VERRES VLTA Emergency Requirement Research Evaluation Study Crew Co-operation in VLTA The Fourth Triennial International Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety

VERRESVLTA Emergency Requirement Research Evaluation Study

Crew Co-operation in VLTA

The Fourth Triennial International Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety Research Conference

Lisbon Conference Centre Portugal 15-18 November 2004



Agenda• VERRES project introduction

• Approach of the study

• Theoretical aspects

• Main Issues concerning Co-ordination of Cabin Crews in VLTA

• Actual Crew co-ordination limitations and VLTA

• Recommended study perspectives for future research



VERRES Context



VERRES project

WP1: Configurational aspects for VLTA

WP2: Investigating the requirements of a methodology utilising analysis and

partial testing

WP3: Aspects of occupants safety for VLTA concepts

WP4: Synthesis

WP5: Dissemination



Objective and Approach of the Study

• Objective : identification of the main issues in order to guide future VLTA research or design

• Approach: Bibliographical research (state of the art)

Theoretical aspects Past researches in the domain

Experts assessment with professional CC (Virgin Atlantic)

• Make recommendations from a social and technical point of view based on these three sources of information



Theoretical Appraisal

• Synergy () obey to precise conditions which are difficult to

reach in general, and particularly questioning in the context on emergency situation in VLTA, requiring specific training, procedures and equipment

• Emergency situation management requires Redundancy and Co-operation between the different actors of the flight. Good communication is of paramount importance to the quality of co-ordination

• To avoid co-ordination breakdown in VLTA, research should be conducted on additional communication means to be used in normal and abnormal operation



Identified Issues in past research on Cabin Crews Co-ordination in

VLTA• Task allocation should be based on the number of fully

qualified Cabin Crew

• Task allocation should insure a balanced tasks sharing to

optimise workload and insure complementary mental

representation among Cabin Crew

• Non Door Cabin Crew activity should be formalised and taken

into account, above all in the eventuality of staircase in the cabin

• Independent or integrated double deck lead to the same

demands: Non Door Cabin Crew at stairs, additional

communication devices and specific training for all the crew

members



Experts assessment

• CCs assessment of Actual issues in the cabin management on normal operation Operators involved Time needed to solve the problem Technical difficulty Frequency of the issues

Key safety tasks per flight phases

• Assessment of the likely impact of the main issues Size of the crew Size of the cabin Number of passengers

Increased probability of key safety tasks, with a risk of simultaneity of critical tasks



Crew co-ordination actual limitations and VLTA

• Focusing Cabin Crew co-ordination should involve the study of co-ordination with other actors as Flight Crew and Ground Staff

• Some actual difficulties in Cabin Crew co-ordination may be worse in VLTA features, because their frequency of occurrence, and resolving time would increase

• A special emphasis should be given to Pursers role definition, procedures definition and specific equipment to support their activity in a VLTA environment



Recommendations for future researches

• Within the social field: Recurrent joined management training with Flight crew and

Ground Staff (boarding team, firemen) Specific training module should be developed for CCs in

VLTA, dealing with : Situations likely to become more demanding on VLTA’s features The formalisation of the stairs management The Double deck management Integration of the Non Door CCs function in training and

emergency evacuation procedures

• Within the technical field: New adapted communication tools should be designed

between the CCs, CCs and Ground Staff in normal and abnormal situations



Synergy : definition

• Ideal condition for teamwork consisting in:

Common objectives Accepted leadership Explicit and Adaptive task

allocation Information sharing Matching between local

tactics and global strategy

• The team performance is superior to the sum of the individual performances

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VERRES VLTA Emergency Requirement Research Evaluation Study Crew Co-operation in VLTA The Fourth Triennial International Aircraft Fire and Cabin Safety