THE HUMAN ERROR Lee Iacocca thought he was right at the time when
he said, “safety doesn’t sell cars” in 1971 and refused to authorize a $1.00 per-car fi x to the Pinto gas tank because it would be cheaper to pay out for the odd person who would get burned in a rear-end car crash. (More than 500 people would suff er that fate, with 27 being fatal in Pinto rear-end collision accidents). Iacocca was so very wrong when people realized that the Pinto was unsafe. They went out of production in 1980, even with the fi x. So, the Pinto earned a capital, but not Safety that today sees cars with shoulder harness seatbelts, airbags, a collapsible steering wheel, crumple zones, reinforced doors that don’t jam, etc., etc. Today, Safety sells and is expected. No company will remain in the aviation business for long without Safety. It’s time that Safety receives the importance and respect it deserves. Safety deserves a capital S. I, for one, will spell it that way — and if you are serious about Safety, I urge you to do the same.
Gordon Dupont worked as a special programs coordinator for Transport Canada from March 1993 to August 1999. He was responsible for coordinating with the aviation industry in
the development of programs that would serve to reduce maintenance error. He assisted in the development of Human Performance in Maintenance (HPIM) Parts 1 and 2. The “Dirty Dozen” maintenance Safety posters were an outcome of HPIM Part 1.
Prior to working for Transport, Dupont worked for seven years as a technical investigator for the Canadian Aviation Safety Board (later to become the Canadian Transportation Safety Board). He saw fi rst hand the tragic results of maintenance and human error.
Dupont has held the position of principal of an aviation vocational training school as well as chief engineer for a corporate turbine aircraft.
He has been an aircraft maintenance engineer and commercial pilot in Canada, the United States and Australia.
He is the past president and founding member of the Pacifi c Aircraft Maintenance Engineers Association. He is a founding member and a board member of the Maintenance And Ramp Safety Society (MARSS).
Dupont, who is often called “The Father of the Dirty Dozen,” has provided human factors training around the world. He retired from Transport Canada in 1999 and is now a private consultant.
Dupont has worked on and held signing authority on aircraft from the Piper Cub on fl oats through to the Boeing 74 . He also owns a pile of hangar-stored parts that will one day fl y again as a Stearman (if and when he retires).
He is interested in any work that will serve to make our industry Safer. Visit
www.system-safety.com for more information.
10 2014 See us at NBAA | Booth 1413 53
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