Human factors in Aviation

    Every day, millions of interactions take place within the field of aviation. If it is a crew member nonverbally communicating with a passenger or a pilot speaking to ATC, each interaction will further push the culture one direction or another (National Academy Press, 1998). I'd define human factors with three terms: How people communicate, interact with the tools and vehicles provided, and the environment they are placed in (PHAK, 2020). Any way that people can influence the outcome of the desired final product is a point to be examined. Where I work, I am a part of the ground crew that services aircraft, on the passenger side of business, and there are many levels of communication that are in between the aircraft and me. Take an example, the pilot is requesting lavatory service. The pilot will talk to his ground rep. (a person that works for the airline and is a liaison/load planner with the military on contract), they will talk to ATOC (our operations control), they'll talk to my section's dispatcher, who will send the person out to the plane to complete the required task. Now lavatory service is something simple, though it can get a lot more complicated when they are requesting things that are out of the norm, which is where human error can easily come about. 

(U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Ryan Lackey)

    Servicing an aircraft on the ground is a large operation that has a tight timeline that needs to be met. Depending on the ops, an aircraft could request passenger on/offload, lavatory service, potable water, fuel, maintenance, AGE (aircraft ground equipment), or other systems. Making sure that all of those people work together, safely, on time, and by the book is difficult. For example, when fueling, all personnel that wish to interact with the aircraft at the same time need to ground themselves before servicing it. To have passengers on the plane while loading you need 2 open points of egress on opposite sides of the aircraft, be it air-stairs or a lowered ramp and crew door. Bouncing between numerous rules and safety measures can be difficult while maintaining timelines, though we get it done every day.


References:

National Academy Press. (1998). Improving the continued airworthiness of Civil Aircraft A Strategy for the Faa's Aircraft Certification Service.

U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Flight Standards Service. (2020). Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge.

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