Human Factors Training

In the aviation industry over 80% of incidents and accidents are attributed to Human Error. This is because humans rarely operate at 100% reliability. Our performance is influenced by many things; our physical and mental wellbeing, by organisational decisions, and especially organisational culture.  The more performance influencing factors we’re exposed to, the more likely we’ll make errors or break the rules. Errors and violations expose the individual, the organisation and the customer to risk.  People break the rules because they feel it’s the only way to get the job done. Many companies do not have a clear picture of the risks they are exposed to because they do not have an appropriate safety culture. The current idea of aviation safety in most organisations is very much reactive – feeling we are safe because nothing has gone wrong in the past. Clearly that’s a perception that’s got to change.

Training in human factors is imperative as it allows individuals and leaders to recognize the times when things might go wrong and put things in place to prevent those bad things from happening. The course encourages staff to say stop in unsafe conditions, and promotes a culture where leaders encourage this behaviour. Such training is appropriate for all staff who have an impact upon safety. That could be anyone within an organisation.

Human Factors training is mandated under EASA / CAA / MAA regulation as it’s recognised that awareness can reduce the risks involved in flying and maintaining aircraft.