CRM Success Story

CRMDEEN_at_aol.com
Thu, 6 Aug 1998 17:57:34 EDT

I'm quite excited about those who are expressing an interest in the UA232
(Al Haynes) story. This is quite a success story, and one I use to make a
serious point in our Communication block .
There exists a print-out/ graph of the CVR from UA232. It was sent to me
from an Air Force source, and I'm not sure where their source was. What it
does show, is the communication model that company taught to the crews. They
use such terms as "inquiry, advocacy, contingency statements," etc. In this
graph, the conversation from the CVR is cataloged according to their academic
model. The graph also plots the time line which combines to show the quantity
of "Thought units" per minute. When you consider the workload in the cockpit,
described by Al Haynes, you'll get the classroom's attention. The copilot had
the stick pulled as far aft as possible, and the yoke twisted to its stops,
with no hydraulic assistance in the system. Just think about the physical
stress to do that.
One of the earliest studies from NASA/AMES, done by Clay Foshee (I think)
produced suggestions for "effective crews" vs "ineffective crews"--the message
being clear, concise, effective communication.
Now I can show a crew under extreme stress, workload, and challenge, and
then study the quantity and quality of their communication. As the workload
went up (a bunch!), their communication increased to a very high state. The
graph also shows the communication elements that are effective, and the
"ineffective" element is barely visible--meaning the crew was communicating
EFFECTIVELY, a lot, under high workload.
But that's not the message of this display. The message is that this is
the same company that had a DC-8 run out of gas in a holding pattern next to
an airport, 10 years prior. Studying that event shows very poor
communication.
What happened between these two events? Their CRM program slowly
changed the behavior of the crew, and possibly the organizational culture
also. Now, effective communication, even under high workload, is the normal
process. If you need to reinforce that idea, look to the UA plane that had
the side cargo-door blow off on take-off. Study it's CVR for that short,
high-workload flight, and you'll see the same quantity of effective
communication.
CRM programs will work, but not overnight. It may take a while to
see the success, but it will be seen.

Greg Deen
Raytheon