On the Design of Flight-Deck Procedures - Intelligent Systems ...

2. THEORY OF THE THREE P'S: PHILOSOPHY, POLICIES, AND PROCEDURES2.1 PROCEDURE DEVELOPMENTProcedures do not fall from the sky. Nor are they inherent in the equipment. Procedures must be basedon a broad concept of the user's operation. These operating concepts blend into a set of work policiesand procedures that specify how to operate the equipment efficiently. There is a link between proceduresand the concepts of operations. We call that link “The Three P's of cockpit operations”: philosophy,policies, and procedures. In this chapter we shall explore the nature of these links, and how an orderly,consistent path can be constructed from the company's most basic philosophy of operation to the actualconduct of any given task. The fourth P, “practices,” will be introduced in the next chapter.2.1.1 Procedures: What and Why?In general, procedures exist in order to specify, unambiguously, six things:1. What the task is.2. When the task is conducted (time and sequence).3. By whom it is conducted.4. How the task is done (actions).5. What the sequence of actions consists of.6. What type of feedback is provided (callout, indicator)The function of a well-designed procedure is to aid flight crews by dictating and specifying aprogression of sub-tasks and actions to ensure that the primary task at hand will be carried out in amanner that is efficient, logical, and also error resistant. Another important function of a cockpitprocedure is that it should promote coordination between agents in the system, be they cockpit crew,cabin crew, ground crew, or others. A procedure is also a form of quality control by management andregulating agencies (e.g., FAA) over the airlines.2.1.2 Standard Operating ProceduresStandard operating procedures are set of procedures that serve to provide a common ground for two orthree individuals (comprising a flight crew) who are usually unfamiliar with each other's experience andtechnical capabilities. So strong is the airline industry's belief in SOPs, it is believed that in a wellstandardized operation, a cockpit crew member could be plucked from the cockpit in mid-flight andreplaced with another pilot qualified in the seat, and the operation would continue safely and smoothly.As mergers and acquisitions of airlines create “mega-carriers,” the process of standardization becomesincreasingly important, costly, and difficult to achieve. The need to render manuals, procedures,policies, and philosophies that are consistent and unambiguous becomes more difficult. This is becausenot all flight crews equally share the corporate history and culture that led to a certain concept ofoperation. Nevertheless, any human operator knows that adherence to SOPs is not the only way that onecan operate equipment. There may be several other ways of doing the same task with a reasonable levelof safety (Orlady, 1989). For example, most carriers require that crews enter the magnetic course of therunway into the heading select window on the mode control panel (MCP) before takeoff. One companyrequires that the first published or expected heading will be entered instead. Good reasons exist for bothprocedures.2.2 PHILOSOPHYThe cornerstone of our approach to the concepts of cockpit procedures is philosophy of operations. Byphilosophy we mean that the airline management determines an over-arching view of how they willconduct the business of the airline, including flight operations. A company's philosophy is largely5