Stay In Your Lane (Pssst – It’s All In Your Lane!)

The 20^th Edition of the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) brings about some changes, one of which is the new requirement to conduct initial and recurrent Human Factors training for all personnel involved in the safe operation of an aircraft. This training was previously only a recommended practice for non-flight crews, which means this change for Human Factors training is opening its door to not only the usual suspects (flight crews, cabin crews, maintenance personnel), but is now required for schedulers/dispatchers, line service, and administrative personnel as well.

Having conducted many human factors training classes, we can say it isn't unusual to see non-flight crew personnel who were "recommended" to attend training sessions by their leadership act occasionally perplexed as to why they were asked to attend a class they perceived to be "out of their lane."

There are many problems with this mindset. The first, and most paramount, problem is the potential risk this brings to safe aviation operations if personnel don't feel relevant enough to the training to remain engaged; however, if this is happening in your organization, perhaps another critical problem is with the training itself. There may be a dire need to update material to ensure a more comprehensive approach to safety that engages ALL personnel and solves the "why" everyone must attend the class. With this new change in requirement for human factors training, we must all ensure that our training is inclusive and brings the "why" to the table.

Business aviation organizations are far more than simply aircraft and crews. We are teams, families, and groups that continually build, shape, and adapt our own sets of culture, norms, and relationships. It is those cultures, norms, and relationships that will define how your organization chooses to operate, what you will tolerate, and how you work together to create and sustain safe operating conditions. Safe operations don't only happen in the sky. Often, mishaps start well before anyone approaches the aircraft, and sometimes even the smallest player can change the trajectory of an event for the better—or worse, if not properly engaged. What those seemingly peripheral players need to know from their training and daily messaging from leadership is HOW. How do they make a difference and why is the human factors training in fact, squarely in their lane?

Ideally, our human factors training should not only focus on what happens on the aircraft, but what happens in those mundane, everyday interactions that are the result of our daily individual habits and skills at all levels of the organization. And whenever our personnel interact, they should be able to draw the line and connect the dots between what they do and the safe completion of operations because every person on all of our teams matters.

Advanced Aircrew Academy is an approved IS-BAO Programme Support Affiliate (PSA) with an expertise in both the Standard and training. If you'd like to explore more about how your human factors training can better permeate all levels of your organization, contact us and we will be glad to help because we understand—when it comes to business aviation, it's ALL in our lane!