Safety Wire: Communication

From the library of Safety Expert, Dr. Dave Huntzinger

Communicating safety-related information to front-line employees is one of the most important tasks associated with the Aviation Safety Department.

The communication procedure establishes a prescribed method for publishing event-related information. There are four distinct documents covered by this procedure. They are differentiated from one another by either subject matter, timing or both.

• Monthly Safety Newsletter addresses occurrence reports either in their late stages of investigation or closed. Other aviation-related topics such as fatigue, safety culture, seasonal weather information, and more are also here for general edification.
• Quick Turn (QT), which is precisely that; information that goes out quickly, often within 24 hours. It is based on an Occurrence Report. These are job-specific (flight, cabin, maintenance, ramp, etc.). The QT is based on factual information only. Analysis, Findings and Conclusions are for the Newsletter.
• Quick Turn 2 (QT-2, 3, 4, etc.), which is a follow-on update of an original QT.
• Quick Smart is a report based on events other than Safety Reports such as aeromedical transport news or aircraft type-related information.?

The objective of these safety communications is to:

• Provide pertinent and relevant information;
• Assure accurate information is provided to those who need it.
• Be perceived as the honest broker of regularly published safety information; ?
• And, publish in a timely manner, preferably within 24 hours of receipt, for the QTs, QT 2’s and Quick Smarts.

The other important communication activity is reporting to the Accountable Executive, COO, and/or CEO. They should always be apprised of all that’s happening, including trends, outstanding events and catastrophic events. As for the timing, Quarterly updates are the norm but Annual updates should be provided at the very least.

Comments or questions? Contact us.

?##

In honor of Dr. Dave Huntzinger, who committed his career to the issue of Safety, we will continue posting his articles. Each month, Safety Wire looks at a specific area of safety in the aviation industry.