ORM vs CRM
CRMDEEN (CRMDEEN_at_aol.com)
Fri, 17 Apr 1998 21:16:53 EDT
At the risk of making this an USAF oriented debate, I'd like to tie
something to Mancuso and Bauer's piece of organizational risk management
practices. I would agree that the organization must be aware of risk factors,
and work toward minimizing them. I disagree that ORM stops at the duty desk,
and CRM takes over then. They each operate on both sides of the dispatch
desk. I believe the crew should also be cognizant of error-inviting risks.
A few years ago, the local flying organizations implemented a "risk
assessment" form which attempts to identify certain organizational-specific
risk elements. These are given a numerical value, and certain "thresholds"
exist about those values. When the number adds to a "high" number,
supervisors must participate in the decision to launch the mission.
Unfortunately, the crew members consisitently tell me that this has
evolved to a "numbers game". If the numbers are too high, they quickly change
the numbers just to avoid engaging the supervisors. There have been only a
very few reports in which the high numbers stimulated adjustments to the
mission, to lesson the risk. (as designed)
What disturbs me the most about the system, is that it stays behind when
the crew goes to fly. I ask crews if they use the forms, or the teachings, or
the numbers, when they are away from the home base, on the road doing routine
missions. They always say "NO, that's just a pre-planning game." Something
is terribly wrong with this program.
Risk management, or error management, if that's what you want to call it,
should be a constant process. If the aircraft experiences a malfunction during
a mission, the crew should assess the impact on the planned mission. If a
crewmember were to become ill during a flight, this changes the opportunity
for error.
ORM and CRM are each a continuous process, not some checklist to touch-
and-forget as the crew goes to the airplane. They are compatible, and
separate, and similar. My next input to the discussion, titled "Case Study"
should give us something to reflect upon as we consider the meaning of "error
management" by the organization, and the crew.
Greg Deen
Raytheon