Major General Ted Mallory presented a CRM briefing to U.S. Air Force
instructor pilots and trainees yesterday at Randolph AFB. There were two
powerpoint slides he presented that captured the essence of personal and
peer accountability and their importance for maintaining a safety culture.
The statements I will share with you below were borrowed from a Air
National Guard Fighter unit (the 119th I believe). In the paper that I
coauthored with Dr. Lauber, Dr. Predmore, and Captain Justinic (Available
for download in the resources section on this web site or on my web site),
we highlight that the critical element for building a strong
safety-oriented culture and integrating human factors into an organization
is individual and peer accountability. The following statements presented
by Gen. Mallory, I believe capture the essence of accountability and
culture. I would like to see more organizations and senior managers state
and support these overtly.
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Unit Culture
We seek a unit culture founded on integrity, pride and professionalism in
which no one in the unit will accept anything other than striving to make
the unit an effective, safe, world-class organization. Integrity is the
bedrock. Peer accountability is the mechanism used to maintain the
culture.
Peer Accountability
A concept which promotes safety in all areas wherein no one within the
organization will allow anything to happen that is not professional in
accordance with policies and directives and backed up by a foundation of
integrity. If an individual strays, his or her peers will demand that they
come back into line. All unit members expect to be held accountable for
their actions. No one in the unit would think to perform an act that
reflected poorly on their peers.
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I hope you can use these in your organization or in your training programs,
Vince Mancuso