Groundcrew Coordination Training: An Application of Team Training to Aviation Ramp Activities

Crew Resource Management (CRM) training has been used effectively in civilian and military aviation to improve flight safety and reduce mishaps. Aircrew Coordination Training (ACT), the Navy's version of CRM, has had similar effects. An examination of aviation ground mishaps by the Naval Safety Center revealed that the same team coordination breakdowns affecting aircrews were impacting groundcrews. In order to explore the viability of team training for aviation ground personnel, two studies were conducted to test the generalizability of the existing ACT program in a maintenance context. Specifically, "Groundcrew Coordination" Training (GCT) was tailored for training flight line personnel who perform ramp activities. Study One uncovered patterns of coordination errors in a Navy accident database using Drury and ~ill's (1983) Scenario Analysis and Wiegmann and Shappell's (1996) Model of Unsafe Operations. The database consisted of 146 line aviation ground mishaps (AGMs). Analyses of both databases using the aforementioned taxonomies reveal error patterns that depict a breakdown of the team concept, specifically in the behaviors that compose ACT. Study Two was intended to document GCT's impact on participants' attitudes toward common team concepts and to demonstrate learning of those concepts. A simple pretest/posttest design was employed, and a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed. The MANOVA showed that learning did take place in response to the training. Attitudes related to communication and coordination, goal attainment with trainees' own and others' workgroups also showed an improvement over the course of the training. Finally, the implications of these results as well as directions for future research are discussed.