The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) proudly sponsored the combined Australian Aviation Psychological Association’s (AAvPA) and PACDEFF symposium – held in Sydney across 7-9 November – to help foster the exchange of information and the advancement of knowledge and skills in the fields of psychology, human factors and crew resource management (CRM).
As the premier human factors and CRM event in the region, the ATSB’s Chief Commissioner, Greg Hood, and several of the Bureau’s human factors specialists, presented at the symposium on this year’s theme ‘maximising human performance for future systems’.
Chief Commissioner Hood said human factors are a key part of every aviation safety investigation.
“Thanks to the work and dedication of pioneers like the late Dr Rob Lee AO, human factors continues to be a core component of every ATSB safety investigation in the aviation, rail and marine modes of transport,” Mr Hood said during his keynote address.
“Dr Lee was the first human factors specialist to be appointed at the then Bureau of Air Safety Investigation when he joined the organisation in 1983. Dr Lee helped establish and develop the Bureau’s capability in human factors, systems safety and research.”
The ATSB is a world leader in human factors training, with more than 40 courses held since 2000 to educate those who are in a position to influence safety. In October, the ATSB’s latest human factors course was attended by several transport safety investigators and operators from New Zealand, Taiwan, Korea, Hong Kong and Kenya.
“It is a well-known adage that you can’t change the human condition, but you can change the conditions in which humans work,” Mr Hood said.
“Looking at our strengths and limitations, and highlighting that with respect to an occurrence, helps us accurately learn what has happened, why it happened, and how to prevent it.”
The ATSB’s SafetyWatch list, which comprises the most pressing safety priorities identified from its investigation findings, features several human factors concerns, including fatigue, data input errors and in-flight decision making.