risks
In order to manage risks, one has to be aware of the risks that exist, which requires proper
training of not only how to perform the task, but why the task is performed. It is obvious that we
work in a risk-prevalent industry and that there is no way to eliminate all risks. Being able to
reduce risks requires us to know what they are. Management is what we do and, frankly, this is
likely the most difficult aspect of our jobs. Equally as difficult is to arrive at the same place of
business day in, day out and keep a fresh set of eyes in an continual effort to monitor and reduce
risks. In a majority of cases, what we find is that it simply means bringing back into focus potential
risks about which people have been trained or need to be retrained to ensure that all the risks are
known.
Creating a Culture of Openness
When the 5-second rule is employed and encouraged, several things begin to develop. The first
is an openness and willingness for employees to ask questions. This is powerful for improved
communications and the sharing of experience. The second is an awareness of a desire for
career development – when we have an employee who truly wants to learn and grow, we have
someone we should nurture and assist with the development of their career. It is interesting that,
when we review Root Cause Analysis as to whom accidents and incidents happen, we generally
find a fairly high occurrence attributed to newer employees because they have not received
proper training and a much lower number attributed to highly experienced employees. However,
surprisingly, accidents also happen to those employees who have "been there a while." They
typically "think they know" how to perform a task, and though they tend to have doubts about the
task at hand were not comfortable enough to ask questions or were afraid to show their lack of
knowledge because they felt they would be chastised. As a result, creating the right culture of
openness and supporting that culture with adequate training is critical to running a safe
organization.
Training and Retention
Roger Staubach is quoted as saying, "Confidence doesn't come out of nowhere. It's a result of
something…hours and days and weeks and years of constant work and dedication." Proper and
adequate training is the development of that confidence and involves five distinct steps: a clear
explanation of the task to be performed; a demonstration of the task correctly preformed; allowing
the trainee to describe the task; allowing the trainee to perform the task; and correcting, adjusting
and documenting that the training has occurred. When done properly, this process shows sincere
interest in the employee and helps them to feel like an important part of the organization. This
naturally adds to employee retention.
Knowledge is Power
In order to promote safety, we must begin to help employees to "think safety" and that can be
fostered by the implementation of the 5-second rule. But, in order for the 5-second rule to be
effective, one must realize what risks are involved with any task they are asked to perform. That
comes back to proper and adequate training. Let us be sensitive to the need for training and how
it can bring us safer operations and more highly valued employees. Investments made in better
training can only result in increased profitability and better employees who feel a part of our
organizations.