INTRODUCTION What is the ESSAI Project ? ESSAI is a European research project to further improve safety on the modern aircraft flight deck through advances in Situation Awareness and Threat Management training techniques. Such techniques are viewed by many in the airline training industry as the 'next step' in flight crew training. ESSAI stands for Enhancing Safety through Situation Awareness Integration in training. The project is funded 50 % by the Competitive and Sustainable Growth Program of the European Commission, with the remaining 50% provided by industry.
What is Situation Awareness ? From the numerous existing definitions for Situation Awareness, the definition adopted for the ESSAI project is that of Dr. Mica Endsley with its three hierarchical phases :
| "Situation Awareness is the perception of the elements in the environment within a volume of time and space, the comprehension of their meaning, and the projection of their status in the near future." Endsley, M.R. (1988). Design and evaluation for situation awareness enhancement. In Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 32nd Annual Meeting (Volume 1, pp. 97 - 101). Santa Monica, CA: Human Factors Society. |
What is Threat Management ? A threat is defined as any unexpected event where there is uncertainty of action. In modern flight operations, threats can come from many areas - weather, system failures, flight deck procedural failures, and loss of Situation Awareness - to name but a few. The management of threats forms an essential part of the flight crew task. Unexpected events are part of every day life, no matter what profession we may consider, and effective management of these events is essential. If not addressed, the consequences of a threat may simply affect the efficiency of operations. At the very worst, the safety of the aircraft may be compromised. Either way, there is a benefit to effective management of threats. Some threats may be avoided (with a high level of Situation Awareness, for example) but some cannot be predicted (system failures, for example), and so even if we have perfect Situation Awareness the requirement to manage threats will still exist.
Why Improve Situation Awareness ? It is currently widely believed that Situation Awareness is a significant factor in aircraft accidents and incidents, playing a major role in a crew’s ability to cope with hazardous situations. The intent of the ESSAI project is to investigate that role and develop a training solution for improved safety by enhancing Situation Awareness and Threat Management strategies on the flight deck.
Project Aims ESSAI aims to deliver measures that will help to train crews to deal with the complexities of Situation Awareness and Threat Management, and thus reduce rates of accidents and incidents. The expected deliverable at project completion will be an effective training solution that : (a) Enables aircrew to achieve a reduction in their exposure to loss of Situation Awareness and the consequent need for Threat Management. (b) Provides crews with effective Threat Management strategies for unexpected situations.
Benefits of the ESSAI Project First and foremost, effective Situation Awareness and Threat Management training will enhance safety of operations. Second, improved Situation Awareness strategies can be applied to improve the efficiency and quality of services provided by airlines to their customers. Third, a Pan-European, structured approach to this problem would provide the regulators with an acceptable basis for future regulation in this area.
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