Re: The Mediated Debrief
HARNWOLF_at_aol.com
Wed, 30 Apr 1997 00:11:29 -0400 (EDT)
Mediated debriefs at FedEx have two basic objectives--to help ensure
the crew learns something from the incident they were involved in and, in
certain cases where a major conflict has occurred among crewmembers, to get
the crew talking to each other again and able to safely fly with each other
in the future again. The participants include the crew, a member from
standards, a flight-safety specialist, and a pilot from the CRM office, who
acts as the facilitator/mediator. No one from management is allowed at this
debrief, no notes are allowed to be taken, and nothing said at the debrief
can be used against any of the crew. It is also a voluntary meeting by the
crew which has, in some instances, been used as a tool to preclude FAA
action.
The format used by the facilitator is basically the same debriefing
format used by our LOFT instructors have been trained in to debrief crews and
has been equally effective in both situations. It involves asking specific,
standard questions to get the crew to debrief themselves as much as possible.
Incidentally, the success of this program has proven to be a major
motivator in bringing both management and standards "on board" with the CRM
office. After several of these mediated debriefs, the check airman and
standards people involved in the incident or debrief expressed a desire to be
trained in the debriefing techniques themselves. They felt it would be an
effective way of debriefing crews in some cases after line checks and during
IOE. As a result, all of FedEx's line check airmen are in the process of
going through a two day course covering briefing and debriefing techniques
along with a review of CRM skill areas. This has turned out to be a very
positive step in integrating CRM techniques in all aspects of flight
training.
Our flight safety department also has a "no jeopardy" reporting system
which allows pilots to send them reports after being involved in an
incident(similar to the NASA ASRS system). The reports are then sanitized
and put on an electronic bulletin board--a very good learning tool for crews.
The program is considered to be a great success. However, I have found that
the vast majority of these safety reports refer to problems encountered
external to the cockpit/crew--like maintenance or ramp incidents. I would
guess that despite the promise of anonymity, crewmembers are still reluctant
to write about their own mistakes--perhaps out of fear that someone will
recognize who the reporter is. The ASRS system, on the other hand, has a
carrot for pilots involved in an incident because it may protect them from
FAA action and is not as "close to home". We need to come up with a similar
carrot or motivator to get more crew participation.
Mike Sasse
CRM Office
FedEx