Introduction

Emirates Airways is one of the leading commercial airlines in the globe that has adopted the Crew Resource Management (CRM) with the aim of ensuring flight safety. CRM refers to the application of knowledge and skills on human factors in flight operations. It focuses on ascertaining the safety of flight operations through the efficient use of available resources. CRM is a combination of individual skills, proper crew coordination, and human factor knowledge. The commercial air carriers have adopted the concept with the aim of increasing the safety of moving people and products from one point to another. Training and implementation of crew members on CRM are of great importance since the potential for loss of life in the aviation sector is very high in the aviation industry.  Empirical studies indicate that 75% of accidents that occur in aviation transport can be attributed to human errors. Studies conducted on the effect of the adoption of CRM on commercial airlines clearly show that it has significantly contributed to the reduction of accidents and fatalities. Proper execution of CRM policies has contributed to a decline in crashes since early 2000. The paper focuses on assessing the impact of CRM on Emirates Airline through a systematic review of the literature.

CRM is critical in facilitating optimum use of all the available resources thereby promoting safety and enhancing operational efficiency. It has emerged to be a crucial component of airline operations. CRM training can improve processes and encourage a culture that demonstrates teamwork that yields positive work outcomes. The adoption of CRM programs has positively transformed the activities of commercial airlines like the Emirate Airway.

Emirates has a CRM program that is used to train cabin crew (ERAU, 2016). CRM processes have significantly changed within the last two decades (Kerber, 2014; Mavin, 2015).  Despite the emergence of CRM, there is still a high number of human factor incidents in commercial airlines. The deficiencies in CRM training and culture could be the reason high incidents that occur due to human factors (ERAU, 2016).

Emirate Airways focuses on improving and sustaining good human factors strategies and effective CRM programs. The approach is essential in assisting the airline company enhances its programs and reduce human factor errors. The applications can help in solving some problems like phraseology, runway incursions, radio communications, and midair collision that may occur with another aircraft (Kerber, 2014). CRM has profoundly influenced the cockpit culture of the airline. The airline requires all crew members to be well conversant with CRM process which has emerged to be a critical component in the airline sector (ERAU, 2016). It offers training to its airline crew members to improve operations and build a culture that demonstrates teamwork and positive work outcomes. The adoption of CRM programs is believed to have worked in the prevention of accidents and changing the culture in the aviation industry over the last two decades. The effectiveness of CRM is determined by how well the employees of airlines are trained to execute the policies in their daily operational activities.

Research Question

How effective are CRM programs in managing the flight operations and reducing incidents and accidents in Emirates Airway?

Hypothesis

H_a: CRM programs have significantly reduced the rate of human factors incidents and accidents in the airline.

H_o: CRM programs have no significant in reducing the rate of human factors incidents and accidents in the airline.

Objectives

Assessing the impact of CRM programs in the operations of Emirates Airway.

Literature review

Most of the empirical research studies support the hypothesis that CRM programs have been critical in reducing fatalities in the airways so long as they are appropriately executed. On the other hand, few studies support the alternate hypothesis that it has no significant effect on reducing accidents and incidents caused by human factor errors. Rodrigues and Cusick (2012) assert that commercial airlines provide the safest means of transport (Rodrigues & Cusick, 2012).   Despite the low rates of accidents in the aviation industry, if a crash occurs the potential for fatalities is very high. 75% of accidents in the industry can be attributed to human errors.  Apart from the human error factors, other factors that contribute to crashes include the social system, technology, and weather. Humans are considered the leading cause of accidents since they design and interact with all the airline components (Mavin & Roth, 2015).

Modern aircrafts are computerized and highly automated. As a result, there is a need to ensure that pilots are highly trained. They should possess impeccable motor skills and ability to follow procedures, and extensive information base (MacDonald, 2016). Technological advancement demands require airmanship and pilot skills. Training and selection of pilots are considered a critical aspect in aircraft operation (Mavin & Roth, 2015). Technical proficiency has, for a long time, been used in this process, and the emergence of advanced CRM played a crucial role in correcting the deficiency (Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, 2016).

Rodrigues and Cusick (2012) posit that air carriers exist with the primary purpose of providing safe means of transport. Safety can only be realized through effective management of risk and threats.  Risk management in the aviation sector entails air control, weather/climate planning, and flight deck warning.  Modern CRM focuses on managing all available resources with the aim of reducing errors. It is an integral component of the operations of commercial airline operations (Rodrigues & Cusick, 2012).   Although CRM has been in existence for more than 20 years, there is still confusion on what it precisely implies. Some believe that it plays a vital role in the reduction of airline transport while others argue that the invention has not been useful. The proponents and opponents of the design have a wide range of views embracing the entire spectrum of human factors in aviation (Kerber, 2014).  Aircraft accidents due to human errors continue to occur despite the increased devotion to CRM training. Some scholars have cited the lack of universally accepted standards as one of the reasons as to why CRM is failing to meet its purpose.

The invention of the cockpit voice recorder acted as a prerequisite for the development of CRM. The recorder played a crucial role in establishing the cause of airline accidents by bringing out the fact that the accidents are caused by the action of aviation of crew and not a mechanical failure (MacDonald, 2016).  The primary cause of airline accidents has been documented to be the failure of crew members to appropriate actions that correspond to the situation at hand. Series of bad decisions that leads to fatal accidents are caused by a loss of situational awareness and breakdown in teamwork resulting from inadequate communication (Jensen, 2017).

The cause of aircraft accidents has been explored under experimental conditions through the use of dynamic flight simulator. The outcome of experimental studies prompted the need for providing a solution to the deficit in crew skills. As a result, additional flight deck management was developed which collectively became known as CRM (Ford, Henderson & O’Hare, 2014). The concept of CRM concept has gained global recognition, and its use is considered vital in ensuring safety and efficiency in aircraft operations all over the world. CRM is a highly useful tool for managing and preventing errors.

CRM training for commercial crew has been a mandatory practice by most of the aviation regulatory bodies. The model is employed in managing errors and threats in the aviation industry. The core elements of CRM consists of safe flight (objective), cooperation and communication, effective feedback mechanisms, and monitoring of internal and external threat factors (Pinsky, Taichman & Sarment, 2010).  These core elements enhance system performance which entails a high degree of awareness of the internal and external operations, and threats (Kerber, 2014).

The natural limitation of human performance and the complexity of the environment makes errors inevitable. CRM programs focus on reducing errors caused by human factors which have evolved to become a multidisciplinary field incorporating concepts and practices from some disciplines such as physiology, engineering, behavioral and social sciences. The multi-disciplinary approach focuses on the reduction of human error and optimizing human performance (Ford, Henderson & O’Hare, 2014).   The main focus of implementing CRM training programs is to increase the effectiveness of teamwork and flight-deck management. The training is critical in developing effective performance by enhancing interpersonal skills, technical proficiency and team skills (Kerber, 2014). Several factors like knowledge can influence human behavior, attitude, personality, processes, thought and background (Jensen, 2017).

References

Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. (2016). Pilot Perceptions on Impact of Crew Rest Regulations on Safety and Fatigue. International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace. 3(1). Retrieved from: http://commons.erau.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1096&context=ijaaa

Ford, J., Henderson, R., & O’Hare, D. (2014). The effects of Crew Resource Management (CRM) training on flight attendants’ safety attitudes. Journal of safety research, 48, 49-56.

Jensen, R. S. (2017). Pilot judgment and crew resource management. Routledge.

Kerber, C.W., (2014). Changing our culture: adopting the military aviation safety system. Journal of Neurointerventional Surgery. 6(5), 332-341.

MacDonald, R. D. (2016). Articles that may change your practice: crew resource management. Air medical journal, 35(2), 65-66.

Mavin T.J., & Roth W. (2015). Optimizing a workplace learning pattern: A case study from aviation. Journal of Workplace Learning. 27(2):112-127.

Pinsky, H. M., Taichman, R. S., & Sarment, D. P. (2010). Adaptation of airline crew resource management principles to dentistry. The Journal of the American Dental Association, 141(8), 1010-1018.

Rodrigues, C. C., & Cusick, S. K. (2012). Commercial aviation safety. Columbus, OH: McGraw-Hill.

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