Citation

Prince C, Salas E, Brannick M, Orasanu J. Hum. Factors Aerosp. Safety 2005; 5(1): 1-22.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Ashgate Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Safety training for aviators is of primary importance and each element of the training must be designed to ensure its effectiveness. In this research, we addressed some weaknesses in the Crew Resource Management (CRM) debrief (a critical training element) and tested the results of adding debrief tools to the debrief. Three debrief tools, (two for the instructor and one for crewmembers) developed by a separate research team were introduced to 14 instructors in a recurring CRM training course for crewmen at an international air-carrier. Debriefs of these instructors were collected before they were introduced to the tools and an equal number of debriefs were collected after the tools were made available (27 debriefs before and 27 debriefs afterward). Debriefs were recorded and transcribed. Each was coded for its contents. A multivariate analysis of variance and separate analyses of variance were conducted to determine if there was a significant change in the debriefs after the introduction of the debrief tools. Results showed a significant increase in the instructors' use of facilitation and in the crewmembers' initiation of topics in the debrief. A chi square analysis of the instructors' and crewmembers assessment of needs in four CRM skill areas showed significantly greater agreement after the debrief tools were introduced. In this article, results are discussed and some guidelines based on the research are presented.