Title: An evaluation of the effectiveness of the crew resource management programme in naval aviation

Authors: Paul O'Connor; Douglas W. Jones; Michael E. McCauley; Samuel E. Buttrey

Addresses: Centre for Innovation and Structural Change, J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland. ' Naval Air Warfare Center, Training Systems Division, 12350, Research Parkway, Orlando, Florida 32826, USA. ' Naval Postgraduate School, Operations Research Department, 1411 Cunningham Rd, Monterey, California 93943, USA. ' Naval Postgraduate School, Operations Research Department, 1411 Cunningham Rd, Monterey, California 93943, USA

Abstract: The US Navy's Crew Resource Management (CRM) training programme has not been evaluated within the last decade. Reactions were evaluated by analysing 51,570 responses to an item pertaining to CRM that is part of a safety climate survey. A total of 172 responses were obtained on a knowledge test. The attitudes of 553 naval aviators were assessed using an attitudes questionnaire. The CRM mishap rate from 1997 until 2007 was evaluated. It was found that naval aviators appear to think than CRM training is useful, are generally knowledgeable of, and display positive attitudes towards, the concepts addressed in the training. However, there is a lack of evidence to support the view that CRM training is having an effect on the mishap rate. As the next generation of highly automated aircraft becomes part of naval aviation, there is a need to ensure that CRM training evolves to meet this new challenge.

Keywords: crew resource management; CRM; training evaluation; safety; naval aviation; US Navy; automated aircraft; mishap rate; accidents; mishaps; naval aircraft.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHFE.2012.045272

International Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics, 2012 Vol.1 No.1, pp.21 - 40

Published online: 06 Aug 2014 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article