An assessment of aviation safety practices among Nigerian CNS/ATM aviation professionals

Issues revolving around aviation safety practices have been gaining traction in recent times. The literature, however, reveals a dearth of research that targets safety practices in the communication, navigation, surveillance/air traffic management working environments. The present study deployed the descriptive survey research design in assessing safety practices among air traffic safety electronics personnel (ATSEP) with a particular focus on an exploration of the relationships between different dimensions of aviation safety practices and key workplace attributes. Two hundred ATSEP participated. Data sources included an Aviation Safety Practices Questionnaire (ASPQ) and an ATSEP Safety Implementation Checklist (ASIC) designed by the researcher. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, multinomial logistic regression and ANOVA. The study found that while there were positive safety performances in relation to compliance with specific elements of procedural safety practices, there were large-scale shortcomings regarding the implementation of critical aspects of operational/organizational and occupational safety practices. The results also revealed a characteristic homogeneity of the non-significance of the effects of workplace safety practices across workplace hierarchy categories, which suggested the irrelevance of organizational cadres to the implementation of workplace safety practices. In relation to workplace safety practices and workplace hierarchy, though, the study failed to reveal any significant difference in mean workplace safety practices. The results revealed clear safety practices gaps. It was recommended that a practice-based approach to safety should be adopted in the aviation workplaces.