My Two Cents Worth
By Randy Mains
to go, given the empirical evidence. To give you an example of what I am
talking about, a large American helicopter company recently wanted to buy my CRM/AMRM course so that they could teach it to their employees. They told me they had over 1,000 people to train, and needed an updated course like mine that is approved by all governing agencies. Their management told me they planned to do an initial two-hour CRM course the first year, followed by a yearly four-hour course to discuss case studies. I respect- fully declined their offer, bewildered and very much disappointed that they could actually think that is how a CRM course works. In my mind, they had missed the point completely. They had not under- stood the spirit of the law. The course I teach and facilitate satis-
MINISTERED THIS CURE, OR THEY CANNOT FLY. YOU GLADLY OFFER THE CURE, KNOWING IT CAN SAVE LIVES. However, you soon discover that the
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parent (the helicopter company) of the pa- tient (the flight crew) doesn’t want to give the full dose because of the added time and expense it takes to administer it. So the helicopter company waters down the dose to near microscopic proportions, which satisfies the letter of the law, while successfully avoiding the spirit of the law. But in their effort to save time and money, they render the cure totally useless. It is my opinion that’s what’s happening in many HEMS programs. The FAA knows the power that Crew
Resource Management (CRM) has in pre- venting aircraft accidents, from the suc- cess of CRM in the airline industry. According to a December article in the Wall Street Journal, 2012 was the safest year for the airlines on record, with 2011 being the safest year before that. That record is attributed in no small way to a segment of CRM, where flight crews are
8 August 2013
MAGINE YOU’RE AN AVIATION DOCTOR AND YOU HOLD THE CURE TO SAVE LIVES IN A DEADLY SEGMENT OF HELICOPTER AVIATION. ONE DAY YOU LEARN THAT THE FAA HAS FINALLY MANDATED THAT ALL PART 135 OPERATORS MUST BE AD-
made to feel free to report errors or unsafe practices without fear of losing their job, being punished or other retribution—the very definition of a “just safety culture.” The airlines go so far as to share their er- rors and their mistakes with other airline companies. We in the helicopter world are not there yet. I argue we have a long way
fies the requirements set out by the FAA, JAR-OPS, EU-OPS, Canadian DOT, ICAO, and CAMTS, the accrediting agency for HEMS programs in America. How could this company think my course would still be approved if watered-down to just two hours? Many of the companies out there
“teach” CRM on the computer. If you re- member nothing else from this article please remember this: CRM cannot be learned from a computer-based program. For behavior to change, CRM must be facilitated. Think about it: If CRM could be taught
using a computer, wouldn’t the airlines be doing it? Instead, they devote a minimum of two days to facilitate the course to their airline staff. Then they do Line Oriented Flight Training, which is scenario-based
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