Confidential Human Factors
Incident Reporting Programme
The Charity
Aviation
Maritime
FC5340/FC5341
Initial Report
FC5340 Report text: We have today received this email from the company about reporting for remote stands.
As you are aware OTP is important to us and our passengers and has an impact on your bonus. If you are on a remote stand please ensure you are briefing on the bus journey over. If for any reason you find this difficult please reach out to a member of the base team so we can work with you to ensure this is being carried out effectively. You should not be waiting until you are onboard to begin your brief.
I find this extremely concerning. We have not downloaded flight plans, seen the technical log of the aircraft, looked at the NTCs or briefing notes. We simply don’t have the information to brief. Also, we are on a moving bus – this is not the quiet, comfortable space to conduct a safety critical brief!.
FC5341 Report Text: [Airline] have informed crew that when bussing to the aircraft we should conduct an interactive briefing. Firstly this is not a safe place to conduct a brief for many reasons. Often we are holding onto a handle to remain sturdy and there is usually constant chat from the bus driver as well as the cabin crew. We have no tech log as of yet, have not read flight plans at this stage and probably still have not read mandatory NTCs. Often it is mandatory to update the IPad before even commencing a read of the above. With the background noise of an old bus engine it is often hard to even hear oneself think!
This is being pushed for one reason and one reason only – OTP. Management are becoming completely OBSESSED with OTP at the expense of Safety. Mark my words, one day there will be a safety incident where a MEL or CDL etc will be missed because [Airline] are pushing such a process.
Whilst no Captain who puts Safety No 1 will entertain such a stance, I URGE CHIRP to speak to the CAA and ensure [Airline] do not put ANY pressure on crew to conduct such a ridiculous, unsafe and unrealistic process.
Company Comment
Our operations manuals state that the briefing may take place onboard the aircraft or in another suitable location. Safety is paramount, and we would expect our crews to make an assessment of the suitability of the location prior to conducting a briefing.
The method of transport to the aircraft may vary widely across the operation, from larger buses shared with other crew to private minibuses where crew are all seated in close proximity to each other. Crew are empowered to use this time if appropriate and consideration should be given to briefing in the terminal (if awaiting the arrival of an aircraft) or conducting the briefing onboard.
The briefing consists of multiple elements, including introductions, allocation of working positions, customer service standards etc. and it may be that some elements can be discussed during this time. Our crews should not be conducting the briefing in a location if it is not safe or appropriate to do so, or they do not yet have access to the information required.
CAA Comment
The company response correctly articulates the regulatory requirements and gives captains the pragmatism to make the right decision for the crew depending on the circumstances on the day. We have no further comments to add.
CHIRP Comment
Whilst we accept that the company comment provides appropriate guidance, its contents appear to be somewhat at odds with the directive nature of the initial email that was sent to crews in which the expectation was that “If you are on a remote stand please ensure you are briefing on the bus journey over… You should not be waiting until you are onboard to begin your brief.” The company’s subsequent comment to CHIRP therefore provides welcome clarification that “Our crews should not be conducting the briefing in a location if it is not safe or appropriate to do so, or they do not yet have access to the information required.” thereby confirming the captain’s authority not to brief on the bus if they do not think it appropriate and to delay the briefing until on the aircraft if necessary.
The disparity between the original email and the Company comment clarifying their position on briefing requirements highlights the need for care in publishing email communications to company personnel. Crews are busy people and will likely take at face-value such communications when they might not necessarily be framed in the way intended. To remove all doubt in this case, CHIRP suggested to the Company that they issue a further clarification email based on their comment to us that captains should not be conducting the briefing in a location if it is not safe or appropriate to do so, or if they do not yet have access to the information required. In response, the Company have confirmed that communications have been sent out to the crews to provide clarity around suitability of briefing areas (bus or otherwise); that crew should only brief on the bus if appropriate; and that other locations may be utilised, including on the aircraft if nothing is suitable before this point.
Briefing on a small bus with seats during journeys where the crew are the only occupants may be one thing (such as travelling from a stop-over hotel to the airport where it may be a pragmatic use of ‘dead’ time), and is probably fine on occasion. But CHIRP does not think that it is appropriate as a routine procedure when travelling by airport buses to remote stands, potentially with other crews, and potentially in buses where there are no seats. Such airport crew buses are generally large buses that are not conducive to conducting pre-flight briefings, especially because the airport environment is such that frequent sharp turns, stops and starts will be experienced that mean the bus is unlikely to be a stable environment for people to stand up and brief their crew. There are also potentially serious safety implications if crew members do not properly hear such bus briefings due to noise etc or are not able to give their full attention to the brief as they try to retain their own balance; associated misunderstandings could easily lead to accidents or incidents.
We would also suggest that any reference to OTP, KPIs and the impact on bonuses is inappropriate in email correspondence of this nature because it will be perceived as overtly encouraging people to cut corners (such as by briefing on buses) as an expected norm, which is counter-productive to safety.