OSHA

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was signed into law by President Nixon on January 29, 1970 to ensure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women. This was to be accomplished by authorizing enforcements of the standards developed under the Act, assisting and encouraging the states in their efforts to ensure safe and healthful working conditions.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 was passed by Congress "to assure so far as possible every working man and woman in the Nation safe and healthful working conditions and to preserve our human resources." Under the OSHAct, OSHA was established within the Department of Labor and was authorized to regulate health and safety conditions for all employers with few exceptions.

The purpose under the OSHAct , OSHA was created to
◦ encourage employers and employees to reduce workplace hazards and to implement new or improve existing safety and health standards;
◦ provide for research in occupational safety and health and develop innovative ways of dealing with occupational safety and health problems;
◦ establish "separate but dependent responsibilities and rights" for employers and employees for the achievement of better safety and health conditions;
◦ maintain a reporting and recordkeeping system to monitor job-related injuries and illnesses;
◦ establish training programs to increase the number and competence of occupational safety and health personnel; and,
develop mandatory job safety and health standards and enforce them effectively.

OSHA has a remarkable 37-year history of protecting the safety and health of the nation’s working men and women. The agency has helped to save many thousands of lives and reduce occupational injury and illness rates by more than half during its existence. Clearly, OSHA’s success is greatly attributed to the hard work and dedication of its past and present employees. There are some OSHA employees who have worked in the Department since the beginning of the agency and possess a rich personal understanding of how the agency has transformed itself over the decades.

Human Factors

Human factor is defined as the study of the interaction between humans and their environment. Their environment would include the tools, equipment, instruments, systems and vehicles used to prepare to fly and what is used during flight. Passengers depend on the airlines to get them to their destination safe and they never think about how the employees of the airlines felt that day. If somebody has a bad week, how will their performance be when it comes to the job? Some people don’t know how to put their personal life separate from their work life. We are not robots and there is nobody on earth that is perfect. Even people who are instructors that teach the material to perform aviation duties, at times will fall under an action of what we call, human error. There isn’t a program or machine that will alert you of life situations that somebody is going through. And as much as technology is developing, we still need to be alert, awake, and dedicated to the job because many lives are involved.

Human error is something that even if worked hard to avoid will always be present. I believe that body language plays a huge part in the percentage of human error, but is not all to blame. Knowledge, training and memory can also add to the human error rate. In every job field teamwork is the key to success. If one person does not perform their job to the best of their ability and just does enough to get by, sooner or later some body or several people will become a victim to human error. In order for a puzzle to be complete every piece has to be put together, and there is no difference when it comes to the fact of completing a task. Human error is all around the job field, and without the help of others the rate will continue to go up. Technology is not the answer in detecting every malfunction. Mechanical problems, majority of the time yes technology can prevent a mishap, but not with the inner part of us humans. Everybody goes through an emotional state at some point in their lives, and everybody handles and copes different. The job may be the only way to get away from personal problems, but how can you perform your job at 100% with so much on your mind. You simply can’t! When you look at the affects of physiological, psychological, personality, psychosocial, and physical factors the same outcome has a high possibility, human error.

The Aviation Safety and Noise Abatement Act of 1979

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was directed to establish a process for addressing airport noise and land use compatibility. During this process the Aviation Safety and Noise Abatement Act of 1979 was developed. Under this policy it clearly identifies airport noise responsibility and decreed airport operators responsibilities for dealing with citizen complaints.

The Aircraft Noise Abatement Act of 1968 requires the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to develop and enforce safe standards for noise generated by aircraft. In developing these standards, the FAA generally follows the restrictions on noise established by the International Civil Aviation Organization. Federal noise control regulations define aircraft according to three classes: Stage I, Stage 2, and Stage 3. Stage I aircraft are the loudest, and Stage 3 are the quietest. However, all Stage I aircraft have been phased out of commercial operation, and all unmodified Stage 2 aircraft over 75,000 pounds were phased out by December 31, 1999, as required by the Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990. All Stage 3 aircraft in current operation must meet separate standards for runway takeoffs, landings, and sidelines, which range from 89 to 106 dbA depending on the aircraft's weight and its number of engines. The Aviation Safety and Noise Abatement Act of 1979 authorizes the FAA to award grants under the Airport Improvement Program for noise mitigation projects. Airport operators applying for such grants must design noise exposure maps and develop noise mitigation programs that limit sound levels in affected areas to between 65 and 75 dbA. The population exposed to airport noise of 65 dbA or higher declined as Stage 2 aircraft were phased out, and EPA estimates that in 2000 less than 500,000 people will be exposed to such levels, down from 7.0 million people in 1975.

The Hawthorne Effect

The Hawthorne Effect is defined as the possibility that individuals picked up to participate in a study may show higher productivity only because of the added attention they received from the researchers rather then any other factor being tested in the study. The study was performed at the Hawthorne Plant of Western Electric Company in Cicero, Illinois. Harvard Business School professor Elton Mayo along with associates F.J Roethilsberger and William J. Dickson led the series of research. The research project was dealing and implementing that individual behavior may be altered because they know they are being studied. In the beginning of this study, the researchers started out by examining the physical and environmental influences of the work place and as the study progress, they moved into the psychological aspects. Ideas that weren’t thought of before this study began to develop throughout the time spent on project. Theses ideas concluded that the social dynamics of groups in the work setting had lasting influence minus the collection of data, labor management relations and informal interaction among factory workers

The major finding within the study was workers became pleased to receive attention from the researchers who expressed an interest in them. It has been known that when you are recognized about your hard work and dedication the littlest compliment that is given to you as an employee motivates you to keep doing your best because you feel that you are making a difference. The study was only planned to be a year long project, but the researchers were set back each time they attempted to relate the manipulated physical conditions to worker’s efficiency, so the study extended out to approximately 5 years.

Crew Resource Management

Crew resource management has been widely used to improve the operation of the flight crews. It emphasizes the role of human factors in high-stress, high – risk environments. It is defined as using all available resources, information, equipment and people to achieve safe and efficient flight operations. Along with this, it encompasses team training, as well as simulation, interactive group debriefings and measurement and improvement of aircrew performance. Human error has caused or contributed to over 50% of aviation accidents. These errors come form majority of the time dealing with flight crew error and the rest come from air traffic control error. Needless to say it’s not all blamed on one department, but the entire aviation community as a whole. The statement “you learn form your mistakes” is how a great and efficient training program gets developed

CRM (crew resource management) was developed as a response to new insights into the cause of aircraft accidents that followed from the introduction of flight recorders and cockpit voice recorders in modern jet aircraft. Information from these devices has suggested that many accidents result not from a technical malfunction or its systems, nor from a failure of aircraft handling skills or the lack of technical knowledge on the part of the crew, but instead caused by the inability of the crews response to situations that they may find themselves in. These types of issues involve inadequate communications between crewmembers and other parties

CRM programs typically include educating crews about the limitations of human performance. Trainees develop an understanding of how stressors contribute to the occurrence of errors. Stressors would include fatigue, being put in emergency situations and how to deal with everyday life situations. How to handle you in cases like this is what could possibly save the situation from turning into a fatality. Other programs that are involved in CRM are communication, situational awareness, problem solving, decision-making, and teamwork. With all of these programs combined into a training process, crewmembers will have the knowledge to control life-threatening situations and not gain complacency.

Aviation Safety Reporting System

The Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) is a small but important facet of the continuing effort by government, industry, and individuals to maintain and improve aviation safety. The ASRS collects voluntarily submitted aviation safety incident reports from the employees that are directly involved of the operation of the aircraft. Employees would include the pilot, controllers and anyone else that is involved with the functions of the aircraft or that notices an unsafe environment. With the information that is provided, the ASRS acts on the information given. The reports that are given to the ASRS identify system deficiencies, and issues alerting messages to persons in a position that will have the power to correct them. Not only does the issue get fixed, but also it educates the public as well as the companies involved of the issues being addressed and not just put aside. Its database is a public repository, which serves the FAA and NASA’S needs and those of other organizations world-wide which are engaged in research and the promotion of safe flight.

The purpose of ASRS is to collect, analyzes, and responds to voluntarily submitted aviation safety incident reports. By doing this, it will lessen the likelihood of aviation accidents. The data of ASRS is used to identify deficiencies and discrepancies in the National Aviation System so that these can be remedied by appropriate authorities. Another purpose is to support policy formulation and planning for, and improvements to, the NAS. And one final purpose is to strengthen the foundation of aviation human factors safety research. This is particularly important since it is generally conceded that over two-thirds of all aviation accidents and incidents have their roots in human performance errors.

ASRS is a highly successful and trusted program that has served the needs of the aviation community for over 30 years. It is available to all participants in the National Aviation System who wish to report safety incidents and situations.