Ground Support Worldwide

JUN-JUL 2016

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22 GROUND SUPPORT WORLDWIDE JUNE/JULY 2016 INTERNATIONAL in various companies the concept of open reporting and just safety culture are novel concepts and are not well understood by the executive and operational manage- ment levels. Therefore, open reporting is not practised for fear of repercussion by operational staff, who fear retribution, pressure and even the possibility of losing their employment. As a recent achievement Anichini men- tions of having facilitated the evolution of "just" safety cultural thinking amongst the numerous stakeholders at a major international airport, serving more than 90 airlines and 50 million passengers in Southeast Asia, by using simple techniques both from the top down and the bottom up. "This has led to increased understand- ing of just culture, true engagement from airport authorities, reduction in near-miss event on the ground not to mention signif- icant reductions in injuries, incidents and accidents" Anichini says. Ramp Safety Communication The communication of safety hazards is never easy, and in this respect Asia is no different from the rest of the world. Accord- ing to Busk, direct reports in the ramp envi- ronment, especially if on paper, are quite rare. As far as the actual reporting modali- ties is concerned, in most cases a team leader highlights deviations at meetings. Normally local service providers do not encourage anonymous reporting and occasionally staff members highlight the concerns to relevant managers or team leaders verbally. Reporting against department heads or the company is unusual, he says. The organisational studies researcher believes that confdential or anonymous reporting mechanisms are diffcult to gen- erate effective outcomes in organisations in Asia. "According to my research many East Asian frms have this kind of western style reporting mechanism," she says. "I would like to point out, however, that a participant to one of my research interviews even said that these kinds of reporting mechanisms are completely useless. Despite duties of anonymity or confdentiality people may still think that, for example, their hand writing will be analysed: there is indeed a huge fear of sanction." Anichini adds that in many Southeast Asian countries language barriers may exist for multiple reasons, such as imported labour whose native language is not the one practised in the host country as well as cul- tural differences in the way key messages are passed on, which are to be communi- cated from the top of the hierarchy and not by peers at the same level. "Moreover some staff in various South- east Asia locations may not have the same level of safety mindedness as other regions and therefore does not assimilate the safety hazard being communicated as a real danger," Anichini says. "An example that comes to mind is when people drive motorcycles without using a helmet or drive against traffc. This is an unthink- able practice in many parts of the world, not only because it is illegal and punish- able, but because of the inherent risks in the event of an accident. Clearly, when a person is raised in an environment where preventive safety is not always practiced and rules are not enforced, it will be a chal- lenge to explain that whilst working at the airport in ground operations, certain safety precautions must be taken systematically to avoid injury, accidents and the safety of fight." Another Foundation If employees in Asia are not culturally inclined to report, then SMS implementa- tion effort must be based upon mechanisms other than the western system of reporting. Busk stresses that SMS has been widely introduced in China and that managers and companies in aviation are very serious about safety matters and normally take corrective actions accordingly. "There are working procedures for ana- lysing deviations and corrective measures taken including management participation," Busk says. "Competent bodies such as the CAAC have emphasised safety signifcantly for both fight and ground activities. The penalty for non-conformities are severe and top management may be dismissed depend- ing on the situation." He points out that, while there are some limitations about staff making offcial RETAINING EMPLOYEES Because of the higher respect for authority inherent to Asian cultures, one might think that the aircraft ground handling industry in Asia has higher employee re- tention rates, i.e. employees tend to be more "loyal." According to Maurizio Anichini, a ground oper- ations consultant based in South- east Asia, however, retention rates in Southeast Asia fuctuate as much and perhaps more than in the other regions of the world. "With unemployment rates in Thailand, as an example, near 1 percent, it is to be expected that employees will change an entry-level position more easily and more frequently," he says. "Employee retention is not neces- sarily linked to the respect for the 'authority' or hierarchy. Staff who are well treated are more likely to stay in the company for a longer period irrespective of the region." As a comparison Anichini men- tions that when he was working in Switzerland on ground opera- tions, the turnover rate for front line staff reached 50 percent. "In other countries, where the unemployment rate is consider- ably higher than the fast growing economies of Southeast Asia, staff are more likely to retain their positions," he stresses.

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