Training Aviation Safety Investigators on Cognitive Debriefing Techniques
Business Case
Helping an Airline’s safety events investigators develop cognitive debriefing technique skills
Industry
Service Provided
Aviation
Training
Project Summary
To maintain high safety standards, airlines must thoroughly understand factors influencing pilot performance during flight operations. Dedicated safety teams play a crucial role in collecting and analyzing data, with one key source being investigations led by pilot investigators. These inquiries occur following accidents, incidents, or "close call" events, providing critical insights into operational risks and human factors.
Ensuring investigators have the right skills and resources to effectively interview and debrief flight crews is essential for identifying issues, refining safety protocols, and enhancing overall aviation safety.
The Challenge
An airline's safety program requires specialized training for its safety investigators in cognitive debriefing techniques.
While the investigators have previously received cognitive interviewing training, it does not fully align with the practical demands of their role. To enhance their effectiveness, they need more applied and contextually relevant training that directly supports their debriefing process with flight crews involved in significant safety events.
Providing tailored instruction is critical to help investigators gather critical insights, improve investigative outcomes, and strengthen overall aviation safety.
The Approach
We took a multi-pronged approach to this challenge: first, we assessed the investigators' prior training to understand its scope and limitations. Next, we familiarized ourselves with their debriefing process and its intended outcomes.
Then, we conducted a gap analysis to identify discrepancies between previous training and the practical demands of effective debriefing. Once these gaps were clear, we collaborated with the investigators' team manager to develop a tailored training program.
After incorporating feedback and ensuring all needs were met, we finalized a comprehensive two-day training program to enhance their debriefing skills.
The Outcome
The training program combined theoretical concepts with real-world applications, focusing on human memory, cognition, and techniques to enhance crew recall during debriefs. It also addressed investigator biases, providing strategies to mitigate them for more objective assessments. Additionally, a dedicated section on aviation human factors helped investigators contextualize crew behaviors during significant safety events.
The program was highly successful, leading to the implementation of a yearly recurrent training initiative to reinforce and refine these critical skills.
Safety Systems
Human In Systems, offers a comprehensive approach to safety systems through human factors engineering. With extensive experience in high-risk industries, we have refined methods to enhance operational safety.