March-April_2022 - 39

SAFET Y
Human Factors Interventions
that Keep on Giving
by Dr. Bill Johnson, Maggie J. Ma
F
or a long time, regulatory authorities, manufacturers
like Boeing and Airbus, trade organizations
and many academics have developed human factors
(HF) interventions to support system safety
and safety management systems (SMSs) in airline
maintenance/engineering organizations. Some
safety interventions were a " flash in the pan " with
limited US and international acceptance.
This article briefly describes seven widely accepted US-based
HF interventions and offers the reasons they are widely adopted
with ongoing use. The characteristics that contributed to widescale
adoption should guide the development of new interventions.
The FAA Maintenance Human
Factors Research Program
The FAA Office of Aviation Medicine began a human factors in
aviation maintenance program in 1988 and it continues to this day
under the Human Factors Division of the Civil Aerospace Medical
Institute (CAMI). Various HF interventions that evolved from the
HF program are described in this article.
WHY IS THE HF PROGRAM A SUCCESS?
* Industry and governments throughout the world needed a
robust source for HF information and resources.
* The FAA Office of Aviation Medicine recognized the importance
of providing maintenance HF information to not only
FAA employees but also to the US domestic and
international industry.
* The FAA organized and sponsored maintenance
HF conferences, which expanded from less than 50
delegates in 1988 and to nearly 1,000 delegates by
2001. The conferences were an educational forum
and a critical means of information exchange early
in the history of maintenance HF. By 2001 the term
" Maintenance Human Factors " became a household
name in aviation.
The FAA Maintenance
Human Factors Website
In the early years of the FAA HF program, all of the
annual conference presentations and research and
The FAA Maintenance
HF Website Home Page
FAA
development products were distributed on CD-ROMs. In 1994 the
FAA launched a human factors in aviation maintenance web page
(https://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/maintenance_hf or www.
humanfactorsinfo.com). Conference proceedings dating back to
1988 were moved to the website. The FAA also archived NTSB
maintenance-related event data dating back to the 1960s. From
1990s to today, the website is the sole distribution site for products
from the FAA human factors in aviation maintenance program
(e.g., HF operator's manual). Most of the interventions described
in this article are available via the FAA website. We estimate that
the number of hits to the site exceeds 25 million since its inception.
What made the FAA website a success?
* Early and continuing adopter of web-based technology
* High visibility for maintenance HF reports and products
* Free distribution
* Largest US/international source of maintenance/engineering
HF information
Boeing MEDA
The Boeing Maintenance Event Decision Aid (MEDA) was created
in the early 1990s. While it hardly needs a description, it is a structured
process to help organizations investigate maintenance events,
which has something to do with human performance. MEDA starts
with the fundamental premise that " No maintenance worker starts
the shift with an intention to error. " Therefore, when errors occur,
there must be a way to determine the factors that contributed to
www.AviationPros.com 39
https://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/maintenance_hf http://www.humanfactorsinfo.com http://www.AviationPros.com
March-April_2022

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