2024 Abstracts
Day 1 (29 October)
Plenary Session – Centre Stage Room (Click on Link for Abstracts)
0900-0915 Welcome
0920-1005 Keynote 1: Professor Sidney Dekker – Griffith University
1010-1055 Keynote 2: Pip Spence – CEO and Director of Aviation Safety, CASA
1055-1125 Morning Tea
1125-1150 Self-evident Approaches to Managing Human Factors – Ken Wylie (Buried, 2020 Author)
There are elements to human behaviour that are self evident and universal. When these
behaviours are organized intentionally, they offer profound utility in managing the human factor.
At the core of our being we have the opportunity to exercise a choice about how we respond to
the situations we are exposed to, or are engaged with. These response choices present as pairs of
opposites (much like many aspects of nature) and are Shadow Power responses and Luminant
Power responses. Shadow Power response choices lead to outcomes that are limiting in their
effectiveness for managing challenging situations. These response choices stem from unconscious
shadow and manifest as a lack of care, service an emotion, or are a short-sighted selfish desire
within the individual or organization. Conversely, Luminant Power response choices are expansive
in their effectiveness. These responses stem from diligent care, and long-sighted intention to serve
the greater good. These responses lead to, not only better outcomes but, the increase of options
within the context of complex and consequential situations. Luminant Power response choices
stem from a willingness to transcend individual emotion, or personal selfish desires, and elevate
the response to serve the whole community connected to, or collectively engaged with the
endeavour.
Shadow Power responses are less effective than Luminant Power responses. A denial of
responsibility, for example, is less effective and less desireable than the acceptance of
responsibility for a whole host of reasons. All Shadow / Luminant Power pairs hold these self
evident aspects.
1150-1215 CRM – What is it for? Preventing Error or Saving the Day? – Dr. Dirk Maclean – Swinburne University
Everyone likes CRM, its value is universally appreciated. But what is its purpose ? What do we want it to do ? Many in aviation safety and air operations are not fully aware that today we have two very different and competing paradigms in play, which shape our approach to and expectations from CRM. One focuses on the prevention of error, the other on how to respond effectively as a team in abnormal or emergency situations. These very different conceptions crop up under different names, the Safety I and Safety II distinction, mindful versus mindless operations, technological thinking versus the human element, they can be seen in the contrast between Threat and Error Management (TEM) on the one hand, and Non-Technical Skills (NTS) programs on the other. So, do we need to choose ? And if so, which is better ? Here we will discuss what is at stake in this discussion, and what it means for the future of CRM training.
1215-1315 Lunch
1315-1340 Fatal Solution – Building a Fair and Just Culture in Healthcare – Prof. Jan Davies (Professor Emerita, University of Calgary)
With a Foreword kindly written by James Reason, Fatal Solution tells the story of the deaths of two patients and the response of what then was Canada’s largest integrated healthcare system. Part of that response was a change of standard operating practices. While these practices included sometimes providing disclosure to the families of what had occurred, the region was considering adhering to its usual pattern of ‘saying nothing’ to the public. After much discussion and reflection, the CEO chose to go against the advice of the legal team and to ‘go public’, to be open and transparent with everyone. In addition, the healthcare region then underwent an amazing transformation. James Reason’s Just Culture concepts were fully integrated into how care was provided, starting with new policies and procedures. These included “Reporting Safety Hazards and Patient Harm”, Just and Trusting Culture, Disclosing Harm to Patients, and Informing Principal Partners and Stakeholders About Safety Issues. The final result was a health system built on the principles of being truly just and fair to all, from the patients all the way up to the CEO, and doing things differently, more safely, better and in a kinder way.
1345-1410 The Fog of a Real Emergency: CRM and NTS in Practice – Alexander Robinson – Ocean Software
This presentation is in the form of a flight debrief detailing a cascading in-flight emergency during a
general aviation airwork flight.
The pilot’s recount covers an increasingly complex and worsening flight, including pre-flight problem
indications, followed by in-flight issues such as possible engine problems, failing communications, an
unreliable transponder, controlled airspace, potential inadvertent flight into IMC, traffic conflict, and
reduced situational awareness.
The key lessons learned include:
The importance of acknowledging and addressing ground issues before flight;
Prioritising aviating over problem-solving;
Advantages of a multi-crew cockpit;
Positive adjustment of plans, including when to declare an emergency;
Recognition and management of biases; and,
Being a proactive crew member and pilot.
The lessons highlight the significance of airmanship in aviating first, navigating, and then problem-
solving. The debrief emphasises the need for assertiveness and proactive decision-making, illustrating
the impact of continuation bias and the importance of creating and considering all available options.
1415-1440 The Evolution of Women in Air Traffic Control – Associate Professor Selina Fothergill (RMIT)
The aviation and aerospace sector suffers from unusually low female representation. This includes
female pilots holding only approximately 6% of plane, helicopter and balloon licenses and poor representation in technical service roles. Some research has addressed the reasons why female aviators pursue these careers (Mitchell, Kristovics & Vermeulen, 2006; Gibbon, 2014) but there is little examining women’s employment in the Air Traffic Control domain. RMIT University and Airservices are conducting a two-year research project to examine the historical reasons for female participation in Australian Air Traffic Management careers.
Using historical records from the Airways Museum archives, the project will: (1) identify and
document the policies governing the employment of women and how and why these evolved over
time; (2) identify and document the first 100 women to hold Air Traffic Control, flight service
licences and safety and management positions; (3) conduct interviews and compile memoirs of a
representative cross-section of women in Air Traffic Services, with a focus on their experiences in a
male-dominated environment; and, (4) conduct a content theme analysis to identify the common
reasons women pursued an Air Traffic Management career and the reasons they continued in this
domain. The research will contrast these reasons with why women today pursue Air Traffic
Management careers. This presentation will highlight the first stage of the project looking at the
policies governing the employment of women, the first women to hold Air Traffic Control positions
and initial interview data.
Selina Fothergill1, Phil Vabre2, Nicolle Connelly1 and Jessica Walton3
1Aerospace Engineering and Aviation, School of Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia; 2 Civil Aviation Historical Society; 3 Civil Air
1440-1505 Challenging the Efficacy of a Just Culture – Curtis Calabrese (UNSW Aviation)
1505-1535 Afternoon Tea
1535-1600 Multimodal Sensory Effectiveness and the Realism of Virtual Cabin Door Trainers – Moving Beyond the Digital Twin – Denis Manson – Alliance Airlines
Extended reality relies on the digital twin, 3D models that replicate the real world. But how ’twin’ is
the ‘digital twin’?
While virtual reality training solutions are developing a strong niche in technical training, there
remains a limitation to the realism of VR – physical feedback, human touch. Until haptic feedback
tools can be reliably implemented into digital environments, the lack of tactile interaction will
remain a deficiency.
Haptic gloves replicate the fingertip feel of knobs and switches, which enhances a virtual cockpit.
But for more complex mechanical feedback, like experiencing the forces of moving a lever through
an arc, a glove is insufficient. How might this be achieved?
Cabin crew door training currently uses resources ranging from real aircraft, through full-scale door
trainers, and excellent virtual cabin replicas. VR provides the solution of safe training for escape
slide deployment and other door malfunction tasks. But VR replicates sight and hearing, no other
sense.
Multimodal sensory information has been shown to enhance situational awareness and training
effectiveness. (Hale et al, 2009; NASA, 2018). For extra sensory effectiveness, mixed reality (MR)
techniques may help.
In simple terms, we can say VR has 50% sensory effectiveness (effective for 2 out of 4 senses), and
MR has 75% effectiveness (3 out of 4 senses).
Development effort is being applied to combining the physical with the digital in training
applications. And, on the horizon, some bold mixed reality projects propose to combine a fully
functional digital cabin door with a modular physical door.
Such projects will exploit all the advantages of the digital training environment, like slide
deployment, door indicator failures and external fire. Then, being coupled with a cut-down physical
door provides an additional tactile function – door handles that move like the real door and also
simulate the door power assist function.
Could these mixed reality solutions, merging the best of the physical and digital worlds, result in
greater sensory effectiveness and better training results?
1605-1630 A Graphical Model for Improving Flight Crew Resilience – Capt. Ping Lee – EVA Air
EVA’s CRM team has developed the world’s first graphical resilience model which can explain the complex and abstract idea using a simple picture. The presentation will discuss startle and then continue to discuss the possibility of eliminating startle effect through training. It will then outline why resilience is an important concept, and finally Eva’s resilience model.
1630-1655 Changing the Culture at a Large Theme Park (Topic TBC) – James Redgrove (Dreamworld) and Belinda Warner (Qantas)
1655-1705 Day 1 Wrap Up
1900-2200 Conference Dinner – Pre-dinner drinks outside Function Room at 1830
Day 2 – (30 October)
Plenary Session – Centre Stage Room
0900-0910 Welcome
0910-0955 Keynote 3 – Matt Hall – Matt Hall Racing
1000-1045 Keynote 4 – Nicole Ashcroft – Uber Safety (TBC)
1045-1115 Morning Tea
Helicopter Safety Collaborative Human Factors Parallel Forum – Meeting Place
0800-1100: Program TBA
Pilot Human Factors Forum 1 – Centre Stage Room
1115-1140 Psychophysiological Responses in Aircraft Upsets – Shane Tobin – UPRT Australia
We have recently completed an initial study of the physiological response to aircraft upsets in pilots in conjunction with Griffith University, and the results are very interesting and sit well with the observed pilot behaviours in dealing with startle/surprise/stress in aircraft upset scenarios.
1140-1205 Eye Tracking Results from a Large Study into Pilot Startle and Surprise – Aruna Ranganathan – CQ Uni
1205-1230 Evaluation of Heights Used in Simulated Engine Failures in Twin-engine Aeroplanes under 5,700 kg – Stephanie Sabadas
There has been a number of accidents in Australia and worldwide involving simulated engine failures conducted after take-off in twin-engine aeroplanes under 5,700 kg. A review of guidance documents produced by aviation authorities has found variation in the published minimum height engine failures can be simulated. There is currently no research evaluating the suitability of heights used in these exercises or training transfer across heights. This research aims to compare pilot performance of this exercise at four heights (400 ft above ground level, 1,000 ft, 1,500 ft, and 4,000 ft) using a Piper PA-44-180 Seminole flight simulator to examine differences in managing an engine failure. Students and instructors from an Australian flying school were recruited to participate in the study. They will be required to successfully manage the engine failure at each height. The data analysis will compare pilot performance between heights based on instructor assessment, responses from questions about workload and attention using the cognitive interview method, eye tracking data, as well as simulator outputs (such as airspeed, heading, and pitch) between initial training and subsequent attempts at another height to determine whether there is a skill transfer or differences in performance across heights.
Human Factors Forum 2 – Meeting Place Rooms 1&2
1115-1140 Surviving the Aircraft Accident – A Critical Review of Head Injury Criteria (HIC) – Prof. Jan Davies (Professor Emerita, University of Calgary)
1140-1205 The typography of Flight Deck Documentation and its Effects on Safety – Pascal Schmid – Griffith University
Prompted by a series of air accidents in the 1980s, Dr Asaf Degani’s 1992 report, “On the Typography of Flight Deck Documentation,” reshaped the design of documents such as manuals, maps, charts, and checklists. His report addressed key principles of typography in printed documentation and provided 19 recommendations for best practice. These are now being applied to contemporary digital documentation. Consequently, our research team, comprising of practicing type designers, revisited the original report to determine whether the suggested conventions remain applicable in a contemporary setting. The findings highlight that some recommendations were based on misconceptions due to inconsistent terminology and now obsolete technologies, which led to a generalization of isolated typographic settings. This is problematic, given that absolute guidelines can only be applied to one specific typeface at a time, due to the varying characteristics of letterforms among different typefaces. Therefore, this single-source review aims to reset the baseline of typographic understanding, rekindle the conversation about legibility in flight safety, and highlight the importance of a more comprehensive approach to typography to improve legibility and, thus, safety. It follows the original report’s structure, providing reflections on Degani’s findings and updated information as required. Further, we provide revised recommendations, directions for future research and an outlook into the future of typography, which is currently undergoing unprecedented technological changes.
1205-1230 Human Performance and CRM/NTS Through the Lens of Contemporary Safety – David East – Crew Fusion
Workshop 1 – Meeting Place 3&4
1115-1230 Workshop 1: Facilitator Skills – Jana Ewing – Collaborative Training Group
1230-1315 Lunch
Human Factors Forum 3 – (Mental Health & Peer Support) – Centre Stage Room
1315-1345 Mental Health (TBA) Chris Smith & Tianchai Maneerat
1345-1415 Providing Support in General and Regional Aviation – Angela Garvey – Navigating Aviation
1415-1445 Creating the Resilient Pilot – Naomi Radke – AFAP
The AFAP has collaborated to test and develop a no jeopardy virtual competency based training (CBT) program. Initially to support redundant pilots, the program has evolved to be a proactive tool for any next step a pilot takes in their career. The program is used by AFAP members in preparation for first job, first multi crew, continuous development, command upgrades and safety/performance support.
Naomi Radke (AFAP Safety and Technical Officer and former B737 Training Captain) will present the AFAP Resilient Pilot program and demonstrate how it is a tangible way for pilots to flip into Safety II thinking and measure their flexibility and resilience through guided self-assessment. The all-encompassing program provides virtual scenario-based simulator training (SBT), group competency-based workshops, access to a Resilience Hub and opportunity for pilots to hone the behaviours one-on-one with a mentor/coach qualified by the European Mentoring and Coaching council. The presentation will include a sneak peek at an actual scenario.
Workshops 2 and 3 – Meeting Place 3&4
1315-1445 Workshop 2: A Master Class for Improving CRM & NTS in Airline Pilots – Capt. Steve Swauger (Author, Master Airline Pilot – ex Southwest Airlines)
1445-1515 Afternoon Tea
1515-1645 Workshop 3: Using an Escape Room Methodology to Practise CRM Skills – Andi Thompson, Elizabeth Willis, Dr Kim Vidhani (Princess Alexandra Hospital) [48 pax + Observers]
Human Factors Forum 4 – Meeting Place Rooms 1&2
1515-1540 The Effects of Distraction and Recency on Mid-air Collisions – Billie Petty – University of Otago
My research aims to explore two factors that have the potential to impact responses to a mid-air collision simulation. The research will include investigating the effect of distraction when a flight simulator comes into proximity of another aircraft on a trajectory for a mid-air collision. Additionally, we will be manipulating the amount of time between the training flight and the experimental flight. My thesis will recruit flight naïve participants and test their response times and several flight performance measures (altitude, heading, and airspeed) when an oncoming aircraft is introduced within a simulated flight scenario.
A lot of previous aviation research has focused on the impact of distraction and pilot experience, however there are limited studies exploring the effects that these two factors may have in a mid-air collision scenario. Pilot experience such as total flying hours and certificates held by the pilot, have been studied extensively. However, there is a gap in the research looking at how the amount of time since a training flight (or the most recent flight) may affect flight naïve participants performance and responses in a controlled mid-air collision simulation.
1545-1610 Presentation Topic TBA – Mark Holmes – Qantas
1610-1645 Presentation Topic TBA – Carolyn Vaughan – Qantas
1645-1700 Day 2 and Conference Wrap Up
Standby Workshops and Presentations (TBC)
Tony Power – An analysis of Different Models of Just Culture.
Herwin Bongers – Pilot Mental Health and Aviation Rule Making
