Ground Support Worldwide - 11

INDUSTRY EXPERT
COLUMN:

GROUND HANDLING

Yet managers and directors still often overlook the real cost of minor vehicle-to-vehicle incidents, with no plan or system in
place to tackle the problem and little data
available to understand the issue.
We will often look to automation to
reduce GSE and vehicle incident rates. We
retrofit sensors or purchase equipment
that has sensors; we issue safety notices or
perhaps carry out toolbox talks; and standard operating procedures (SOPs) are often
reviewed and updated post incident.
All have merit and are useful, but what
about fixing the real reason behind the incidents? The actual behavior and influence
that led to the incident. It is well known
that human factors play a role in incidents
such as behavior and performance. But what
about the things that influence the behavior
and performance?
Do we pay enough attention to the behavior of ground staff and the factors that affect
their behavior? What affects a GSE driver's
decision-making and risk-taking behavior,
and can we identify the potential for these
behaviors in our people?
Three of the major factors influencing
vehicle and GSE driver behavior are pressure/stress, fatigue and distractions, but
these are often overlooked as contributing
factors when it comes to airside vehicle
accidents.

Pressure, Fatigue and
Distraction
Pressure can be healthy, as it provides drive
and motivation. However, too much pressure leads to stress and can have a negative
impact on driver behavior and performance.
Being able to identify the signs of stress, and
then being able to combat it, gives us a very
real opportunity to reduce vehicle to vehicle
incidents and accidents.
Stress and pressure can lead to fatigue,
as can repetitive work, time of day and long
shifts. Fatigue and driving are a dangerous
combination. However, an ability to identify the symptoms of fatigue, such as long
blinks, vacant stares and heavy eyelids, in
themselves and others will enable GSE drivers to highlight this issue and take steps to
prevent a negative outcome of the fatigue.
Distracted driving is another element
which adds huge risk to your operations

when it comes to vehicle-to-vehicle collisions. Improving awareness of distractions
and ensuring drivers have techniques to
avoid distractions are very useful ways
of reducing the risks of vehicle incidents
caused by risk taking, poor judgment or
"looking but not seeing." The perception
of risk also decreases over time, so regular
correction of bad habits is also important.

Tackling Incidents Through
Training
Research from the Flight Safety Foundation
has shown that human error is involved in
most airside accidents. Vehicle-to-vehicle
incidents are clear indicators that there is
a weakness in driver training or supervision. They are an indicator that risks exist
and have the potential to escalate swiftly
when the vehicle-to-vehicle becomes a vehicle-to-aircraft accident.
The good news is that engaging, specific,
relevant and high-quality training has the
power to address these issues. Through
training, we can help improve accuracy
and ensure safe operations. For instance,
an operator using a belt loader carefully and
precisely is less likely to come in contact
with an aircraft. This avoids the delays,
repairs and costs of passenger compensations that could be incurred. More importantly, it helps avoid potentially catastrophic
airside accidents.
The right training, supported by welltrained managers, team leaders and supervisors can also combat issues such as fatigue,
stress and distraction by teaching techniques for being aware of, and preventing,
these issues and in turn, vehicle-to-vehicle
incidents. As well as less damage to aircraft,
this results in less downtime and delays and
lower GSE/vehicle maintenance costs.
Standardizing your training content
and delivery is another important way that
operations can reduce incidents, while also
improving efficiency and safety. Tailored

airside equipment training, made to meet
your specific airport operating environment,
can help ensure that all operators have the
same high level of skill for safe GSE operations. It can also help your operators to
develop greater situational awareness and a
greater appreciation of airside safety. This,
in turn, can help all parties involved in aircraft turnaround and airside operations to
work together more harmoniously.
Training is also an important way
to teach ground handling operators the
required processes and systems for reporting incidents. However, in our experience,
we have seen time and again that airside
operations that encourage a team ethic and
open communication are safer, as well as
more productive. You should create an environment where your airside operatives are
encouraged to speak up if they see anything
happening that could affect safety.

Conclusion
The danger our industry faces is that unreported airside incidents become the norm
in day-to-day operations, costing time and
money and reinforcing a poor airside safety
culture. By increasing safety and reducing
aircraft-, vehicle- and GSE-damage, it is
estimated that $4 billion could be saved each
year (IATA).
While high quality training alone cannot
solve 100 percent of the challenges faced
by airside operations, it can make a huge
contribution to reducing the depth of the
problems.
Addressing behaviors, challenging
complacency and ensuring delivery of the
correct driver training and supervision all
help to reduce accidents and incidents. This
improves efficiency, driving down the costs
of repairs and downtime and makes the airside environment a safer place for staff and
passengers alike.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Laura Nelson is Managing Director of RTITB Airside, a specialist consultancy dedicated
to reducing GSE and Airside Ops vehicle accidents and incidents. Nelson and her
team have worked with airports across the world in pursuit of this objective providing
audits, consultancy, train-the-trainer courses and customized training materials and
courseware. Sites RTITB Airside has worked with include Stansted Airport, Heathrow
Airport, Gatwick Airport and Changi Airport.

AUGUST 2019

AviationPros.com

http://www.AviationPros.com

Ground Support Worldwide

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