Subject: DISPATCH RESOURCE 

MANAGEMENT TRAINING

Date: 11/21/05

Initiated By: AFS-220

AC No: 121-32A

Change:

1. PURPOSE. 

a. This advisory circular (AC) presents guidelines for developing, implementing, 

reinforcing, and assessing Dispatch Resource Management (DRM) training programs for aircraft 

dispatchers. This AC complements guidance already developed for flight crewmembers. These 

programs are an integral part of training and operations. These guidelines are primarily for those 

operators subject to Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 121. Regulations 

require domestic and flag operators to provide DRM training for aircraft dispatchers. 

b. These guidelines are also for use by those 14 CFR part 121 supplemental operators 

electing to train in accordance with part 121 domestic and flag requirements. Certificate holders 

and individuals not operating under part 121 should also find these guidelines useful in 

addressing human performance issues. This AC presents one way, but not necessarily the only 

way, that operators may address DRM training. DRM training focuses on situational awareness, 

communication skills, teamwork, prioritizing, resource allocation, risk management, human 

factors, and decisionmaking skills within the framework of the regulations and the operator’s 

policies and procedures. 

2. CANCELLATION. This AC cancels AC 121-32, Dispatch Resource Management Training, 

dated February 7, 1995. 

3. PRINCIPAL CHANGES. This revision: 

a. Brings the AC up to date with today’s techniques and philosophies on DRM training, 

including changes to: 

(1) Current reading material relating to DRM. 

(2) DRM background. 

(3) Fundamentals of DRM training implementation. 
AC 121-32A 11/21/05 

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(4) Components of DRM training. 

(5) Assessment of DRM training programs. 

(6) The critical role of supervisors and instructors. 

(7) Evolving concepts of DRM. 

b. Adds paragraph 12, Suggested Curriculum Topics, which addresses decisionmaking, 

communication, and workload management in many DRM programs (these topics should be 

tailored to each organization’s culture and needs).

4. RELATED REGULATIONS. 

a. Title 14 CFR part 65, Subpart C - Aircraft Dispatchers; Part 65, Appendix A - Aircraft 

Dispatcher Courses. 

b. Part 121, sections 121.107, 121.395, 121.415, 121.418, 121.422, 121.427, 121.463, 

121.465, 121.533-537, and Part 121 Subpart U - Dispatching and Flight Release Rules. 

c. Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) 58, Advanced Qualification Program. 

5. DEFINITIONS.

a. Human Factors. Human factors is a multidisciplinary field devoted to optimizing human 

performance and reducing human error. It incorporates the methods and principles of the 

behavioral and social sciences, engineering, and physiology. The human factors field is the 

applied science that studies people working together in concert with machines. It embraces 

variables that influence individual and team performance. Inadequate system design or 

inadequate operator training can contribute to individual human error, which leads to system 

performance degradation. Further, inadequate design and management of tasks can contribute to 

group errors, which lead to system performance degradation. 

b. DRM Training. DRM training addresses the challenge of optimizing communication 

between diverse groups within an airline and the related interpersonal issues while using 

available resources. This includes effective teambuilding, conflict resolution, situational 

awareness, information transfer and dissemination, problem solving, decisionmaking, and 

dealing with automated systems. DRM has evolved because of the joint responsibility for the 

preflight planning, delay, and dispatch release of a flight between the pilot in command (PIC) 

and aircraft dispatcher. DRM training consists of three components: initial indoctrination/ 

awareness, recurrent practice and feedback, and continual reinforcement. DRM training should 

employ scenario-based training to the extent possible to emphasize effective use of the 

dispatcher’s tools and resources. 

c. Operational Control. With respect to a flight, the exercise of authority over initiating, 

conducting, or terminating a flight. 
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6. RELATED READING MATERIAL. 

a. AC 120-35, Line Operational Simulations: Line-Oriented Flight Training, Special Purpose 

Operational Training, Line Operational Evaluation, current edition. 

b. AC 120-48, Communication and Coordination Between Flight Crewmembers and Flight 

Attendants, current edition. 

c. AC 120-51, Crew Resource Management [CRM] Training, current edition. 

d. AC 120-54, Advanced Qualification Program, current edition. 

NOTE: These ACs may be downloaded free of charge from the 

following Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) public Web site: 

www.faa.gov/avr/afs. Scroll down to Regulations and Guidance or 

Information Advisories. 

e. Guidelines for Situation Awareness Training, NAWCTSD/FAA/UCF Partnership for 

Aviation Team Training. This document may be viewed, downloaded, or printed at the following 

Web site: http://www.faa.gov/avr/afs/train.htm. 

f. International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Annex 13 on Human Factors. This 

document may be obtained from ICAO Document Sales Unit, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 

514-954-8022. 

g. For detailed information on the recommendations made in this AC, we encourage the 

reader to review: 

(1) Crew Resource Management: An Introductory Handbook, published by the FAA 

(Document No. DOT/FAA/RD-92/26). 

(2) Cockpit Resource Management Training: Proceedings of a NASA [National 

Aeronautics and Space Administration]/MAC Workshop, 1987, which also provides additional 

background material. The NASA Conference Proceedings (CP) number is 2455. 

NOTE: The National Plan for Aviation Human Factors defines research 

issues related to crew coordination and training. Copies of the preceding 

publications may be purchased from the National Technical Information 

Service, U.S. Department of Commerce, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, 

VA 22161. The telephone numbers for National Technical Information 

Service are: (800) 553-6847 and (703) 605-6000; fax (703) 605-6900. 

h. For more detail on certain evolving concepts of CRM:
AC 121-32A 11/21/05 

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(1) Advanced CRM, see: “Developing Advanced Crew Resource Management (ACRM) 

Training: A Training Manual,” Seamster, Boehm-Davis, Holt, Schultz, 8-1-98 

(http://www.hf.faa.gov/products/daCRMt/daDRMt.html). 

(2) Situation awareness, see: “Cockpit Distractions and Interruptions,” Dismukes, 

Young, Sumwalt, December, 1998 (http://asrs.arc.nasa.gov/directline_issues/dl10_distract.htm). 

i. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) AAR-91-04, final report of the Commission 

of Inquiry into the Air Ontario Accident at Dryden, Ontario, March 10, 1989. 

7. BACKGROUND. The NTSB and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada have both 

found that inadequate operational control and inadequate collaborative decisionmaking have 

been contributing factors in air carrier accidents. Effective management of available resources 

by aircraft dispatchers is one essential deterrent to such accidents. In exercising dispatcher 

duties, the aircraft dispatcher coordinates with flight crewmembers, air traffic controllers, and 

other members of a vast team in order to meet the requirements of daily flight operations. This 

AC encourages the aircraft dispatcher to be knowledgeable of the functions of the other 

participants encountered throughout the operating environment. 

a. Two expected benefits of DRM training to the aircraft dispatcher are: (1) better 

management of information that has a direct impact on safe flight operations; and (2) a better 

interface with each PIC, consistent with the joint responsibility concept outlined in part 121. 

b. Many problems encountered by flightcrews and aircraft dispatchers have very little to do 

with the technical aspects of flight operations. Instead, most problems are associated with poor 

group decisionmaking, ineffective communication, inadequate leadership, and poor task or 

resource management. Historically, aircraft dispatcher training programs focused almost 

exclusively on the “how to” aspects of dispatching and on an individual dispatcher’s 

performance; these programs did not effectively address resource management issues 

fundamental to safe flight. 

c. The NTSB, the FAA, and many other parties have found that failing to adhere to standard 

operating procedures (SOP) is a persistent element in these problems, which sometimes have led 

to accidents. SOPs define the shared model upon which safe and efficient airline performance 

depends. Too often, pilots, aircraft dispatchers, flight attendants, and others have unconsciously 

ignored well-established SOPs; in other cases they have been consciously ignored. In still other 

cases, the operator has inadequately developed SOPs for use by its pilots, flight attendants, and 

aircraft dispatchers. Many times, significant SOPs have been omitted from an operator’s training 

program. The Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST), a coalition of industry and 

government organizations, including the FAA, chartered by the White House in 1997, has 

undertaken to reduce the air carrier accident rate by 80 percent by the year 2007. Initiatives to 

improve SOPs and adherence to those SOPs are among the top priority safety initiatives now 

being implemented by CAST. 
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8. THE MISSION OF DRM TRAINING. DRM training has been conceived to prevent 

aviation accidents by improving interaction between the aircraft dispatcher, PIC, mechanic, and 

other personnel. 

9. BASIC CONCEPT OF DRM TRAINING. 

a. DRM training is based on the awareness that the aircraft dispatcher is an integral part of 

flight operations and can positively influence safety. Good training for routine operations can 

have a strong, positive effect on how well individuals function during times of high workload or 

high stress. More importantly, during emergency situations, the aircraft dispatcher should 

instinctively fall back upon his or her DRM training. Practice of desirable behaviors during 

times of low stress increases the likelihood that the dispatcher will handle emergencies 

effectively. 

b. There are various methods used in DRM training today, but certain essential concepts are 

universal: 

(1) Training should reinforce the importance of communication and provide instruction 

to develop and refine each individual’s communication skills. 

(2) Training should emphasize situational awareness. 

(3) Training should focus on developing sound decisionmaking skills. 

(4) Training should stress effective management of workload through prioritization of 

tasks. 

(5) Interpersonal skills training concentrates on aircraft dispatcher’s attitudes and 

behaviors and the effects they have on others. 

(6) Training should apply human factors concepts to improve aircraft dispatcher 

proficiency. 

(7) DRM training ideally should include all operational personnel to improve teamwork. 

(8) Aircraft dispatchers must review large quantities of real-time information and decide 

pertinent information for each flight under their operational control. Training should provide the 

aircraft dispatcher with the skills necessary to manage information flow effectively. 

(9) Training should instruct aircraft dispatchers on how to cope with abnormal or 

emergency situations. 

(10) Having aircraft dispatchers participate in line oriented flight training (LOFT) 

sessions provides an extremely effective means of practicing DRM skills and receiving 

reinforcement. 
AC 121-32A 11/21/05 

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(11) Aircraft dispatchers may also participate in role-playing exercises. Such exercises 

permit practice in developing strategies for dealing with operational events and enable analysis 

of aircraft dispatcher decisions while dealing with these events. 

(12) Trainees need awareness, practice, feedback, continuing reinforcement, and time to 

learn attitudes and behaviors that will endure. To be effective, DRM concepts must be 

permanently integrated into all aspects of training and operations. 

10. FUNDAMENTALS OF DRM TRAINING IMPLEMENTATION. Research programs 

and airline operational experience suggest that the greatest benefits are achieved by adhering to 

the following practices: 

a. Assess the Status of the Organization Before Implementation. Before designing 

specific training, program designees should determine how well dispatchers already know and 

practice DRM concepts. Surveys of aircraft dispatchers, management, training, and standards 

personnel, observation of aircraft dispatchers, and analysis of incident/accident reports can 

provide essential data for program designers. 

b. Get Commitment from All Managers, Starting with Senior Managers. Aircraft 

dispatch personnel will receive DRM programs more positively when senior managers, aircraft 

dispatch managers, air transportation supervisors (ATS), and the training department 

conspicuously support DRM concepts and provide the necessary resources for training. Dispatch 

and/or flight operations manuals and training manuals should embrace DRM concepts by 

providing aircraft dispatchers with necessary policy and procedures guidance. Communication is 

a central DRM concept. It is essential that every level of management support a safety culture in 

which communication is promoted by encouraging appropriate questioning. 

c. Customize the Training to Reflect the Nature and Needs of the Organization. Using 

knowledge of the state of the organization, priorities should be established for topics to be 

covered, including special issues. This approach increases the relevance of training for aircraft 

dispatchers. 

d. Define the Scope of the Program and an Implementation Plan. Institute special DRM 

training for key personnel including ATSs and instructors. It is highly beneficial to provide 

training for these groups before beginning training for aircraft dispatchers. DRM training may 

be expanded to combine pilots and maintenance personnel. It may also be expanded to include 

flight attendants and other company team members, as appropriate. It is also helpful to develop a 

long-term strategy for program implementation. 

e. Communicate the Nature and Scope of the Program Before Startup. Training 

departments should provide aircraft dispatchers, managers, training, and standards personnel 

with a preview of what the training will involve together with plans for initial and continuing 

training. These steps can prevent misunderstandings about the focus of the training or any aspect 

of its implementation. 
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f. Institute Quality Control Procedures. It has proved helpful to monitor the delivery of 

training and determine areas where training can be strengthened. Monitoring can be initiated by 

providing special training to program instructors (often called facilitators) and using surveys to 

collect systematic feedback from participants in the training. 

11. COMPONENTS OF DRM TRAINING. The topics outlined below have been identified 

as critical components of effective DRM training. They do not represent a fixed sequence of 

phases, each with a beginning and an end. Ideally, each component is continually renewed at 

every stage of training. 

a. Initial Training. 

(1) DRM is a required component during initial and transition ground training. It 

consists of classroom presentations and focuses on communications and decisionmaking, 

interpersonal relations, team coordination, leadership, and situational awareness, among others. 

In this component of DRM training, the concepts are developed, defined, and related to safety of 

flight operations. This component also provides a common conceptual framework and a 

common vocabulary for identifying team coordination problems. 

(2) Lectures, audiovisual presentations, discussion groups, role-playing exercises, 

computer-based instruction, and videotaped examples of good and poor team behavior are 

commonly used methods for initial training. 

(3) Initial training requires the development of a curriculum that addresses DRM skills 

that influence aircraft dispatcher proficiency. To be most effective, the curriculum should define 

the concepts involved and relate them directly to operational issues that aircraft dispatchers 

encounter. Many organizations have found it useful to survey aircraft dispatchers. Survey data 

has helped identify embedded attitudes regarding pilot/aircraft dispatcher coordination and 

resource management. The data has also helped to identify operational problems and to 

prioritize training issues. 

(4) Effective initial training increases understanding of DRM concepts. That 

understanding, in turn, often influences individual attitudes favorably regarding human factors 

issues. Often, the training suggests more effective communication practices. 

(5) It is important to recognize that classroom instruction alone does not fundamentally 

alter aircraft dispatcher attitudes over the long term. The initial training is a necessary first step 

towards effective DRM training. 

b. Recurrent Practice and Feedback. 

(1) DRM training must be included as a regular part of the recurrent training 

requirement. Recurrent DRM training should include classroom or briefing room refresher 

training to review and amplify DRM components, followed by practice and feedback exercises 

such as role-playing in-flight scenarios or LOFT. These recurrent DRM exercises, if possible, 

should take place with a full crew, each member operating in his or her normal crew position. 
AC 121-32A 11/21/05 

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(2) Recurrent training with performance feedback allows participants to practice newly 

developed DRM skills and to receive feedback on their effectiveness. 

(3) Feedback has its greatest impact when it comes from self-critique and from peers, 

together with guidance from a facilitator with special training in assessment and debriefing 

techniques. The most effective feedback refers to the coordination concepts identified in 

indoctrination/awareness training or in recurrent training. Effective feedback relates to specific 

behaviors. Practice and feedback are best accomplished through the use of simulators or training 

devices and videotape. Taped feedback, with the guidance of a facilitator, is particularly 

effective because it allows participants to view themselves from a third person perspective. This 

approach is especially compelling in that video captures and displays strengths and weaknesses 

vividly. Participants can easily see behavioral patterns and individual work styles. As a result, 

appropriate adjustments are often self-evident. 

c. Continuing Reinforcement. 

(1) No matter the effectiveness of each curriculum segment (classroom, role-playing 

exercises, LOFT, or feedback), one-time exposures are simply not sufficient. The attitudes and 

norms that contribute to ineffective team coordination may have developed over an aircraft 

dispatcher’s lifetime. It is unrealistic to expect a short training program to reverse years of 

habits. To be maximally effective, a program should embed DRM in every stage of training, and 

day-to-day aircraft dispatch operations should stress DRM concepts as well. 

(2) DRM should become an integral part of the organization’s culture. 

(3) There is a common tendency of personnel in training departments in the aviation 

industry to think of DRM as training only for aircraft dispatchers. This notion misses the 

essence of the DRM training mission: the prevention of accidents through better overall 

operational coordination. DRM training works best in the context of the entire airline team. 

Training exercises are most effective if all team members work and learn together. 

(4) A training program can work reinforcement into many areas. Joint training with 

aircraft dispatchers, pilots, maintenance personnel, flight attendants, and operational/gate agents 

can also reinforce DRM concepts. 

12. SUGGESTED CURRICULUM TOPICS. The topics outlined below have been included 

in many current DRM programs. The specific content of training and organization of topics 

should reflect an organization’s unique culture and specific needs. 

a. Decisionmaking. The aircraft dispatcher assumes a leadership role within the operational 

environment; therefore, DRM training should teach effective decisionmaking skills through use 

of inquiry, advocacy, and assertion. Training should focus on effective techniques of seeking 

and evaluating information, showing the influence of biases and other factors that impact 

decision quality. There are benefits in providing aircraft dispatchers with operational models of 
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the decision process. Aircraft dispatchers may refer to these models to make good choices in 

situations when information is incomplete or contradictory. 

(1) Training in decisionmaking skills should be scenario-based and include the 

following: 

(a) Assessing the competing needs that must be considered when choosing among 

alternatives. 

(b) Being aware of the resources available to the various parties involved in the 

decisionmaking process. 

(c) Applying effective problem-solving strategies to help in decisionmaking. 

(d) Avoiding situations and behaviors that contribute to errors. 

(e) Risk management. 

b. Communications. This topic includes internal and external influences on interpersonal 

communications. External factors include job title, corporate complexity, age, experience, 

gender, organizational culture, education, etc. Internal factors include speaking skills, listening 

skills, decisionmaking skills, conflict resolution techniques, and the use of appropriate 

assertiveness and advocacy. All training activities involving pilots, flight attendants, aircraft 

dispatchers, and aircraft mechanics should stress the importance of clear and unambiguous 

communication. More specific subtopics include the following: 

(1) Briefings. Aircraft dispatchers provide weather briefings to pilots and shift turnover 

briefings to other aircraft dispatchers and operational briefings to coworkers. Briefings should 

be clear and concise, using standard terminology. Briefings should reaffirm established policies 

and procedures. 

(2) Assertiveness. The training department should train aircraft dispatchers to advocate 

the course of action that the dispatcher feels is the safest, even though it may involve conflict 

with others. The PIC makes the final call. 

(3) Inquiry. This training will stress the importance of proactively seeking information 

that is relevant to the aircraft dispatcher’s operational and regulatory responsibilities. Personnel 

in the air carrier’s training department, during DRM training, should discuss effective techniques 

for obtaining this information. 

(4) Conflict Resolution. Training in effective techniques of resolving disagreements 

among team members that occur during interpreting information or while proposing courses of 

action. Training in maintaining open communication when dealing with conflict. 
AC 121-32A 11/21/05 

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(5) Interdepartmental Coordination Process. Training should identify those 

departments with which the aircraft dispatcher will interact. This should include how the actions 

of other departments will impact the aircraft dispatcher. 

(6) Interpersonal Relationships. The air carrier’s training department, during DRM 

training, should stress that interpersonal relationships are key concepts. Curricula can include 

the following: 

(a) Recognizing and dealing with diverse personalities and operating styles; 

(b) Demonstrating the usefulness of showing sensitivity to other coworkers’ 

personalities and styles; and 

(c) Emphasizing the value of maintaining a friendly, relaxed, and supportive - yet 

task-oriented - tone in the workplace. 

c. Workload Management. 

(1) Situational Awareness. Training should stress the importance of maintaining 

awareness of the operational environment and anticipating contingencies. Instruction may 

address practices (e.g., vigilance, planning and time management, prioritizing tasks, and 

avoiding distractions) that result in higher levels of situational awareness. 

(a) Preparation/Planning/Vigilance. Issues include methods to improve 

monitoring and accomplishing required tasks, requesting and responding to new information, and 

preparing in advance for required activities. 

(b) Prioritizing Tasks. This training involves techniques for identifying periods of 

high workload and highlights the need for prioritization and multitasking during these instances. 

Additional training should identify those nonessential tasks and influences that could distract the 

aircraft dispatcher’s attention from critical tasks. Training should include methods for 

redistributing workload when necessary. 

(2) Tactical and Strategic Use of Resources. Training should focus on appropriate and 

innovative use of the aircraft dispatcher’s tools and resources. 

(3) Stress Management. Training in this area may include describing and 

demonstrating individual characteristics that can influence aircraft dispatcher effectiveness. 

Many aircraft dispatchers are unfamiliar with the negative effects of stress and fatigue on 

individual cognitive functions and team performance. Training may include a review of 

scientific evidence on fatigue and stress and their effects on performance. The content may 

include specific effects of fatigue and stress in potential emergency situations. The effects of 

personal and interpersonal problems and the increased importance of effective interpersonal 

communications under stressful conditions may also be addressed. Training may also include 

familiarization with various countermeasures for coping with stressors. Additional curriculum 
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topics may include examination of personality and motivation characteristics, self-assessment of 

personal style, and identifying cognitive factors that influence perception and decisionmaking. 

13. ASSESSMENT OF DRM TRAINING PROGRAMS. It is vital that each program be 

assessed to determine if it is achieving its goals. Each organization should have a systematic 

assessment program to track the effectiveness of the training program. Critical topics for 

recurrent training should be identified and continuous improvements should be made. 

Evaluation of the training program should include observation of the training process by program 

administrators and self-reports by participants using standard survey methods. Duration of DRM 

training should be sufficient to allow for the inclusion of the suggested curriculum and topics 

contained in this AC. 

a. Emphasis should be on improving aircraft dispatcher performance. The essential areas of 

DRM-related assessment include communications processes, decisionmaking, interpersonal 

relationships, workload management, technical proficiency, and situational awareness. 

b. For optimal assessment, data on aircraft dispatcher attitudes and behavior should be 

collected before DRM indoctrination and again at intervals after the last component of DRM 

training, to determine both initial and enduring effects of the program. The goal should be to 

obtain an accurate picture of the organization’s significant corporate personality traits before 

formal adoption of DRM training, and to continue to monitor those traits after implementation. 

c. Reinforcement and feedback are essential to effective DRM training programs. Aircraft 

dispatchers should receive continual reinforcement to sustain DRM concepts. Effective 

reinforcement depends upon usable feedback to aircraft dispatchers on their DRM practices and 

on their technical performance. One of the best learning opportunities occurs when aircraft 

dispatchers examine their own behavior and performance with the assistance of a trained 

facilitator. The facilitator points out both positive and negative aspects of DRM performance. 

Whenever highly effective performance is observed, it is vital that the underlying behaviors are 

discussed and reinforced. 

d. Usable feedback requires consistent assessment. Aircraft dispatchers and those involved 

in training and evaluation should be able to recognize effective and ineffective DRM behaviors. 

Each competency check is required by regulation to include DRM skills. DRM concepts should 

be critiqued during briefing/debriefing phases of checking events. Operators can easily gauge 

the effectiveness of DRM training programs through observing these skills during competency 

checks. 

e. To summarize, the assessment program should: 

(1) Measure and track the organization’s corporate culture toward DRM as it is reflected 

in attitudes and behavior. 

(2) Identify topics needing emphasis within the DRM program. Experience has shown 

that resource management training works best if it is continually refreshed by subject matter that 

is timely, relevant, and useable.
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(3) Ensure that all supervisors and instructors are well prepared using standardized 

lesson plans to deliver effective DRM training. 

14. THE CRITICAL ROLE OF SUPERVISORS AND INSTRUCTORS. 

a. The success of any DRM training program ultimately depends on the skills of the people 

who administer the training and measure its effectiveness. DRM instructors, supervisors, and 

course designers should be skilled in all areas related to the practice and assessment of DRM. 

These skills comprise an additional level to those associated with traditional aircraft dispatch 

instruction and checking. 

b. Gaining proficiency and confidence in DRM instruction, observation, and measurement 

requires special training for instructors and supervisors in many DRM training processes. 

Among those processes are role-playing simulations, systematic dispatcher-centered observation, 

leading group discussions, administering joint pilot/aircraft dispatcher LOFT programs, and 

providing usable feedback to the aircraft dispatchers. 

c. Instructors and supervisors also require special training in order to refine and standardize 

their own skills. 

d. Instructors and supervisors should use every available opportunity to emphasize the 

importance of coordination skills. The best results occur when the aircraft dispatchers examine 

their own behavior with the assistance of a trained instructor who can point out both positive and 

negative DRM performance. Whenever highly effective examples of coordination are observed, 

it is vital that these positive behaviors be discussed and reinforced. Debriefing and critiquing 

skills are important tools for instructors and supervisors. 

e. Feedback is most effective when it refers to the concepts that are covered in the initial 

indoctrination/awareness training. The best feedback refers to instances of specific behavior, 

rather than behavior in general. 

15. EVOLVING CONCEPTS OF DRM. 

a. Joint DRM Training. More and more carriers are discovering the value of revising 

DRM training to reach various employee groups and sometimes to combine those groups during 

training. The carriers’ objective is to improve the effectiveness and safety of the entire 

operations team as a working system. DRM principles become more relevant for aircraft 

dispatchers, pilots, and other groups by addressing those principles in a familiar, job-related 

context. Furthermore, each group should benefit from concurrent training in DRM that is 

complemented by usable knowledge of the other’s job. 

(1) The fundamental interaction of aircraft dispatchers and pilots is very important. This 

joint responsibility doctrine ensures the safest form of air transportation possible. Therefore, 

DRM training that nurtures this pivotal relationship is strongly encouraged. 
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(2) Aircraft dispatchers are required to observe operations from the cockpit jump seat as 

part of their annual qualification under part 121. 

(3) Some carriers invite pilots to their aircraft dispatchers’ offices to provide insight into 

the other side of the joint responsibilities inherent in operational control. Those trips have 

commonly been part of the special training offered to pilots. Additionally, aircraft dispatchers 

are increasingly being used in LOFT sessions. The training experience gained by the pilot and 

the aircraft dispatcher during LOFT is considered the logical extension of earlier training 

methods, providing interactivity where DRM (and CRM) principles are applied and discussed. 

(4) Dedicated resource management training courses for maintenance personnel have 

been operating since 1991. Interactive training between maintenance personnel and aircraft 

dispatchers should be encouraged. Aircraft dispatchers and maintenance controllers should meet 

face to face to discuss issues of mutual interest in a real-life setting. 

(5) Even broader DRM concepts could be considered, using other groups such as 

passenger service agents, ground operations agents, air traffic management personnel, mid- and 

upper-level managers, and special crisis teams like HazMat, hijack and bomb-threat teams. 

b. Error Management. Industry and the FAA understand that errors cannot be entirely 

eliminated. It is important, therefore, that aircraft dispatchers develop appropriate error 

management skills and procedures. It is certainly desirable to prevent as many errors as possible, 

but since they cannot all be prevented, detection and recovery from errors should be addressed in 

training. 

c. Advanced DRM. Some air carriers are integrating DRM performance requirements or 

procedures into their SOPs. They also have included specific procedures, checks, and guidance 

in their manuals, quick-reference handbooks, abnormal/emergency procedures, and job aids. 

This integration captures DRM principles into explicit procedures used by aircraft dispatchers 

and flightcrews. 

d. Culture Issues. While individuals and even teams of individuals may perform well under 

many conditions, they are subject to the influence of at least three cultures--the professional 

culture of the individuals themselves, the culture of their organizations, and the national culture 

surrounding the individuals and their organizations. If not recognized and addressed, factors 

related to culture may degrade performance. Hence, effective DRM training should address 

culture issues as appropriate in each training population. 
AC 121-32A 11/21/05 

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16. SUMMARY. Effective DRM begins in initial training; it is strengthened by continual 

practice and feedback; and it is sustained by reinforcement. Ideally, DRM will become a part of 

an airline’s corporate culture and become embedded in every stage of an aircraft dispatcher’s 

training. 

ORIGINAL SIGNED BY 

CAROL E. GILES (for) 

James J. Ballough 

Director, Flight Standards Service