Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. -- The Human Performance division focuses on the human contribution to safety and mishaps. The team includes specialists in aerospace physiology, epidemiology, medicine, aviation and human performance psychology, as well as safety, aviation and maintenance experts to develop and implement proactive safety tools for mishap prevention. The division centers its efforts on the human factors involved in mishap investigations, safety culture assessments, and emerging research and analysis to enable the safest outcomes.
Human Performance is an essential part of DAF Safety because humans are always in the loop. They are involved from ideas and design to creation, implementation and action. When something goes wrong or there is a mishap, a human must assess, diagnosis, and fix whatever issue may exist in the system. Humans can also be a liability to operations. Knowledge of human tendencies, decision-making, biases, and behaviors must all be incorporated by the Human Performance division to optimize the human-system interaction.
“Because the human contribution to aviation and space operations is so complex, it requires a wide variety of expertise to address all the factors from different perspectives,” said Maj. Mark Noakes, Human Performance division deputy. “Having the breadth of knowledge from multiple career fields helps us to consider behaviors, decision-making, and human strengths or limitations in the context of aviation and maintenance jobs.”
SEH provides human factors curriculum in all Safety University courses for safety professionals, physiologists, psychologists, medical doctors, and anyone involved in mishap investigations.
These trainings provide foundational instruction on accident causation models and investigation principles. They include how to avoid biases in investigations, safety culture, human error, investigation philosophy, as well as consideration of the DoD Human Factors Analysis and Classification System.
SEH also manages the Aviation and Human Factors Psychology Fellowship.
After completion of the Aviation and Human Factors Psychology Fellowship, psychologists serve a 3-year utilization tour in one of several different roles. These positions are embedded in performance optimization teams, flying units, MAJCOM safety offices, and other organizations. Aviation Psychologists provide expert consultation and analysis in addition to valuable assessment, training, and coaching. They maintain clinical privileges and provide evaluation and counseling in a clinical role.
SEH also offers two important proactive safety tools to commanders, the Air Force Combined Mishap Reduction System survey and Organizational Safety Assessments. AFCMRS is a safety culture survey tool that allows commanders to assess the safety of their units by anonymously surveying members’ attitudes and perceptions. Surveys can be conducted at the squadron, group, wing, numbered Air Force, and major command levels.
While AFCMRS is a standardized survey to get a baseline for a unit’s safety culture, OSAs are in-person, follow-on surveys. Both safety surveys are administered by a team of subject matter experts who deliver in-depth debriefs for commanders.
“OSAs dive deeper into issues identified in AFCMRS and other special interest items of the command and safety teams,” said Noakes. “The Human Performance division works together with unit leadership to determine the focus and scope of the assessment to proactively identify hidden safety concerns, verify that command has an accurate pulse on the safety culture, and offer Airmen and Guardians across the ranks an opportunity to share their perceptions in a confidential and anonymous forum led by a third party.”
Currently, the only capability for safety culture assessments in the Air and Space Forces exists in SEH. The surveys assess unit members’ perceptions of processes, resources, organizational climate, and supervision. Knowing the concerns on unit members’ minds helps commanders address potential issues before it becomes a vulnerability in the safety system.
AFCMRS surveys can be requested through afcmrs.org in the Set-Up Unit Survey tab. If a command team is interested in an OSA or wants more information about AFCMRS surveys, they can reach out to afsec.hp.workflow@us.af.mil.
OSAs require more set-up and logistics to coordinate on-site visits and ensure participation from a representative sample of the unit.
The DAF does not want mishaps to occur and actively works to avoid them. However, when they do occur, it is important to look at the human contribution to the mishap sequence to help identify vulnerabilities in the system. SEH works to enhance the operational capabilities of units across the Air and Space Forces. Flight, occupational, space, weapons, and support units are safer because of the focus on the role humans play in the mishap chain. Good risk management practices, operational discipline, critical thinking, and thoughtful processes can help to minimize vulnerabilities in the complex human-system dynamic.
For more information on the Human Performance division, AFCMRS, or OSAs, please visit: https://www.safety.af.mil/Divisions/Human-Performance-Division/