Critical Incident Stress Management in Aviation

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• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781317157328
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Aviation
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Critical incident stress management (CISM) is now a well-established method in crisis intervention, and one that is clearly needed within aviation. However, there are many peculiarities in this branch of CISM which require thorough consideration. People working in high-reliability environments need to be sensitive to others' reactions to critical stress. They are the normal reactions of normal people in abnormal situations. However, to ensure this a proper programme must be put in place, based on a scientific and standardized approach. This book describes the various methods and elements of the CISM model, as well as their interventions. It also investigates the benefits of CISM on the individual level and on an organisational strategic level. It details CISM training and courses, and features a case study based on the Ãœberlingen accident of 2002. Critical Incident Stress Management in Aviation will be of direct relevance to human factors experts, safety managers, ATCOs and air navigation service providers, though there is also much that will be of interest to aviation physicians, psychologists and airport/airline managers.

Chapter 1
Introduction

Joachim Vogt and Jörg Leonhardt

The idea of this book was born some years ago. As human factors practitioner and researcher we noticed an increasing need and interest in Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) in aviation. However, available CISM books were mostly related to fire fighters and emergency rescue personnel. Thus, we started gathering experts with decades of experience in applying and researching CISM in aviation.

The protagonist organizations in aviation are airports, airlines, and air traffic control with close cooperation within and between them (Figure 1.1). Therefore, the book is arranged around these organizations’ views on crisis management: Special organizational requirements, implementation and structure of CISM, rules and procedures, advantages, benefits and experiences in general are outlined by a representative of the respective protagonist. For the airline and airport perspective we won over Johanna O’Flaherty, who is a consultant for American Airlines, and Walter Gaber, the Director of Medical Services at Frankfurt Airport, together with his colleague A. Drozd for Chapters eight and nine, respectively. The air traffic control perspective in Chapter seven is given by Jörg Leonhardt, CISM program manager at the German air traffic control service provider Deutsche Flugsicherung DFS. Chapter ten is a case study of CISM application after a major aviation accident – the mid air collision over Lake Constance. The case study gives a tripartite perspective: The debriefing process in theory, the perspective of peers involved and the perception of participants. This facilitates a look into a CISM process and the reader can reflect on all three levels how a debriefing can develop its quality. Many thanks are due to Carol Minder and Sabine Zimmermann, affiliated to the Swiss air traffic control service provider skyguide, for sharing their perception as participants, and to Ralf Mersmann and Ralf Schultze, DFS, for providing the peers’ view.

Experience did prove that the success of a CISM program depends on the qualification of the peers and the support and understanding of the management. Principles and standards in the training of peers are described by Victor Welzant, International Critical Incident Stress Foundation ICISF, in Chapter 11. The management perspective is given in Chapter two by Ralph Riedle, Managing Director Operations of DFS responsible for nearly 1800 operational employees. Before Ralph joined DFS management he has worked as an air traffic controller and thus knows the requirements and limitations of this work very well. Certainly, his contribution will be a significant inspiration to other aviation top managers in acknowledging and implementing CISM in their organizations. The empirical evidence that CISM significantly supports the strategic goals of an aviation organization with many intangible and also monetary benefits is given in Chapter 12 by Joachim Vogt, associate professor for work and organizational psychology at Copenhagen University, Denmark, and Stefan Pennig, context Leadership. Performance.Consulting, Essen, Germany. Chapter 12 reports the feasibility study and the main investigation of CISM effectiveness and goal attainment which were conducted at DFS on behalf of EUROCONTROL, Brussels, and the German Federal Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.

The chapters introduced so far focus on practical issues of CISM implementation, operation, and evaluation. The definition of important CISM terms, basic theoretical and methodological background is given in Chapters 4 and 5.

Finally, we are happy and proud that we could persuade Jeffrey T. Mitchell, clinical associate professor at the University of Maryland and President Emeritus of ICISF, to contribute Chapters 3 and 6. His knowledge and large-scale experience as the inventor of CISM are paramount for this book. Chapter 3 outlines the basis for a comprehensive and clear understanding of CISM. Chapter 6 describes the history of CISM in aviation from the perspective of Jeff’s first-hand knowledge and experience. The history of CISM in aviation may be short in time, but it is manifold and intensive.

We are grateful to all authors of this book for their dedicated writing and patience in going through several revisions with us. Thanks are also due to Gillian Farrell for improving the language in Chapters four, five, and seven, to Maren Maziul who formatted the typescript, and to Ingo Lahl and Dirk Haape, who designed an emblem for the DFS peers and made it available for the book cover. Finally, we would like to acknowledge the pleasant and effective cooperation with Guy Loft and Sarah Horsley, our editors at Ashgate.

Figure 1.1 Structure of the book

Figure 1.1 summarizes the structure of the book. It shows several airlines, airports, and air traffic control service providers cooperating with each other and using CISM, as described in Chapters two, and seven to nine. Natural catastrophes, terror attacks, or accidents – like the one described in Chapter ten – can affect all aviation organizations. CISM is one important preparation for this. Chapters 3 to 6 and 11 provide general information on CISM and are displayed as the shielding surrounding of all aviation organizations. Evaluation and improvement of the respective organizations CISM program has to take place mainly within the organization, aligned with its specific strategic goals (Chapter 12).

The chapters are interwoven and independent at the same time. The reader will find some redundancies and repetitions; these are intended because some reader groups will probably concentrate on the chapters relevant to their organization only.

Mario Lucci, an air traffic controller attending a CISM training session coined the phrase ‘set heading to the positive’. We feel that this phrase precisely expresses the main goal of CISM, namely to start regaining balance after critical incidents which are the unfortunate side effects of increasing air traffic. International aviation has acknowledged this and the number of organizations requesting peer trainings and consultation in developing CISM programs is increasing – hundreds of air traffic controllers worldwide went through a peer training and the network is growing. We hope that this positive development will continue and that this book can make a decent contribution.

Copenhagen and Darmstadt, May 2006

Chapter 2
Importance of CISM in Modern Air Traffic Management (ATM)

Ralph Riedle

Modern ATM, Future Requirements, and the Role of CISM

Management by objectives, flat hierarchies, consistent delegation and teamwork are the basic principles of modern management, particularly in the field of air traffic control. The ability to work in a team does not only refer to a team of managers but also to the way managers cooperate with their staff. Teamwork can only be successful if there is open and efficient communication.

Flat hierarchy means that there are only a few management levels which, in turn, means that everyone has to bear more responsibility. Managers delegate more tasks to their staff, but they must ensure that they have the adequate responsibility and competence. Tasks should always be delegated to the lowest level, for example tasks and responsibilities which can, and should, be performed directly by a supervisor must be delegated to him and not to the head of branch. In this context, competence also comprises the authority to make decisions concerning the task.

Delegation enhances the efficiency of the management process and ensures that all staff members are responsible for achieving the company’s objectives. The basic principle that the person to whom the task is delegated has the necessary technical and personal competence and authority to make the decisions required for the delegated task, must always be adhered to.

Safety is the paramount objective of air traffic control with such a management principle. It must be ensured at all times. In addition to safety, however, the management must also focus on enhancing cost-effectiveness and productivity of the organization. This may result in conflicts which modern management has to deal with. If cost-effectiveness and productivity are not taken into consideration, safety could be used to justify any decision. Safety, as the most important principle and corporate objective, must not be compromised; nevertheless cost-effectiveness and productivity may not be disregarded. Before a decision is taken, it must first be checked how it will affect safety. Cost-effectiveness and productivity should then be considered in a second step.

In the past few decades, different organizations have undergone essential but different changes. More than ten years ago, the former German Federal Administration of Air Navigation Services was reorganized into a corporate organization under private law. As the next step, a process-oriented organization with different business areas was developed, which were then structured as business units, corporate development centers and corporate service centers. At the same time, increases in fuel (kerosene) price, higher costs for procurement and maintenance of aircraft and lower ticket prices have been putting more and more pressure on service providers and the organizations providing the infrastructure (namely the air navigation service providers, ANSPs) to not only ensure safety, but to ensure safety whilst working cost-effectively.

Today, there are even attempts to base ATC charges on decreasing unit costs.

Some airlines are demanding to pay lower ATC charges in the case of performance shortfalls (for example delays). This would mean that ANSPs would have to grant discounts in the case of alleged performance shortfalls caused by them. This would be a critical development. Companies would be tempted to render their services in a way that would prevent discounts and in a business such as ours, this could compromise safety. Safety would no longer have priority.

An example for this is an airport with a coordinated capacity at which more aircraft than permitted wish to arrive or depart during a certain time period. To prevent performance shortfalls (that is delays for the airlines), minimum separation would have to be infringed in order to meet customer demand. And this would surely compromise safety.

Consultation processes and partnership agreements, i.e. agreements concerning the service levels, with customers are another modern management method. The aforementioned management method comprising the implicit principle of delegation of responsibility and competence is necessary to control such processes.

The demands on controllers have grown in line with the traffic volume, and the increase in workload cannot always be offset by new technologies. Air traffic control has always been marked by teamwork and the demands are still met by teams. Because of the increase in traffic volume, it will not be sufficient to install new technologies. It will also be necessary to enhance team structures and launch optimization programs.

Team Resource Management (TRM) is an essential component and development program for establishing a team structure in which the team members can work without conflicts and in harmony. Modern ATC management must further develop teamwork structures and the controllers’ ability to work in teams. TRM is used to reduce the workload of the individual team members and thus increases overall capacity. Controllers are conservative in a positive sense because their business is to ensure safety, and they often feel that changes may jeopardize safety.

Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) perfectly complements human factor concepts, since it not only helps dealing with a person’s individual situation but also affects the way a team works. CISM alleviates the fear of having failed or having contributed to an incident or accident.

In the history of air traffic control, there have been attempts to automate air traffic control and replace controllers with machines or technical systems. When I passed the aptitude test for controllers at the Federal Administration of Air Navigation Services in 1971, I was welcomed with the following sentences:

We regret that you have chosen a profession which will be obsolete in a few years. Soon, air traffic controllers will be replaced by computers. We are currently implementing partially automated radar control.

We know that this has not happened. Over time and in line with the developments, it was determined that the system has to focus on the person and that the technical systems, procedures and management should support the air traffic controller in handling the increase in traffic volume.

The shift from full automation to systems, technology and procedures which only serve to support the controller, relieve him from routine tasks and enhance capacity, has taken a long time. In today’s modern ATC management, technology is considered as a tool for the controller. Similar changes of paradigm have taken place in the entire aviation industry.

Implementation of the DFS CISM Program: Overcoming Prejudices

When CISM was first discussed at DFS and the Board of Managing Directors were informed about it, I learnt about the benefits of CISM over TRM. We were just implementing TRM when CISM was first introduced. I tried to figure out how the systems differ and why we needed a supplementary system. Then I realized that CISM is not an add-on, but an independent system which should be taken into consideration. At the beginning when the structures and the program were not yet defined, I was afraid that such a support and counseling system might require a large number of employees trained in CISM and that such peers would no longer be available to do their regular work.

I was also concerned that it might be a self-fulfilling prophecy and that every controller would need a peer for every little problem so that there would be more counseling than air traffic control. And I feared that the counseling might evolve into lam...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• List of Contributors
• List of Abbreviations
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Importance of CISM in Modern Air Traffic Management (ATM)
• 3 Critical Incident Stress Management in Aviation: A Strategic Approach
• 4 Critical Incident, Critical Incident Stress, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder – Definitions and Underlying Neurobiological Processes
• 5 Critical Incident Stress Management Intervention Methods
• 6 A Brief History of Crisis Intervention Support Services in Aviation
• 7 Critical Incident Stress Management in Air Traffic Control (ATC)
• 8 Critical Incident Stress Management in Airlines
• 9 Critical Incident Stress Management at Frankfurt Airport (CISM Team FRAPORT)
• 10 Case Study Lake Constance (Überlingen)
• 11 Training in Critical Incident Stress Management – Principles and Standards
• 12 Cost Benefit Analysis of a Critical Incident Stress Management Program
• Appendices
• Index