National Academies Press: OpenBook

Airside Snow Removal Practices for Small Airports with Limited Budgets (2015)

Chapter: Chapter Six - Training and Human Factors

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Suggested Citation:"Chapter Six - Training and Human Factors ." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Airside Snow Removal Practices for Small Airports with Limited Budgets. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22105.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter Six - Training and Human Factors ." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Airside Snow Removal Practices for Small Airports with Limited Budgets. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22105.
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Page 43
Page 44
Suggested Citation:"Chapter Six - Training and Human Factors ." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Airside Snow Removal Practices for Small Airports with Limited Budgets. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22105.
×
Page 44
Page 45
Suggested Citation:"Chapter Six - Training and Human Factors ." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Airside Snow Removal Practices for Small Airports with Limited Budgets. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22105.
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Page 45

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42 This section discusses personnel staffing, training, and the role of human factors during snow removal operations. The inability to meet clearance time goals was previously stated to be due primarily to the lack of qualified individuals, equipment, or equipment capability. Table 34 illustrates the nature of the problem. At the basic category airports, the responsibility falls primarily upon one individual, the airport manager or operation supervisor. At local and NPCS airports, the number of employees is not much greater. Regional and reliever airports average more employees than basic, local, or non­ primary commercial service airports, which can be a reflection of their higher aircraft activity levels and revenue generation to offset the added employee costs. TRAINING There is a fair amount of literature on the importance and need for training of employees in winter operations. The FAA emphasizes the need for training in its advisory circulars, safety notices (aka Certalerts), and other communications to airports. At certificated airports, the airport manager is required to have trained all personnel who have access to and operate in the aircraft movement and safety areas of the airport (14 CFR Part 139 2014). At a minimum, the training includes instruction in airport familiarization; airport marking, lighting, and signs systems; radio communications; and the reporting of unsafe airport conditions. The SICP requirement under Part 139 requires instructions and procedures in the prompt removal or control of snow, ice, and slush on each movement area; the positioning of snow off the movement area surfaces so aircraft propellers, engine pods, rotors, and wing tips will clear any snowdrift or snowbank; the selection and application of authorized materials for snow and ice control; the timely commencement of snow and ice control operations; and the prompt notification of less than satis­ factorily conditions. Even though the requirements of Part 139 do not apply to non­Part 139 airports, most effective practices suggest that similar training is beneficial. Table 35 identifies the number of airports that conduct winter operations training at their airport. Formalized training at airports in the survey is not well developed except at regional and NPCS airports. A majority of those airports have Part 139 requirements for training. The method by which training on winter operations is provided by surveyed airports is shown in Table 36. ACRP Synthesis 49: Helping New Maintenance Hires Adapt to the Airport Operating Environment identifies that the challenges of training at small GA airports stem from the limited budgets available, the time available for training, and the capabilities of the person conducting the training (Quilty 2013). This current synthesis report supports the data presented in ACRP Synthesis 49. ACRP Report 123: A Guidebook for Airport Winter Operations provides a chapter on effective practices that can be of value to smaller airports (McGormley et al. 2015). Because the state of Alaska contracts out the snow removal operations for most of the rural air­ ports, the Department of Statewide Aviation has produced a training video and booklet (Contractor’s Orientation 2014). The booklet is provided in its entirety in Appendix M. The FAA has produced a video segment on winter operations that is also available on the web (http://www.faa.gov/airports/ safety­video­series/). chapter six TRAINING AND HUMAN FACTORS

43 Average Number of Employees Basic Local Regional Reliever NP COMM SVC Full 1 2.3 3 3.8 2.4 Part 2 1.5 2.2 2.3 1.3 Contract 1 4 1 2.5 — — = no data. Source: SMQ Airport Services. TABLE 34 AVERAGE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES ENGAGED IN SNOW REMOVAL ACTIVITIES Type of Training Basic Local Regional Reliever NP COMM SVC Pre-winter Review 2 11 4 1 3 Equipment 2 14 5 2 5 Radio Communication 3 18 6 4 6 Airfield Driver 3 17 6 4 6 Incursion Prevention 2 16 7 3 5 Field Condition Assessment 4 15 7 2 5 NOTAM Issuance 3 19 7 2 6 Post-winter Review 2 15 6 5 3 Note: Airports can perform multiple types of training. Source: SMQ Airport Services. TABLE 35 NUMBER AND TYPE OF WINTER OPERATIONAL TRAINING PERFORMED AT SURVEYED AIRPORTS Training Delivery Basic Local Regional Reliever NP COMM SVC None provided 4 8 2 — 1* Computer or web-based — 5 2 1 2 Video — 3 3 — 3 Classroom instruction — 5 6 2 4 On-the-job 4 15 7 4 6 Workshop, seminar, or conference — 4 2 — 1 Self-study — 2 4 1 1 Contractor provided — 1 — — — No formal training, just experience — 1 — 1 — Written tests provided — 2 1 1 3 Oral/practical tests provided 1 5 — — 2 *Seasonal airport closed for winter. Note: Airports can conduct more than one type of training. — = no data. Source: SMQ Airport Services. TABLE 36 NUMBER AND TYPE OF WINTER OPERATIONAL TRAINING PROVIDED BY SURVEYED AIRPORTS

44 HUMAN FACTORS Human factors are a leading cause of accidents in aviation, affecting how aeronautical professionals interact with the people around them, the environment they work in, the use of equipment and tools, and the various operating rules and regulations that impact human behavior. A major emphasis of studying human factors is in understanding the perceptual, interpretive, or logical errors that people make. Those errors manifest themselves in mistakes, violations, incidents, and accidents, all of which have unplanned budgetary costs associated with them. As it relates to winter operations, ACRP Synthesis 12: Preventing Vehicle–Aircraft Incidents During Winter Operations and Periods of Low Visibility provides an overview of the various perfor­ mance factors that affect maintenance and operations personnel during snow removal operations at airports (Quilty 2008). Examples of human factors affecting winter operations in the report are time pressures, tenant and supervisory pressures, fatigue, low visibility, night operation, physical impair­ ments, and equipment design and operation (Figure 20). ACRP Synthesis 29: Ramp Safety Practices also provides background information on human factors for maintenance personnel (Landry and Ingolia 2011). During any winter event, pressures exist on personnel to have the airport available for operations in a timely manner, and to serve the emergency and normal needs of aircraft operators and airport users. The pressures appear to weigh more heavily if cargo, corporate, scheduled commercial, flight training, or emergency Medevac operations are routinely conducted at the airport. The operations identified all generate income for the airport. The most commonly cited pressure for all categories of surveyed airports was associated with time, followed by tenant and user demands or expectations, and then expenses associated with snow removal operation. Based on literature and interviews, fatigue is an all too common issue during winter operations. The effects of cold temperatures, snow removal conducted in the early morning hours or for extended hours into the evening, and constant vibration and noise exposure can lead to mistakes being made, inefficiency of operation, irritability, and ill health. As noted earlier, many of the airports in the survey have only one to four employees to manage a snow event, no matter how long the event lasts. Miscommunication is a concern of snow equipment operators, whether that miscommunication stems from use of the radio to the transmission of NOTAMs. It is incumbent upon a SRE operator to monitor the local air frequencies for aircraft traffic and to be cautious of aircraft operations. The loud and noisy conditions within a SRE often make it difficult to hear. FIGURE 20 Nighttime operations create additional human factor issues. Photo credit: G. Sussey, Watertown, New York.

45 SUMMARY The effects of limited budgets at small airports are seen in the few number of employees engaged in snow removal. The average number of employees engaged in snow removal is 2.5 full­time personnel. To meet the challenges of snow removal, surveyed airports hired part­time personnel, engaged volun­ teers, or hired contractors to support operations. The formal training of individuals in snow removal operations was not evident at 14 of the 45 airports (31%). Most knowledge about snow removal opera­ tions came from on­the­job experience.

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TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Synthesis 67: Airside Snow Removal Practices for Small Airports with Limited Budgets covers challenges and successful strategies that airport operators use at small airports with significant budget and other constraints to coordinate and conduct snow removal operations.

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