Aviation Resource Management

Volume 2 - Proceedings of the Fourth Australian Aviation Psychology Symposium

Andrew R. Lowe, Brent J. Hayward

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9781138255159
• eBook ISBN: 9781351956239
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Technology & Engineering

This two volume set presents the reader with new strategies for the contributions of psychology and Human Factors to the safe and effective functioning of aviation organizations and systems. The volumes comprise the edited contributions to the Fourth Australian Aviation Psychology Symposium. The chapters within are orientated towards presenting and developing practical solutions for the current and future challenges facing the aviation industry. Each volume covers areas of vital and enduring importance within today's complex aviation system. Volume 2 covers Selection, Training, Human-Machine Interface, Air Traffic Control, Maintenance and Situational Awareness. Invited chapters include contributions from Capt. Dañiel Maurino (ICAO), Professor Bob Helmreich (University of Texas), Jean Pariés and Dr. Ashleigh Merritt (Dédale), Professor Ron Westrum (Eastern Michigan University), Capt. Azmi Radzi (Malaysian Airlines), Nicole Svátek (Virgin Atlantic), Professor Patrick Hudson (Leiden University), Dr. Sherry Chappell (Delta Technology), Dr. Nick McDonald (Trinity College, Dublin), Professor Jan Davies (University of Calgary), Capt. John Bent (Cathay Pacific Airways), Dr. Carol Manning (FAA), Dr. Manfred Barberino and Dr. Anne Isaac (EUROCONTROL), Dr. Drew Dawson (University of South Australia), Rebecca Chute and Professor Earl Wiener (NASA Ames), Dr. Gavan Lintern (AMRL), Bert Ruitenberg (IFATCA) and Dr. Mica Endsley (SA Technologies)

Part 1
Selection

1 Job requirements of airline pilots: Results of a job analysis

Peter Maschke, Klaus-Martin Goeters, Andrea Klamm German Aerospace Center (DLR)

Introduction

A systematic selection process in combination with good training is the best guarantee for having excellent airline pilots. In this connection selection is the basic element combined with which qualified training can lead to a successful proficiency standard.

There are several ways of improving the quality of selection systems, e.g., development of reliable methods (Goeters et al., 1993), or validity studies (Hörmann & Maschke, 1996). An important precondition for the application of suitable selection methods is the definition of the job requirements. These requirements are by no means invariable. They can change depending on the technical and environmental conditions of the job. Moreover we cannot definitely assume that there is only one requirement-profile for airline pilots, since there might be different job demands for captains, first officers, etc. Considering the dramatic changes in flight guidance technologies the question is even more interesting as to how the increasing computerisation of cockpit systems changes the requirements. All these issues call for a review of the basic personal capabilities needed by airline pilots.

Method

Instrument

The method used was the Job Analysis Survey F-JAS by Fleishman (1992). With the F-JAS, job holders are asked to rate their jobs on 7-point rating scales with respect to the level of the ability required. One main advantage of the Fleishman system is that it provides a list of tests to measure the identified abilities. Thus it is possible to transfer the results of the job analysis directly into assessment methods (Fleishman & Reilly, 1992). Although the F-JAS is a general method for analysing all kinds of jobs, particularly in aviation, experience with the application has been good (Eissfeldt, 1997).

The F-JAS consists of 72 behaviourally-anchored rating scales, mainly focusing on aptitudes, knowledge and skills. There are also nine interactive/ social scales, which were supplemented in our study by nine additional scales developed by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in order to cover this area more comprehensively. This was done in order to take into account prior research indicating the importance of attitude and personality for a successful career of airline pilots (Chidester et al., 1991; Hörmann & Maschke, 1996). Five knowledge/skills scales were not used for this study, because they were obviously not related to the professional activities of an airline pilot, eg., "Typing". This was done in order to increase the acceptance of the survey by pilots. In the applied version the survey consisted of 76 scales: 21 cognitive, 10 psychomotor, 9 physical, 12 sensory, 18 interactive/social, and 6 knowledge/skills scales.

Sample

Participants in the study were 141 airline pilots of Lufthansa German Airlines (both captains and first officers on different types of jet aircraft). The mean age was 37 years (standard deviation 8.5 years), the average number of flight hours was 6900 in all, and on current type 2100 hours.

Procedure

The study was conducted by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The modified version of the Fleishman Survey was administered to the sample of 141 airline pilots of Lufthansa German Airlines in fleet meetings. This guaranteed standardised instruction and application. Moreover this meant a somewhat randomised sample, because the meetings were arranged according to the availability within the airline operation. None of the participants refused to fill in the questionnaire. F-JAS data were collected anonymously in two steps. In a first step the pilots were asked to rate the required level of a particular factor for airline pilots in general. In a second step they were asked to rate the level of each factor required for their specific position and aircraft type (e.g., as a first officer on A320). This was done to focus attention on the specific requirements related to different cockpit positions and aircraft types.

Results

General ratings. Regarding the general ratings, differences concerning cockpit positions and type of aircraft were mainly insignificant. Therefore the ratings of the 141 pilots could be analysed together.

As the Fleishman system consists of 7-point rating scales (scale-mean = 4) and the ratings scores in our study were distributed with a standard deviation of about 1, abilities rated with a mean of more than 5 were interpreted as "important" and those with a mean of more than 6 were interpreted as "very important", as they clearly exceed the scale average.

Table 1.1 shows the results of the general ratings in order of importance. Time sharing and spatial orientation (cognitive abilities), rate control (psychomotor abilities), map reading (knowledge/skills scales), and stress resistance, cooperation, and communication (interactive/social scales) received the highest ratings (mean > 6). Most of the scales rated as important (> 5) were cognitive, psychomotor and sensory abilities as well as interactive/ social capabilities. The majority of the knowledge/skills and all physical abilities were rated as less important for the job.

Specific ratings. The specific ratings were evaluated regarding the cockpit position (first officer/captain) and the degree of computerisation (high/low). Senior first officers were included in the group of first officers. As Lufthansa maintains a modern fleet and does not operate real conventional aircraft, we differentiated between a low degree of computerisation (eg., B747-200) and highly computerised cockpits (e.g., A320). Four pilots could not be included in the evaluation concerning the degree of computerisation, since they had two ratings on different types.

Table 1.2 (left column) shows the differences between specific mean ratings of the captains and the first officers. Only significant differences in those scales which were rated as at least important (> 5) in the general ratings (altogether 42 scales, see Table 1.1) are presented.

Only in 10 out of these 42 scales were significant differences regarding the cockpit position observed in the specific ratings; in 32 scales the differences were not significant. All significant differences showed higher ratings for captains than for first officers. The highest difference in mean ratings between captains and first officers was found in the interactive/social scale "Leadership", which clearly reflects the differences in responsibility of both positions.

Table 1.1
Job analysis of airline pilots: Factors rated as very important (M>6) and important (M>5), N = 141 airline pilots

Scale	Area	Mean Rating M
Map Reading	Knowledge/Skills	6.38
Stress Resistance	Interactive/Social	6.36
Cooperation	Interactive/Social	6.30
Communication	Interactive/Social	6.28
Time Sharing	Cognitive	6.23
Decision Making	Interactive/Social	6.20
Spatial Orientation	Cognitive	6.13
Rate Control	Psychomotor	6.09
Leadership	Interactive/Social	5.94
Situational Awareness	Interactive/Social	5.94
Self Awareness	Interactive/Social	5.86
Resistance to Premature Judgment	Interactive/Social	5.85
Behavior Flexibility	Interactive/Social	5.79
Problem Sensitivity	Cognitive	5.75
Control Precision	Psychomotor	5.71
Resilience	Interactive/Social	5.69
Speed of Closure	Cognitive	5.67
Selective Attention	Cognitive	5.66
Response Orientation	Psychomotor	5.66
Auditory Attention	Sensory	5.63
Speech Recognition	Sensory	5.58
Assertiveness	Interactive/Social	5.52
Multilimb Coordination	Psychomotor	5.50
Flexibility of Closure	Cognitive	5.38
Perceptual Speed	Cognitive	5.34
Night Vision	Sensory	5.34
Motivation	Interactive/Social	5.33
Far Vision	Sensory	5.32
Number Facility	Cognitive	5.31
Glare Sensitivity	Sensory	5.29
Reaction Time	Psychomotor	5.28
Written Comprehension	Cognitive	5.27
Social Sensitivity	Interactive/Social	5.26
Depth Perception	Sensory	5.23
Reading Plans	Knowledge/Skills	5...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Dedication
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword
• Preface
• Invited contributors
• List of abbreviations
• PART 1: SELECTION
• PART 2: TRAINING
• PART 3: HUMAN FACTORS
• PART 4: AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL
• PART 5: MAINTENANCE
• PART 6: SITUATIONAL AWARENESS
• PART 7: DEVELOPMENTAL WORKSHOP REPORTS