Situational Awareness

Situational Awareness How to gain and maintain it

Gaining and Maintaining Situational Awareness • What is Situational Awareness ? • Gaining Situational Awareness • Gathering data • Understanding • Thinking ahead • Maintaining your Situational Awareness • Improving your Situational Awareness

Why Situational Awareness ? The most frequent causal factor of all accidents (41 percent) was lack of positional awareness in the air.UK CAA Global Fatal Accident Review 1980 -1996 The second most common primary causal factor was “lack of positional awareness in the air,” generally resulting in controlled flight into terrain (CFIT). Flight Safety Digest November 1998–February 1999. Special FSF Report: Killers in Aviation: Good airmanship requires pilots to have good situational awareness; it is the basis for decision making and action.

What is Situational Awareness ? • Gaining Situational Awareness • Gathering data • Understanding • Thinking ahead • Maintaining your Situational Awareness • Improving your Situational Awareness Gaining and Maintaining Situational Awareness

What is Situational Awareness ? • q The perception of elements in the environment, within a volume of time and space, q The comprehension of their meaning and • q The projection of their status in the near future What happened ? Where am I ? What is happening ? What could happen ?

Elements of Situational Awareness Informational Influences Environmental Influences Environmental Awareness System Awareness Crew Actions & Behaviours Mode Awareness Spatial Orientation Personal Influences Organizational Influences Time Horizon Source : Aircrew Incident Reporting Scheme (AIRS) Model

We have to see and sense : PERCEIVE We need to understand what was actually seen: COMPREHEND 1 1 We have to use what we have understood to think ahead : PROJECT 3 3 2 2 Thinking ahead Updating the model Understanding Comparison with mental models Scanning Gathering data Three Levels of Situational Awareness Understanding the situation triggers decision making, action and review Feedback, check, monitor

Assessment of your Situational Awareness qSeek and gather data (sensing) q Combine data into meaningful information (perception) q Understand what the information means (comprehension) q Use your understanding to think ahead and reconsider the plan (projection) Where do we want to go? • How Can We Improve Our Situational Awareness ? Where Are We Now Where have we been? Situational awareness describes the pilot’s knowledge of what is going on around him — where he is, his orientation, what mode the aircraft is in and what other people are doing

Build the mental model by : - scanning the important aspects of our surroundings - comparing them with experiences and knowledge in memory Plane – Control Path – Navigation People – Self and Others Manage – System and Situation Situational Awareness Now Future Plane ANTICIPATE SCAN Path CONSIDER EVALUATE People Gathering data : What to look for and when Evaluate all aspects … Plane, Path, People

What to search for – driven by the need for the information When to look at specific information, phase of flight or event timing Where the information can be found, source and reliability Why the information is relevant to the circumstances Some Tips … • Know what’s important and why • Having more data doesn’t mean more information • Manage the task of scanning • Balance scan time with quality of information • Use procedure-based scans • Avoid interruptions • Don’t rush Gathering data : Learning what to ‘see’

qActively seek new data, use alternative sources where data are not available or difficult to detect qScanning and observing require discipline qBe aware of visual illusions (senses to pick-up g’s - !!??) qDo not ‘expect’ to see something Gathering data : Failing to ‘see’ Sometimes you see only half of the picture but need all of it to understand the situation

Mental models are formed by : qThe combination of knowledge and experience recalled from memory, and qThe perceived information from the real world Memory Recall Training Knowledge Experiences Understanding - Creating the mental model

Real World Searching Plane, Path, People What, When, Where, Why Understanding - Creating the mental model Mental models are formed by : qThe combination of knowledge and experience recalled from memory and qThe perceived information from the real world

qCompare and update our mental models with the real world qWhen matching, understanding of the situation is achieved Memory Mental Recall Model Real World Searching Plane, Path, People What, When, Where, Why Training Knowledge Experiences Understanding – Comparison and Analysis Internal attention External attention Understanding of the situation

Understanding improves with experience : more memory situations (patterns and associations) developed for comparisons qCheck all aspects of the mental model qHow does the situation compare with “the plan” qHow does the situation compare with previous situations WATCH IT ! Most frequent Situational Awareness errors (1/3) occur in situations where the information existed but was left unattended, usually because of distraction WhenUnderstanding : Organize! Control your thinking!

qInformation may be misinterpreted : Poor mental model qFailure to recognize the mental model needs to change qControl thinking process When NOT Understanding : Watch Out ! Question yourself, monitor yourself, be aware of your own situation Do Not Assume. CHECK !

An accurate understanding of the situation is essential for planning ahead Thinking Ahead – Projection • qStay ahead of the airplane : • Anticipating is projecting the current situation into the future • Standard procedures allow you to anticipate what other crew members will do in a given situation • Planning : All crew members build their situation awareness on common planning Thinking ahead prepares for decision making

ThinkAhead Understand Situational Awareness Perceive Situational Awareness & Decision Making Situational Awareness Process AnticipatedResult PlannedAction Feedforward Goal Action Result Feedback Decision Making Loop

qSet time or place markers for rechecking the situation qConfirm that the future situation agrees with the plan qSet priorities regarding the current situation Rules Standard Procedures qSet priorities for thinking Workload Attention Task Thinking Ahead – in practice 1000 ft: Speed < Vref + 20 Check height, flight path, configuration Next: 500 ft, wind / tailwind check 500 ft: Speed < Vref + 20 Check height, flight path Next: Threshold, < Vref +15 Threshold: < Vref + 15, height 50 ft Next: touchdown speed and position

qConsider contingencies qManage awareness of other crewmembers Failing to Think Ahead – “What If ?” Recognize typical threat scenarios: • Rushed briefings and checklists • Rapidly changing weather • Last leg of the day • Runway change • Unstable approach

Monitor, Focus and Direct your Attention Scan: Plane, Path, People = 3Ps Anticipate, Stay Ahead of the Airplane Consider ‘what if’ Maintaining Situational Awareness Focus on the right information at the right time Keeping the priorities straight is a constant challenge Communicate What don't we know that we need to know What do they know that I need to know What do I know that they need to know What are we not paying attention to

Losses in Situational Awareness may occur during DO Ask questions: of your self of others of the situation Clues to the loss of awareness q Periods of high workload q Periods of multi-tasking q Preoccupation with other tasks q Inadequate feedback from crewmembers q Periods of stress q Interactions with automated systems Fly the aircraft: Take over Change automation level Go back to the last stable situation Check navigation, speed, height Plane, Path, People

qGo to the nearest safe, simple and stable situation; follow procedures qAssess the current situation with different data q Go back to the last thing you were sure of q Avoid fixation on a past problem q Take time to think CRUISE FUEL F. USED TOTAL 138 200 45 400 45 300 45 300 42 200 KGx1000 NAVIGATE COMMUNICATE MANAGE FLY FF 2030 2030 2030 2030 KG/H S AIR F MAX SPD VLE =200 KTS 3 LDG ELEV FT AUTO 510 PSI P 10.5 24 CAB V/S FT/MIN 21 TO 50 22 23 21 TO CAB ALT FT 3500 22 OVHT TAT 51 °C GWCG 37.5 % 23 H 56 SAT 36 °C GW 370 000 KG ISA +5 FOB 30 000 KG Active CTL: OAKLAND KZAK M S G -/- RECALL REQUEST EMERG Recovering Situational Awareness The Golden Rules:

Mental resources to control Situational Awareness Mental effort to stay in control of the aircraft Mental resources to control actions Pay attention to mode transitions Monitor and learn from them Recovering Situational Awareness

Preparation Anticipation Improving your Situational AwarenessControl your thinking Gathering and Checking Knowledge Behavior Prepare and review Notice and perceive Understand and interpret Project and think ahead Communicate Manage stress and workload Know your boundaries – how close to the edge of safety do you operate ?

Plan Preflight planning is more than fuel and flight path. Visualize actions, consider all threats, know tasks required for each flight phase, distribute your workload evenly Scan Actively seek information from available reliable sources Clarify anything that seems ambiguous Pay Attention Develop a systematic scanning pattern shifting your attention from the aircraft, to the flight path, to the people around you, then back to the aircraft Anticipate Take time to consider the possibility of something going wrong Constantly ask yourself “what if,” and develop contingency plans Remind Manage interruptions and distractions Set yourself reminders for tasks that may become either forgotten or interrupted Communicate Has your awareness become vague? Communicate, refresh and confirm the information you’ve gathered Evaluate During and after flight, honestly assess your performance based on preflight planning, identify areas where you felt uncertain or confused Improving your Situational Awareness

Mitigate Trap Avoid Relating theory to operation, the legacy of ESSAI: Enhanced Safety through Situation Awareness Integration in training Perceive Situation Awareness Comprehend Threat Management Project

Scan to seek information Know what is important, when, and where to find it Plane, Path, People 3Ps Check understanding Real world Memory Plan ahead What if Cross Check Manage your attention Fly, Navigate, Communicate, Manage the situation …then decide ! Summary :Gain and Maintain Situational Awareness

Situational Awareness