On 4 December 1996, Dave Wilson wrote:
"I think we are close to getting a focus for a Tiger Team... Both Vince and Skip
seem to be working with at least a partly completed program model which is
founded on defined management skill expectations or standard management
procedures. Both of these systems are/were developed with some quantity of
analysis. Perhaps those systems could be shared with the Tiger Team (to be
formed) even if in generic form. The Team could combine those and other inputs
from the community ar large and come up with a truly generic model of what a CRM
program task list should be. That would put us a long way down the road toward
developing some kind of measurement system."
I agree that it is time to translate some of the insights shared on this
listserv and the work that has already been done in the industry into a product
development tiger team. Over the past couple weeks I have been coordinating
with Delta Training managers to identify a way that we could release our CRM
task list so that an Industry Developer's Group Tiger Team could refine it then
make it available as an industry resource. I still have not locked up all the
final Delta approvals but I think it is probable instead of just possible.
Before I proceed, I want to clarify what appears to be a difference in semantics
but one that I cannot reconcile with my early Air Force Pilot Training lessons.
The word "procedure" conjures up the following criteria for me:
Written
Linear and sequential
Requiring reference to a checklist
While Skip refers to these broader CRM expectations as "standard management
procedures", conceptually they appear to be more aligned with my understanding
of policies than procedures.
Wiener and Degani discuss the 4 P's (Philosophy, Policy, Procedure, Practice).
Delta has written the non-phase of flight specific management skill expectations
at the policy level. We can still outline certain responses to given conditions
at the policy level. The only difference between the statement of expectations
in a policy vs. a procedure appears to be the specific reference to a phase of
flight and the reference to a checklist.
With that said,
I think that it will be important for the Tiger Team to focus on the development
of two distinctly different task lists. One that is non-phase of flight
specific (management skill expectations / standard management procedures) and
another that is phase of flight specific. Proceduralized CRM would be reflected
in the phase of flight specific task list. Global CRM skills that could be
applied to all phases would be reflected in the non-phase of flight specific
task list. There are clearly CRM skills that are not phase of flight specific
and cannot be attached to a specific checklist event. For example, we want our
aircrews to speak up when they see something going wrong but we will not ever
have a checklist procedure for "speaking up". We teach them specific responses
to getting task saturated but we will never have a checklist procedure for
getting task saturated.
Thats probably enough for this email... I look forward to working with Dave
Wilson and the other folks who have substantially contributed to the metrics
discussion to form a Tiger Team and develop a useful product for the entire
industry.
Best Regards,
Vince Mancuso