Avionics News June 2014 - 79

and major manufacturers with
thousands of employees. They are
familiar and comfortable with the
paycheck-technician culture - you're
here to do a job; you do it to the
best of your abilities; you punch the
clock; but you live for the nights and
weekends - and the weekend is not
spent at the local airport.
Now before the hate mail starts,
this is not to say one culture is
right and the other is wrong, or that
paycheck technicians are bad and
aviators are good. My intent is not to
vilify one over the other, but rather to
highlight two areas of consideration.
First, if we continue to write
regulations, guidance and policies
to set the minimum acceptable level
of performance, we will continue to
fulfill that prophecy with a minimum
level of performance. Those who are
old school and read it as a "minimum"
performance standard will be vilified
by the masses until they, too, conform
to just the minimum standards.
Second, as we set forth to
address the safety culture of
aviation, understand there is not
one culture that has to be addressed
but rather the subculture of each
unique industry within aviation.
The measurement of cultural
effectiveness is predicated on
the subculture of the business.
The culture and, specifically, the
safety culture of a large multitiered
manufacturing conglomerate with
thousands of employees are uniquely
different than the culture of a soleproprietor business with a single
product line and 10 employees.
What chief executive of a major
manufacturing firm knows the name
of each employee, their spouses
and children? The safety culture of
a "personalized" small business is

inherently and uniquely different
than the impersonal relationships
between management and employees
in large corporations.
Yet, how many of the agency's
experts in safety culture come from
small businesses?
I will leave you with this thought:
If we continue to regulate to the

least common denominator, the one
bad apple, the one possible event,
we will create a public culture of
lemmings who measure safety not
by their personal risks, but rather by
the existence of government safety
regulations.
When you get to Germany, enjoy
the drive! q

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avionics news

june

2014

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Avionics News June 2014

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