Thank you for the kind words. Our approach has evolved quite substantially
since my Dad conducted the SimuFlite training (1984?). It is continually
evolving and didn't become a system (the Quantum Management System) until
1987 or so. While many of the concepts have held true over the years, they
have been refined and are now effectively organized into a cohesive system
which has five basic characteristics: guidance to the best possible decision;
identification and correction when the crew begins to move down an Error
Chain; effective and timely feedback to strengthen the system in the future;
the ability to continually monitor the status of the system; and backup
should a failure be identified. These basic characteristics are not very
different from any critical system you might find on any aircraft. And I
think we can all agree that this is a critical system.
The management system, alone is not enough to do the job. The other two
components are the training system and implementation system. It does little
good to have an effective management system if you don't have a way to put it
into use on a consistent basis, and of course the new skills/behavior must
remain in use over time. If crews are allowed to lapse back into their old
habits, then the company has wasted a lot of time, money and effort.
Our outlook on this subject of CRM is quite different in a number of ways.
"Traditional" programs seem to consider CRM is a "toolbox". When you run
across a situation, you select the appropriate tool, use it and then put it
back. This is like saying that I only need a seatbelt when I'm going to
crash. The problem is that when I come to that realization, I'm too busy
and/or stressed to get the darn thing on. A management system is active all
the time. Not only do our clients use it when they are at work, but it
becomes such a natural behavior, that most of them tell us how well it works
at home, at church, in civic organizations and so forth. Once it becomes a
natural behavior, then crews automatically use these skills in those
situations that are more critical. Effective management no longer demands
additional mental workload. They approach these extraordinary situations in
the same way that they do for the minor, day-to-day, routine ones. There is
no need to change the rules and use new, untested techniques that the crew
may not fully understand, and has little confidence in.
I am hesitant to divulge too much in the way of specifics, Neil, as this is
our bread and butter. We want to contribute to the industry, but we also have
to make some money at it so that we can continue our research and development
efforts, and support our clients. Just as Delta or Hughes must charge for
their services so that they may sustain the company and develop new products
and services, so must we. (Interestingly, as a retired Delta pilot, my Dad
can use a pass when traveling for pleasure, but he has to pay regular fare
when the travel is for CRM work that will benefit the industry.) Over the
past 17 years, my Dad has invested about $300,000 of his own money to do this
work and hasn't taken any out (he's living off his DAL pension), but we can
not continue to fund this through personal finances. (As you can see, we're
not very good marketers — all of our sales have been through word of mouth,
and as our client base grows, this will help compensate our lack of marketing
savvy.) So I will share what I can, but will have to refrain from "giving
away the store" so that we may continue to contribute to the industry.
Skip
Cockpit Management Resources, Inc.