Human Factor: Situational Violations in the Aviation Industry (Essay Sample)

Situational Violations in the Aviation Industry
MOHAMED SALEH AL-JABERI
Violation is the act of taking an action or an inaction that is contrary to laid down rules and regulations. In most cases, the end result of a violation is infringement of stipulated rules, policies, organizational norms, and procedures. Violations fall under human factors and are classified as ‘unsafe acts’ whereas the alternative group comprise of human errors. The distinguishing factor between violations and errors is, errors are accidental occurrences while violations are done consciously. There are several types of violations one of which is situational violation. Situational violations occur due to environmental and organizational factors that force workers to deviate from a standard procedure in order to meet a pre-determined target (Baron, 2011).
A good example of a situational violation is when a competent technician who is mandated to maintain an aircraft, is aware that his task requires a specific type of tool which is currently unavailable. However, because he is running behind schedule, he improvises and uses an inferior tool and an unapproved procedure to accomplish the task on time. Evidently, the reasons for the technician’s situational violation can be justified by asserting that, he was pressed for time and the required resources for the job were not easily availed to him. Another factor that is a key contributor to situational violation in the aviation industry is, unfavorable working conditions which could force the employees to compromise on their quality of work in order to deliver on their mandate (Baron, 2011).
A report by Line Oriented Flight Training program (LOFT) indicates that the frequency of the violations committed by aviation industry employees is quite high. Moreover, mismanaged violations account for approximately one third of the violations committed. Notably, violations that are mismanaged have a high probability of leading to other violations or errors. However, the report asserts that, data collected from daily operations in the aviation industry suggests, no negative consequences are reported from the violations committed by the employees. This is to state that, most violations do not result into negative consequences, however some violations do. According to Heinrich’s Pyramid, the occurrence of numerous unsafe acts without repercussions increases the odds for negative consequences from a number of the unsafe acts (Penkey & Siddiqui, 2015). Therefore, great emphasis should be put on the hazards that can emanate from situational violations in the aviation industry to guide against tragedy.
One of the measures that can be used to avoid problems resulting from situational violations in the aviation industry is to ensure employees under go a rigorous training on the importance of professionalism and integrity in their various designations. According to CAP 716 and CAP 718 of the Civil Aviation Publication by the U.K Civil Aviation Authority, under the title of ‘Aviation Maintenance Human factors’, there are two important points that should be noted by trainers of a human factor training course. Firstly, most employees are conversant with the manner in which a professional should be behave but often decline to behave professionally due to limiting factors such as inadequate resources, pressure and poor training. Secondly, it is the responsibility of the trainer in a human factor training course to establish whether problems associated with professionalism are on an organizational or individual level. The trainers are then required to customize the training accordingly to ensure that it attains its main objectives (Campbell & Bagshaw, 2002).
In conclusion, Situational violation occurs when an employee intentionally, violates standard organizational procedures in an effort to get a job done. Situational violations may result into negative consequences that could undermine the progress of an organization. Therefore, to avoid problems ensuing from situational violations, aviation employees should undergo proper training on the importance of integrity and professionalism, in line with CAP 716 and CAP 718 of the Civil Aviation Publication by the U.K Civil Aviation Authority.