Practical Skills for Investigators (Multi-Environment)

How will this course benefit me?

EU 376/2014 stipulates that organisations operating in the civil aviation environment must effectively report and collect safety information, with appropriate action being taken on the information collected. This course enables you to meet this requirement. It will equip you to become an effective Investigator, to make the causative link between contributory factors and human error, to develop effective and sustainable interventions and to present findings which will:

• Greatly contribute to your organisation’s Safety Management Systems and efficiency standards
• Find preventable errors and minimise their likelihood of reoccurrence
• Make systems more resilient to similar incidents
• Realise operational efficiencies by reducing error and unnecessary rework
• Better clarity and understanding of your risk picture
• Improve the performance of your Just Culture policy
• Enhance reporting and investigation outcomes

Key areas of focus

• Emphasis is placed on the human element of error in particular an understanding of cognitive processes in order to develop realistic, effective and sustainable interventions.
• Current investigation tools employed in the aviation industry
• The investigation process, planning and understanding Root Cause Analysis
• Interview skills, interview planning, questioning techniques and dealing with difficult situations
• Collection of data including objective and subjective evidence
• Analysis of evidence/data and risk assessment of findings
• The role of and interaction with the Event Review Group
• Extensive scenario practical exercises

Prerequisites:Delegates should previously have attended training in Human Factors and be within date (2yrs) for their refresher training. A basic understanding of Just Culture principles will also be beneficial.
 
 Is this course right for me?This is a practitioner level course, ideally suited for new and prospective event investigators, typically:

• Flight Safety Officers
• CRM / Human Factors Specialists
• Safety Managers
• Investigators from all disciplines of an operation / organisation
• Flight Operations Managers

This course would also benefit:

• Regulatory Authority Inspecting Staff
• Newly-promoted Operations / Functional Managers

This course is also suitable if you wish to gain a deeper understanding of ‘Just Culture’ within your SMS or if you are experiencing resistance in engaging in effective reporting within your organisation.
 

Frequently asked questions

Q. Is this course suitable for aircraft crash investigation?

A. No, this course does not address issues such as casualty notification, media management and wreckage recovery. This course is designed to address the needs of investigators tasked with eliminating system failures and near misses initiated by your internal safety reporting systems.

Q. How does this course link to Human Factors training and eliminating human error?

A. A thorough understanding of Human Factors is essential to ensure that your investigators make the causative links between failures and the safety recommendations they propose. Too often we see interventions that are ineffective, inefficient, or unsustainable, and as a result problems come back or the burden brought by the recommendation is greater than the original issue.

Q. Does this course cover root cause analysis?

A. Yes, however, the term Root Cause is often misunderstood, which often leads people to mis-identify or over simplify the causes of the originating issue. This course explains the misconceptions caused by the term and the benefits of a human centric causal analysis. The course covers a systematic process that guides investigators through investigation planning,