United States

Safety Standdown USA 2011 Highlights

Safety Standdown 2011 USA lasted four awe-inspiring days October 24th to October 27th in Wichita, KS at the Hyatt Regency hotel. New seminar structure was introduced this year: for the first time the general session and workshops were integrated throughout the week. The change in environment created a more effective learning atmosphere.

According the survey results, the format was very effective and well received. This special anniversary was commemorated by the presence of Safety Standdown Alumni - key people who contributed to the growth and establishment of the program. One alumnus, Bob Agostino, who was instrumental in coordinating the first Safety Standdown 15 years ago, attended and participated in a panel discussion on day three of the seminar.

Honorable Mark Rosekind, another remarkable alumni, has been presenting at Safety Standdown since 2002. This year he kept the audience awake with a module on Managing Fatigue in Aviation Operations. Ironically the lecture was scheduled at 3:30pm-5pm, which according to Dr. Rosekind, is the body’s resting period under circadian clock, but there were no yawns in the audience with this presenter. The presentation can be viewed on the NTSB website www.ntsb.gov/doclib/speeches/rosekind/Rosekind_102511.pdf

Dr. Tony Kern- an alumni who created the Airmanship Model-the foundation of the program, has been presenting with Safety Standdown since 2001. This year Dr. Kern took his presentation to the next level with pioneering a professionalism movement by raising the bar and clearly defining “professionalism” and its elements. Over 260 people signed the Convergent Performance aviation professionalism pledge. To learn more, please visit their website at  www.convergentperformance.com

The Hospitality desk checked in over 470 attendees providing coveted T-shirts, badges, general session notebooks and this year, a copy of Dr. Tony Kern’s newly released book, Going Pro, the Deliberate Practice of Professionalism. This year the process was upgraded to online registration where attendees were able to personally select the workshops they desired to take during the seminar. The Monday night welcome reception provided attendees an opportunity to informally chat and compare safety practices between companies over delicious snacks and cocktails.

Rick Rowe, Manager Safety Standdown Programs introduced the newly developed internal Safety Standdown ambassador program with a pinning ceremony for the initiated Ambassadors. The program provides formalized tools for Bombardier employees to share and communicate Safety Standdown programs. The seminar officially kicked off on Tuesday October 25th with opening remarks from today’s leaders in aviation: Helene Gagnon, Vice President, Public Affairs, Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility, Bombardier Aerospace; Doug Carr, Vice President of Safety and Regulation, NBAA; Honorable Chris Hart, Vice Chairman NTSB; and John Allen, Director Flight Standards, FAA. Helene Gagnon noted, “This week we are here to listen, to talk, and to learn more about how we can increase air safety by reducing accidents caused because of human error.”

William Shatner entertained the Wednesday night dinner banquet attendees with personal flying anecdotes. “Up in the air I went, followed by the camera plane. My radio ceased working and they had forgotten to tell me to slow down. We were there to film me alone in the plane and the follow plane never even got close to me. I was scared as well. The maneuvers were fine but the landing……” Earlier in the day William Shatner and Gene Cernan, Captain Apollo 17, the last man on the moon had a very animated discussion regarding Safety Standdown helping professionals learn about managing human error. Captain Cernan noted, “As much flying as I have done in my life you never know it all. I always leave here (Safety Standdown seminar) re-examining myself in terms of how do I approach safety.” Safety Standdown strives to address hot topics in aviation by aligning presentations with NTSB's Most Wanted List and NBAA top 5 Safety Risk Areas or Business Aviation.

This year Vice-Chairman Christopher Hart tackled the issues of improving runway safety with his module Collaboration for Runway Safety. Vice-Chairman Hart noted that “For commercial aircraft, (’95 – ’08), of 1429 accidents involving major or substantial damage, 431 (30%) were runway related”. Requirements for Safety Management Systems was addressed in a workshop led by Honorable Robert Sumwalt, member NTSB as well as Richard Komarniski’s, Grey Owl Aviation Consultants workshop on Safety Management Systems for Maintenance.

Returning alumni presenter Dr. Jerry Berlin presented his aviation psychology module on Psychological Variables Affecting Safe Flight. The Seminar came to its finale late Thursday afternoon with prize drawing for the Omega Watch and other exciting items and training packages.

Even though the seminar is over, the challenge of personal accountability in safety never stops. Our team is taking Safety Standdown from an annual event to a year-round program. Visit our website for videos and pictures from previous seminars, check out this year’s opening remarks, and feel free to share your stories and network with other Safety Standdown attendees.