**8.5 Crew Resource Management (CRM):**

Definition of CRM

Training (awareness, line oriented flight training \[LOFT\], advanced
qualification program \[AQP\])

**CRM and related training issues**

Civil aviation *Crew Resource Management* (CRM) began in the United
States in 1979. Due to concerns over the magnitude of aviation accidents
attributed to "pilot error," the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) sponsored an industry workshop that year, entitled
*Resource Management on the Flightdeck.* Originally titled Cockpit
Resource Management, each of the major air carriers in attendance
departed the conference committed to the development of CRM training. In
its broadest sense, CRM is the use of all available resources,
information, equipment, and people to achieve safe and efficient flight
operations. Since the 1979 conference, the CRM concept has evolved
through several generations.^4^

The CRM lineage traces back to human factors performance research, much
of which can be linked to efforts initiated by the US Army Air Corps and
US Navy during World War II. Civilian CRM was originally driven by
observations indicating uneven distribution of workload during critical
situations such that one crew member, usually the captain, became
overloaded while others were not effective contributors to resolution of
the situation at hand. Research had also shown that a large number of
accidents attributed to human error originated with an aircraft
malfunction (frequently, an insignificant malfunction which would not
have caused loss of the plane). Many of these accidents were caused, or
facilitated, by the aircrew's fixation on the malfunction, which
resulted in their loss of overall situational awareness. Meanwhile the
plane flew itself into the ground or exhausted its fuel. Initial
training techniques were derived primarily from management training
approaches and stressed interpersonal teamwork while preserving a
leadership chain. Skills taught in the classroom setting were adapted to
training scenarios in simulators where techniques could be practiced
without danger. As CRM skills became integrated with traditional
elements of flight training in simulators or in aircraft, "real world"
missions could be flown. This form of integrated flight training became
known as *Line Oriented Flight Training* (LOFT). LOFT is the
environment, whether in simulators or actual aircraft, in which CRM is
merged with the traditional technical elements of flight training.

In 1986, NASA convened another CRM workshop. By this time most major
carriers had some form of CRM/LOFT. It was at this time that the name
change from Cockpit to Crew Resource Management occurred, to acknowledge
the roll of cabin crews along with ground handling, maintenance, and
dispatching crews. New emphasis in content stressed team oriented
situational awareness, group decision-making techniques, and strategies
to interrupt the chain of errors leading to accidents. Much of the
training that originated in this era continues to be used, either in
stand-alone modules, or embedded within newer programs.

The so-called, CRM-third generation evolved during the early 1990s. The
most significant changes included an intensifying of efforts to expand
to other members of the operational aviation population. Some saw this
as a dilution of the initial concept whose sole purpose had been to
focus on reduction of human error. During this period advanced CRM was
developed for use by check airmen and for the trainers themselves.

Also introduced in 1990 was the *Advanced Qualification Program* (AQP).
This is a voluntary program in which an air carrier is allowed to
develop innovative training (initial and sustaining) for its crews in
order to meet its own specific needs. Once an approved AQP is
established, the carrier is freed from the proscriptive training
requirements stated in the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR), Parts 121
and 135. In return, each carrier's AQP *must contain both CRM and LOFT.*
The incorporation of CRM / LOFT topics into the AQPs has been termed
4^th^ generation CRM.

In the most recent, or 5^th^ generation CRM, the major philosophical
change has been to assume human error is pervasive and cannot be totally
eliminated. Therefore, the current CRM evolution

has focused on error management with the development of error
countermeasures. These techniques are grouped into three major lines of
effort, which lie along a single continuum:

Error avoidance,

Trapping error before it is committed, and

Mitigation of error consequence.

To gain success in this error management approach, it is necessary for
the basic culture of the air carrier organization to accept error in a
non-punitive manner. Error must be studied closely to create useable
"lessons learned," which may subsequently be applied to shape future
training programs. This has already become manifest in training that
stresses error management as a hallmark of effective crew performance
and treats well managed errors as an indicator of good performance.

**CRM in Context^4^**

CRM is not and never will be the mechanism to eliminate error and assure
absolute safety in a high risk endeavor such as aviation. Error is an
inevitable result of the natural limitations of human performance and
the function of complex systems. CRM is one of an array of tools that
organizations can use to manage error.

The safety of operations is influenced by professional, organizational,
and national cultures; safety requires focusing each of these toward an
organizational *safety culture* that deals with errors non-punitively
and proactively. When CRM is viewed in the context of the aviation
system, its contributions and limitations can be understood. What we do
know is that the rationale for human factors training is as strong now
as it was when the term CRM was first coined.

**References:**

1\. Dhenin G, Sharp GR, Ernsting J. Aviation Medicine -- Physiology and
Human Factors. London: Tri-Med Books Limited, 1978.

2\. Kantowitz BH, Casper PA. Human Workload in Aviation. In: Wiener EL,
Nagel DC, Eds., Human Factors in Aviation. San Diego: Academic Press,
Inc., 1988.

3\. Wiener EL, Chute RD, Moses JH. Transition to Glass: Pilot Training
for High-Technology Transport Aircraft; *Flight Safety Digest*,
June-August 1999.

4\. Helmreich RL, Merritt AC, Wilhelm JA. The Evolution of Crew Resource
Management Training; *International Journal of Aviation Psychology*
9(1), 19-32, 1999.

5\. Caro PW. Flight Training and Simulation. In: Wiener EL, Nagel DC,
Eds., Human Factors in Aviation. San Diego: Academic Press, Inc., 1988.