Browsing by Author "Taylor, A. Frank"
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Item Open Access Airline Safety Management: The development of a proactive safety mechanism model for the evolution of safety management system(Cranfield University, 2004-08) Hsu, Yueh-Ling; Taylor, A. FrankThe systemic origins of many accidents have led to heightened interest in the way in which organisations identify and manage risks within the airline industry. The activities which are thought to represent the term "organisational accident", "safety culture" and "proactive approach" are documented and seek to explain the fact that airlines differ in their willingness and ability to conduct safety management. However, an important but yet relatively undefined task in the airline industry is to conceptualise the safety mechanism in proactive safety, and its influential factors. What is required is a model of a proactive safety mechanism which builds upon existing knowledge of what is thought to contribute to safety by adding an increased knowledge of the organisational factors. These factors not only serve to influence the safety mechanism, but also serve to be the predictors of the performance of safety management system. This thesis aims to fill that gap. It firstly conducts an overview of the current airline safety management system literature and identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the current system. Given the need to explore the important but undefined field, a proactive safety mechanism model is then developed and tested to identify the organisational factors which exert an influence upon the safety mechanism. Four hypotheses were set out to be tested in an attempt to justify the multi-dimensional and complex nature of the safety mechanism model. The model is then tested by applying it to a past accident (case study) and a survey of opinions with questionnaire. The results of this research work show that the safety mechanism model is a model of the evolution of safety management system in the context of proactive safety management. Further study can apply the proposed model to the re-organisation of an airline safety management system and evaluate the impact upon the company's system. It leads to the suggestion that an airline's safety health and performance needs the co-ordination of both retroactive and proactive safety management, and concludes that the ultimate contribution of this research is to provide airlines with reliable data, applicable references and a practicable methodology to enable their safety management system to evolve at a fundamentally "genetic" level.Item Open Access A critical analysis of airline safety management with reference to pilots and aviation authority officers(Cranfield University, 1996-12) Ho, Li-Chi; Taylor, A. Frank; Alamdari, FaribaWhen we consider regional differences in air safety, a call for regional solutions is needed. This research probes the current situation in Taiwan and part of Asia from a regional perspective, aiming to better understand safety management in this region. Data was drawn from an extensive survey involving both airline pilots and aviation authority officers. The research investigated respondents' perceptions in airline safety management, and examined at their opinions about the role of aviation regulatory authorities and language disadvantages when exchanging safety information. The results demonstrated that there were key differences between the Captains and the First Officers surveyed in many aspects of airline safety management. The First Officers were more eager to have a blame-free and information-shared culture in current bureaucratic systems than were the Captains. Most pilots expected airline top management and aviation regulatory authorities to take more information responsibility for circulating safety related messages and information. It is believed that a confidential incident reporting system is one of the most appropriate tools for improving safety. It would be sensitive enough to provide early identification and warning for rooting out underlying causal factors, and allow constant tracking of hazards and evaluation of risks they involve. Hence, the second part of the thesis discusses the feasibility of establishing a national-level confidential incident reporting system in Taiwan from the viewpoints of the airline pilots and the air traffic controllers. The survey showed that there was great expectation for the introduction of a national- level confidential reporting system. However, there was need to undertake a high profile promotional period within the aviation community, followed by a two-year trial period. This would help to motivate potential reporters, eliminate their fear of punitive action, and enable consensus and support to be sought from the airlines. Initially, it is advised to begin with the participant of flight crew and air traffic controllers only. At the end of the trial period, an evaluation of the system achievements was recommended. After two years of successful operation the system might be extended to include maintenance personnel, cabin crews and other relevant parties.Item Open Access Effect of in-service aircraft mission variation on airline fleet management(Cranfield University, 1996-04) Chen, Han Hua; Taylor, A. Frank; Snow, JohnThe air transport markets affected by global economic climate and regional demand characteristics are evolving fairly dynamically. To cope with the evolving demand and to penetrate desired market segments, operators' usage of aircraft has been getting more and more dynamic with increased deviation from the originally designed mission objectives. The objective of this research is to investigate the effects of in-service rrusslon variation on aircraft structural performance so as to provide airlines with a more realistic approach toward better fleet management. During the research, the scenarios and phenomena causing fleet in-service mission variations were investigated. A survey on the utilisation of world-wide aircraft fleets was conducted and presented. The in-service missions of aircraft fleets were found to vary significantly in terms of mission profile. Furthermore, the utilisation patterns of individual aircraft in the same fleet of a major airline are also being thoroughly analysed. Tremendous variations of mission mixes are found among individual aircraft. In order to analyse the effects of the in-service mission variation, methodologies and models based on fatigue test results have been developed by the author. Actual service data are being input for the effect analysis. It is found that the mission variation has a considerable engineering influence on the aircraft's structural performance either in terms of mission airworthiness or fatigue life span. Finally, a conceptual model, the 'Integrated Airline Fleet Management Model' (IAFM), has been developed as a blueprint for practical application. By implementing the IAFM, airline will be able to obtain a realistic picture of the health of its aircraft. With a more reliable basis for maintenance planning, improved inspection accuracy, reduced maintenance cost and better structural airworthiness can be achieved.