Confidential Human Factors
Incident Reporting Programme
The Charity
Aviation
Maritime
CC6837
Initial Report
At {airport} we have 5mins less on board to do our pre-departure duties than other flights, as a SCCM this is adding more pressure on me during my checks and we have the extra element of putting out service products onboard in the large business cabin which takes time. The company wants this done before boarding but has not given us any extra time to get this done.
As a SSCM I feel stressed and anxious coming to work for this route and getting onboard can be stressful enough as I want to get my checks done as soon as possible to make myself available to help the other crew with setting these extra service items up pre-boarding.
As we always have new crew onboard the checks take longer as they need support in their specific areas. I find myself running up and down, hanging over crew asking them if their checks are completed – when all they are doing is what is right, taking their time in finding their equipment and checking it thoroughly.
What adds pressure is that as SCCMs we receive an email if the dispatcher reports the cabin has not been released within that 7 minutes to ask us why. The company states this does not go against us and it’s all about finding out causes etc, however it is kept on our personal files! Even if we can prove to the company via the Captain the delay in boarding was not down to cabin crew, they wipe this off their records, but it’s kept on our personal records as a personal fault of the SCCM.
Company Comment
Pre-flight safety and security checks are always the top priority. If delays or other circumstances prevent the timely completion of service-related tasks, these should be rescheduled for a more suitable time. Cabin crew are expected to inform the SCCM if they are unable to complete service-related tasks after finishing their safety and security checks. As the onboard manager, the SCCM is encouraged to address these situations proactively. If pre-flight service tasks cannot be completed, they should be carried out later (including post-take-off) when feasible, with any relevant reports submitted accordingly.
Information regarding delays is held in the crew member’s electronic records, but it is not recorded as a ‘personal fault of the SCCM.’ Instead, it serves as a factual record of what happened from the perspective of both the station and the SCCM, including any conversations held with the relevant parties.
We understand that having a delay allocated to an SCCM can be sensitive, and a lot of thought has been given to the wording of the emails. The purpose of the follow-up is to provide the SCCM with an opportunity to share their version of events and to help identify and share learnings with service partners such as overseas Airports, Flight Ops, and Dispatchers. The email clearly states that the follow-up is not about blaming anyone, and there is no intention to attribute fault.
Delay contacts are not deleted from a crew members’ electronic file, as they help us understand how SCCMs respond to requests for further information regarding delays. This information supports operational improvements and is not viewed as a ‘personal fault.’
CAA Comment
As indicated in the operator’s response, completion of pre-flight checks following published standard operating procedures is a requirement to ensure a flight is operated in accordance with the operations manual and must take priority over service-related tasks. Cabin crew are encouraged to proactively report via their company reporting scheme to identify scenarios where there is a potential detriment to the effective completion and required standard of pre-flight procedures.
CHIRP Comment
Operators are continuously seeking ways to improve efficiency and improve the onboard product/service for their customers but please do not allow yourself to be pressurised into not completing your safety checks properly.
The briefing is an opportunity to address expectations to crew, explain that although there are 5 minutes less on this route, continue to be thorough but expeditious with onboard checks and that safety must come first if there is not time to complete service elements.
‘Pressure’ is one of the most frequently reported key-issue safety concerns to CHIRP. Be it commercial pressure, time pressure and/or peer pressure whether the pressure is real or perceived, the results are frequently the same, in this reporter’s case it may have caused anxiety, a fear of something being missed and poor CRM.
As part of a ‘Just Culture’ crew must feel empowered to communicate back to their operator if something isn’t working without the fear of being penalised as reports play a vital role in highlighting challenges allowing changes to be made if required. The company must believe that this reduction in time is achievable, and without crew reporting back to their operator that it isn’t (or even that it is, positive reporting is also encouraged) then the operator will not have the data to conclude that in fact the reduction in time is not achievable.