Empowering Human Performance: A Case Study of Team Resource Management in CHC
Year: 2020
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Crew Resource Management (CRM) is a well-known training concept developed in the aviation industry in the 1970’s to reduce human error after several horrific accidents. It has since expanded to other high-risk industries. The goal of CRM is to increase human performance, increase team performance and utilize all available resources to achieve the highest level of safety possible. Research has shown that CRM is effective but results on the organizational level has not been established. CRM has traditionally only been implemented in the sharp end, while results are expected for the whole organization.\nThis case study aims to explore the expansion of CRM in the non-operational parts of an organization by researching the project Team Resource Management (TRM) in CHC, an offshore helicopter operator. TRM is CRM for all employees, both operational and non-operational. The purpose is to shed a light on how it is done and what the possible benefits are as well as factors that can inhibit the success of CRM in the non-operational part of an organization. This study’s aim is answering: Why should CHC prioritize Team Resource Management?\nTo answer this question interviews with employees in CHC, other CRM experts and document analysis has been conducted. To achieve the aim of this study, theories on safety and risk management in organizations and human factors has been used.\nThe results show that the potential benefits from TRM could increase the organization’s reliability by creating a reliable flow of high-quality intelligence across departments, which increases the chance of achieving a shared situation awareness on an organizational level. The reliable flow of high-quality intelligence also enables the different actors within the system to see their part in the organization and how they affect each other. The factors that might inhibit the organization experiencing these benefits are weak safety leadership, blunt/sharp end difference in risk perception and potential for reaching a saturation point in terms of safety initiatives. The analysis not only found factors that might inhibit the project’s success, but also hurt the organization’s safety culture. The final conclusions recommend CHC to prioritize TRM, as it is shown to be a cost-effective safety measure that will provide a holistic approach to safety management and increase the organization’s reliability.
Author: Marte Elverum
Language: English
Subfield: Safety Research
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3092413703