Yoshito Toda
2nd Domestic Flight Dispatch Section, Operations Control
Japan Airlines International Co., Ltd
The Operation Control Center prepares flight plans for about 850 flights a day, on routes around the world. We also monitor these flights from departure to arrival. We have to be familiar with the characteristics of airport terrain and changes in weather conditions. If delaying the departure of a flight will enable its safe arrival at the destination, we make arrangements with the schedule management department, and take steps to delay the flight. When there is a difference of opinion, we always select the option with greater safety. Under the Medium-Term Business Plan (FY2006 to 2010), about 60 billion yen is being invested in safety measures. Most of this is being invested in IT systems and the creation of a foundation to promote the open sharing and utilization of internal information.

One example is the improvement of the safety information electronic distribution system. As a part of this initiative, in 2006 JAL created a database of safety information from all departments with the goal of analyzing accident and mechanical-problem trends and information sharing. The information is also provided as feedback to the safety promotion department of each division. The results of safety audits and outside safety information have also been incorporated into the database, and this is helping with high-precision analysis and the drafting of safety measures.

The flight data analysis program gathers and analyzes 1,000 data items pertaining to all flights, and tracks changes before and after measure implementation. Under an initiative to strengthen safety information analysis, JAL is developing a system which combines safety information from pilots with flight data analysis to find unsafe factors using keywords*3.

System creation is important, but the most interesting initiative was the creation of a corporate culture where employees can report and share information on unsafe conditions without hesitation. An example of this was the elimination of disciplinary action for human errors. It was the first introduction in Japan of a system that does not impose disciplinary action on incidents determined to be human errors occurring despite sufficient care being taken. It is an experiment to increase the accuracy of mandatory report information, and increase the number of voluntary reports. A commendation system was also introduced to recognize cases of human error discovery, reporting and improvement.

At maintenance sites, the Maintenance Error Decision Aid (MEDA) has been fully implemented in order to identify the underlying causes of any error that occurs. The advantage of MEDA is that it uses a specialist interview method, whereby the mechanic who made the error talks to a third-party interviewer.

The monthly publication for JAL cabin attendants, Gekkan CA Navi, features important references and handling examples taken from the Cabin Safety Reporting System (CSRS), which reports on workplace questions from cabin attendants and improvement measures. The CSRS was launched in 2006, and since the name of the reporting persons are not published, many cabin attendants report their own errors. Mirei Hiekata, who manages safety measures for cabin attendants, explained the rationale behind the system. “The important thing to understand is that an error made by one person could be made by anyone, and therefore the experiences need to be shared.”

In 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded after liftoff, killing all seven crewmembers on board. The commission investigating the accident amazed the world’s safety experts by announcing that it would not prosecute anyone for causing the accident, and carried out a thorough investigation even including the families of the astronauts. Rather than holding the persons in charge responsible, the committee sought to clarify the causes so that the accident would never happen again. This resulted in the creation of a new safety culture at NASA. JAL is facing a similar situation. However, it will take a little more time in order to determine if a new culture of safety has taken hold.

• *3. Finding unsafe factors using keywords: This analytical tool allows the use of keywords to search text in reports to find unsafe factors hidden in the background of reports made by pilots, cabin attendants, and maintenance personnel. For example, by using the keyword “bird strike” for the problem of birds being drawn into aircraft engines, relevant texts can be found, and measures can be devised based on the revealed data such as frequency at each airport and times of the day.

Mirei Hiekata
Cabin Safety Department
Japan Airlines International Co., Ltd
In the confines of the aircraft, the team of cabin attendants must perform both service and safety functions throughout the flight, always under the watchful eyes of the passengers. Problems and questions arising from this “workplace” provide useful information that is being shared in order to directly improve cabin safety.