Issue 9 Jan 2009.indd - Ministry of Defence

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support to ops 20 NEWSREEL Duchess tries out Mastiff The Duchess of Gloucester discusses equipment THE Duchess of Gloucester has visited the Contingency Operating Base in Basra to visit troops in theatre. While she was there the Duchess spent time with a Mastiff team learning about the weapons used at the front line. She was also driven in a Mastiff protected vehicle which was recently praised by troops for its safety. It’s a dog’s life in the services! THE Army has 165 military working dogs and the RAF 292 according to the latest fi gures for the number and type of animals kept in each of the services. Dogs are used for many tasks including patrol, explosive search, vehicle search and drug detection. The Army also has 489 horses while the Royal Navy possesses 16 birds of prey. Regimental or unit mascots are also kept by the Army and include two Drum horses, one Indian Black Buck, one Irish Wolfhound, two mountain goats, two Swaledale rams and three Shetland ponies. Pay offers DETAILS of the 2008 industrial and nonindustrial pay offers have been announced. The offers are threeyear awards and will provide shorter pay scales with a three per cent pay step each year for the majority of staff. The aim is to pay the award and arrears in February. More details via the DE&S home page on the defence intranet. The cause is just – cult A ‘just’ culture should exist in the military to help servicemen and women have confidence in leadership, says Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, Chief of the Defence Staff, whose message has relevance for all branches of the services and the MOD. British doctrine identifies three components of fighting power: conceptual, physical and moral. The physical – manpower, equipment, performance, readiness and sustainability – is easy to report against. Conceptual is guided by principles of war. Moral is more difficult to quantify but includes motivation, leadership, organisation, management and supervision. Get the moral component wrong and the impact on fighting power is disproportionate. In aviation terms, for example, such a failure can manifest itself during training through accidents when people make mistakes; or aviators not willing to exploit their aircraft and the nature of their environment to the advantage of the overall campaign. We must strengthen the moral component by addressing the human factor, particularly in the context of where we want people to work, balancing the operational imperative to achieve our mission against the safety culture in which we expect them to operate. This is a difficult balance, even in benign circumstances. Such challenges increase during operations when our men and women work under more pressure to get the job done, and the propensity to make mistakes increases. Human factors are those which drive the way individuals and their interaction with other people, rules, procedures, tools and equipment or with the operating environment, influence the delivery of fighting power. Evidence shows that more than half our accidents and incidents are down to human factors; in other words it is our people who are causing most damage to our fighting capability. We must do something to understand these factors and drive down the number of accidents and incidents. One of the most effective ways of doing this is to promote a culture that encourages open and honest reporting, that allows for a structured investigation of errors which lead to an incident, and that takes ‘just’ action which is fair and measured. This action should address all individual, systemic and environmental issues relating to an incident and allow us to learn from what took place. The actions and feedback will prevent us making the same mistakes again. It is the justness of what we do that gives rise to a ‘just culture.’ To me, such a culture is based on trust. It suggests a working environment where individuals are encouraged to ‘We should have no truck with those who do not do their jobs properly’ Dealing with subordinates fairly contributes to a key element of the moral component and a fundamental strand in the strategy to reduce accidents, which helps to maintain the best operational capability on the front line, says Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup. Right: a member of the Royal Gurkha Rifl es is seen in action in Afghanistan contribute to providing essential safety information and where they are commended for owning up to mistakes as they try to do their best. It should promote a sense that they will be treated fairly and with integrity while we investigate why mistakes have been made to make sure we get things right next time. But it is not a blame-free regime where no-one is ever held to account. Everybody must be clear about where the line must be drawn between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. I judge that the creation and proper maintenance of a just culture will promote confidence in our leadership, lead to more effective management of expensive and scarce resources and help motivate people through the belief they will be treated reasonably and equitably.
ture must be too Do we have a just culture in place? Is there a tolerant and non-punitive environment where mistakes can be admitted freely before they cause an accident? My sense is that it is not as well established as it might be, nor as comprehensive as I would wish. The greatest challenge for senior leaders and those with command responsibility, including me, is to make a just culture a fact, not an aspiration – a challenge critically dependent on our people’s belief in us as leaders. So I look to all of us to promote a just culture by our actions on operations and when undertaking routine work. I want this message to reach all levels in our services. I expect those with command responsibility to be seen to put the just culture into practice, mindful that any culture takes years to evolve but can take minutes to damage. There will be no prizes for those who pay lip service to a just culture and see their own personal success measured by an unmitigated drive for glory with disregard for others. But equally, we should have no truck with negligence or with those who do not do their jobs properly. We can only get the balance right if we understand the context in which human factors come into the equation. To do this we need an open and honest reporting system to encourage full disclosure of errors; we need an impartial investigative structure to understand why mistakes have been made and provide feedback for lessons to be learned. Then we can take the just action which will give our hardworking, professional men and women the confidence they should have in us as leaders. I look to each and every one of you to make a just culture a reality, through your actions and the way in which you deal with your subordinates. In so doing you will be contributing to a key element of the moral component and therefore a fundamental strand in our strategy to reduce accidents and incidents, maintain operational capability and thus contributing to my long-term intent of delivering the highest levels of British fighting power from the intelligent expenditure of precious but necessarily limited government resources. (This is an abridged version of an article which fi rst appeared in DARS AViate magazine). support to ops 21 Audit will ensure DE&S is safe on the roads DE&S IS completing an audit exercise to assure that the organisation is undertaking road and transport safety in accordance with the latest legislation and best practice. An audit questionnaire has been sent to all DE&S Directors General and their health and safety primary focal points for return by the end of next month. If the questions can be answered positively in every case, we can be assured that DE&S is successfully undertaking road and transport safety. Line managers are responsible for checking that all licences and insurances are up to date and the correct categories are shown, as newer style licences do not automatically entitle the user to the same privileges as those issued previously. The questionnaire also details basic checks that have to be performed prior to vehicles being used for the first time and before daily use. These include lights, tyres, oils, waters and that the vehicle fits the requirement for which it has been issued. Further information can be obtained from JSP 800 Volume 5, by calling Health and Safety Policy on 01225 468086 or by e-mailing DES SE CESO- OHSE-HS-OFFICE. Winter driving tips •Vehicles need to be checked thoroughly before starting. This includes checking tyres and tread depth, that all lights are functioning correctly, and that breakdown equipment is available and working. •Consider packing a shovel (especially if the journey includes more remote areas), blankets, sensible walking shoes/boots, high visibility jackets and a fl ask with a hot drink . •Plan a defi nite route and give that route to a nominated contact. Plan regular breaks where you can check in with that person. Discuss any deviation from the plan before your journey or when you contact your nominee so any signifi cant break in contact can be understood as a cause for concern. •Adapt your driving techniques to suit the conditions. Larger gaps between vehicles, slower gear changing techniques and smoother braking are the obvious targets. Slower speed and longer journey times will also help. •Further leafl ets and information can be found on the defence intranet or by calling the Health and Safety Policy offi ce on 01225 468086.
Page 1 and 2: ASTOR into service Bulldog is top d
Page 3 and 4: 14 Inside cover image Every second
Page 5 and 6: Building continues as carriers’ i
Page 7 and 8: New batch on the way as boats prove
Page 9 and 10: AN UPDATED command system has been
Page 11 and 12: Bulldog is top dog! DE&S programme
Page 13 and 14: can’t see this changing in the fu
Page 15 and 16: feature • • To equip and suppor
Page 17 and 18: feature • • To equip and suppor
Page 19: feature • • To equip and suppor
Page 23 and 24: New system keeps Type 23 in command
Page 25 and 26: or RAF painting Surface Finishing S
Page 27 and 28: Ships cluster successes marked Reco
Page 29 and 30: MOD APPRENTICES gathered at Main Bu
Page 31 and 32: Working a different beat DE&S exper
Page 33 and 34: PACE • Performance, Agility, Conf
Page 35 and 36: PROMOTE YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE IN

Issue 9 Jan 2009.indd - Ministry of Defence

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