Introduction to THREAT AND ERROR MANAGEMENT (TEM)


Threat and Error Management (TEM) is an overarching safety concept regarding aviation operations and human performance. TEM is not a revolutionary concept, but one that has evolved gradually, as a consequence of the constant drive to improve the margins of safety in aviation operations through the practical integration of human factors knowledge.


TEM was developed as a product of collective aviation industry experience. Such experience fostered the recognition that past studies and, most importantly, operational consideration of human performance in aviation had largely overlooked the most important factor influencing human performance in dynamic work environments: the interaction between people and the operational context (i.e., organizational, regulatory and environmental factors) within which people perform their operational duties.


The Components of the TEM Framework


There are three basic components in the TEM framework. From the perspective of their users, they have slightly different definitions: Threats, Errors and Undesired (Aircraft) States. The framework proposes that threats and errors are part of everyday aviation operations that must be managed by aviation professionals, since both threats and errors carry the potential to generate undesired states.


The undesired states carry the potential for unsafe outcomes thus undesired state management is an essential component of the TEM framework, as important as threat and error management. Undesired state management largely represents the last opportunity to avoid an unsafe outcome and thus maintain safety margins in aviation operations.


THREATS


Generally defined as “events or errors that occur beyond the influence of the line personnel, increase operational complexity, and which must be managed to maintain the margins of safety”.


There are 3 kinds of threats: 1. Anticipated Threats


Some threats can be anticipated, since they are expected or known to the flight crew. For example, flight crews can anticipate the consequences of a thunderstorm by briefing their response in advance, or prepare for a congested airport by making sure they keep a watchful eye for other aircraft as they execute the approach.


2. Unexpected Threats


Some threats can occur unexpectedly, such as an in-flight aircraft malfunction that happens suddenly and without warning. In this case, flight crews must apply skills and knowledge acquired through training and operational experience.


3. Latent Threats


Lastly, some threats may not be directly obvious to, or observable by, flight crews immersed in the operational context, and may need to be uncovered by safety analysis. These are considered latent threats. Examples of latent threats include equipment design issues, optical illusions, or jetlag.


Regardless of whether threats are expected, unexpected, or latent, one measure of the effectiveness of a flight crew’s ability to manage threats is whether threats are detected with the necessary anticipation to enable the flight crew to respond to them through deployment of appropriate countermeasures.


Threat Management Threat management is a building block to error management and undesired aircraft state management. Although the threat-error linkage is not necessarily straightforward, threat management provides the most proactive option to maintain margins of safety in flight operations, by voiding safety-compromising situations at their roots. As threat managers, flight crews are the last line of defense to keep threats from impacting flight operations.


Remember: Identify and Prepare 7 CRM 2, TEM, Fatigue


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