Assessing Cultural Drivers of Safety Resilience in a Collegiate Aviation Program

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Published: May 2, 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22488/okstate.20.100208

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Kwasi Adjekum
University of North Dakota
Marcos Fernandez Tous
University of North Dakota

Abstract

Organizational safety resilience is a key factor in sustaining an effective safety management system (SMS) in high-reliability organizations (HROs) such as aviation. Extant research advocates for monitoring, assessing and continuously improving safety in an organization that has a fully-functional SMS. Safety resilience provides a buffer against vulnerabilities. Extant research also suggests a paucity in terms of a measurement framework for organizational safety resilience in collegiate aviation operations. A quantitative approach using Reason’s safety resilience concept (Reason, 2011) is used to assess organizational safety resilience in a collegiate aviation program with an active conformance SMS accepted by the FAA. A sample of 516 research participants responded to an online survey instrument derived from Reason (2011). Structural Equation Model (SEM)/Path Analysis (PA) techniques are used to assess models that measure the strength of relationships between three cultural drivers (Commitment, Cognizance, Competence) of safety and safety resilience. There were strong significant relationships between these cultural drivers and safety resilience. Path analysis suggests that Commitment significantly mediates the path between Cognizance and Competence and highlights its important role in sustaining safety competencies. There were significant differences in the perceptions of safety resilience among top-level leadership, flight operations and ground operations. Flight operations and ground operations had higher mean scores on safety resilience than top-level leadership. Study provides a validated model of safety resilience that is essential for SMS improvements in collegiate aviation programs. Future studies will utilize this safety resilience model to assess other collegiate aviation programs in various phases of SMS implementation, airlines, and air traffic control operations.

Key words: SMS, safety culture, safety resilience, collegiate aviation

Article Details

Issue
Vol. 38 No. 1 (2020)
Section
Peer-Reviewed Articles
Author Biographies

Kwasi Adjekum, University of North Dakota

Dr. Adjekum is an International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) designated subject -matter expert in flight safety and an International Air Transport Association (IATA) certified Safety Management Systems (SMS) implementation and control expert. He is also a graduate of the United States Airforce Safety Center International Flight Safety Officers Course. He also had aircraft accident investigation training with the United States Naval Safety Center.

He holds a Master of Science in Aviation and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Aerospace Sciences from the University of North Dakota. He is a certified safety professional (CSP) accredited by the Board of Safety Professionals (BCSP) of the United States.

Dr. Adjekum is currently an assistant professor at the aviation department (UND) teaching courses in crew resource management, safety management systems, and human factors. Dr. Adjekum also teaches quantitative research methods, human error, ergonomics /human factors and statistics at the graduate level. He is currently   the principal investigator (PI) for a National Academies of Science three-year grant on safety reporting systems in the oil and gas industries in the Gulf of Mexico ($ 756,000). 

Dr. Adjekum consults extensively for the Government of Ghana on aviation matters and has been a prime consultant safety management systems implementation for the Ghana Airforce and other aviation organizations in Ghana. He has also worked on SMS implementation projects and safety assessments/audits for Virgin Nigeria Airlines and UND Aviation. He has published extensively in peer-reviewed academic journals and presented at academic conferences and industry workshops both in Ghana and the US. He has conducted a safety assessment/audit of the Ghana Airforce Maintenance Safety Program and a post –project standards compliance and certification/acceptance requirements for a new hangar facility. He has conducted practice-based aviation human -factors workshop for operational personnel of the Ghana Airforce and allied aviation entities in Accra. He is also a sought-after subject-matter expert on aviation safety by international and national media outlets.

Marcos Fernandez Tous, University of North Dakota

Marcos Fernandez Tous is currently a doctoral candidate in the Aerospace Sciences Ph.D program of the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences. He is also a graduate research assistant in safety and unmanned aerial systems. He has extensive experience as an Air Traffic Management professional and ATM safety officer. He has worked extensivel for the Spanish Air Traffic Management Service Provider and travelled worldwide to build capacity of other controllers through training.