The Impact of a Legally Defined Just Culture on Voluntary Reporting of Safety Information
Abstract
Abstract. The aim of the present study was to examine commercial pilots’ reporting behavior and confidence in their airlines’ just culture. In pursuit of this aim, 539 European-based pilots participated in the study by answering an online questionnaire. The results are compared with an earlier study comprising Australian-based pilots. The results reveal that 84% and 57% of the European and Australian pilots, respectively, trust their airlines’ just culture. When comparing reporting behaviors, it was found that 53% of the Australian pilots and 33% of the European pilots stated they had failed to report, or had under-reported, safety information in their airlines’ safety management system. A distinct difference with the aviation regulatory backdrop that the two pilot groups operate within is the legal legitimization of just culture in European law. It is unknown whether this difference influences confidence in just culture or has an effect on reporting behavior.
References
2012). Escaping from American intelligence: culture, ethnocentrism and the Anglosphere. International Affairs, 88(5), 1009–1028. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2346.2012.01116.x
(2009). Rules and self-rules: effects of variation upon behavioral sensitivity to change. The Psychological Record, 59(4), 641–670. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03395685
(2012). Final Report on the accident on 1st June 2009 to the Airbus A330-203 registered F-GZCP operated by Air France flight AF447 Rio de Janeiro – Paris. https://www.bea.aero/en/investigation-reports/notified-events/detail/accident-to-the-airbus-a330-203-registered-f-gzcp-and-operated-by-air-france-occured-on-06-01-2009-in-the-atlantic-ocean/
. (2013). The structure of paranoia in the general population. British Journal of Psychiatry, 202(6), 419–427. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.112.119032
(2018). From individual behaviour to system weaknesses: The re-design of the Just Culture process in an international energy company. A case study. Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 55, 267–282. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jlp.2018.06.015
(2005). Dual attitudes about trust in safety culture. The Business Review, 4(2), 92–98.
(2016a). CAAC conducts administrative appointment with China Eastern. http://www.caac.gov.cn/en/XWZX/201606/t20160620_38565.html
. (2016b). CAAC made administrative appointment with Emirates Airline. http://www.caac.gov.cn/en/XWZX/201606/t20160613_38337.html
. (2016c). CAAC made administrative appointment with Okay Airways. http://www.caac.gov.cn/en/XWZX/201606/t20160613_38335.html
. (2016d). CAAC made an administrative appointment with Xiamen Air. http://www.caac.gov.cn/en/XWZX/201606/t20160613_38312.html
. (2016e). CAAC seriously handles “10.11” incident. http://www.caac.gov.cn/en/XWZX/201611/t20161101_40438.html
. (2017a). CAAC conducts administrative appointment with China Postal Airlines. http://www.caac.gov.cn/en/XWZX/201708/t20170803_45767.html
. (2017b). CAAC conducts administrative appointment with Emirates Airlines. http://www.caac.gov.cn/en/XWZX/201706/t20170622_44942.html
. (2017c). Okay Airways former chief safety officer listed in the industry’s safety management credit blacklist. http://www.caac.gov.cn/en/XWZX/201703/t20170328_43332.html
. (2020). Decisions – suspensions and cancellations. https://www.casa.gov.au/enforcement-action/standard-page/decisions-suspensions-and-cancellations
. (2021). Our regulatory philosophy. https://www.casa.gov.au/about-us/who-we-are/our-regulatory-philosophy
. (2016). Just culture’s “line in the sand” is a shifting one; an empirical investigation of culpability determination. Safety Science, 86, 258–272. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2016.03.012
(2015). Integrating human factors training into safety management and risk management: A case study from aviation maintenance. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Part O: Journal of Risk and Reliability, 229(3), 266–274. https://doi.org/10.1177/1748006X15572498
(2016). “Just culture”: Improving safety by achieving substantive, procedural and restorative justice. Safety Science, 85, 187–193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2016.01.018
(2014). Modelling the reporting culture within a modern organisation. Chemical Engineering Transactions, 36, 589–594.
(2006). EAM 2 / GUI 6 – Establishment of ‘just culture’ principles in ATM safety data reporting and assessment. https://www.eurocontrol.int/articles/safety-and-human-performance-library
. (2020). Ex-post evaluation of regulation (EU) no. 376/2014 on the reporting, analysis and follow-up of occurrences in civil aviation. European Union. https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/2a149e57-3b62-11eb-b27b-01aa75ed71a1
. (2004). Organisational trust: The keystone to patient safety. Quality and Safety in Health Care, 13(1), 56–61. https://doi.org/10.1136/qshc.2003.007971
(1993). Constructing questions for interviews and questionnaires: Theory and practice in social research. Cambridge University Press.
(2004). Roadmap to a just culture. https://flightsafety.org/files/just_culture.pdf
. (2020, October 28). Implement just culture in the Swiss legal system: A dream or a real opportunity? Paper presented at the Eurocontrol just culture across industries webinar, Online, Luxembourg-Kirchberg. https://youtu.be/XrrKm-6Fu_I
(2001). Culture’s consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations (2nd ed.). Sage Publications.
(2003). Applying the lessons of high risk industries to health care. Quality and Safety in Health Care, 12(Suppl. 1), i7–i12.
(2007). Implementing a safety culture in a major multi-national. Safety Science, 45(6), 697–722. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2007.04.005
(2016). Safety report 2015. https://www.iata.org/en/publications/safety-report/
. (2017). Safety report 2016 (53rd ed.). https://www.iata.org/en/publications/safety-report/
. (2018). Safety report 2017 (54th ed.). https://www.iata.org/en/publications/safety-report/
. (2019). Safety report 2018 (55th ed.). https://www.iata.org/en/publications/safety-report/
. (2020). Safety report 2019 (56th ed.). https://www.iata.org/en/publications/safety-report/
. (2001). Organizational paranoia: Origins and dynamics. Research in Organizational Behavior, 23, 1–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-3085(01)23002-0
(2020). Influences on flight crew reporting behaviour: Trust and fear of reprisal (Doctoral dissertation). University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
(2018). Australian flight crew's trust in voluntary reporting systems and just culture policies. Aviation Psychology and Applied Human Factors, 8(1), 11–21. https://doi.org/10.1027/2192-0923/a000131
(2004). Error reduction, patient safety and institutional ethics committees. The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 32(2), 358–364. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-720x.2004.tb00482.x
(2020, October 27). Just culture from a judiciary perspective. Paper presented at the Eurocontrol Just culture across industries: Continuing to learn from each other webinar, Online, Luxembourg-Kirchberg. https://youtu.be/ruZ-668f8QU
(2012). Safety culture: building and sustaining a cultural change in aviation and healthcare. Asghate Publishing.
(2019). The just culture principles in aviation law: Towards a safety-orientated approach. Springer.
(2021). Air France and Airbus face Paris trial call over deadly crash. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-airfrance-crash-france-trial-idUSKBN29W20X
. (2013). Survey design: To ask or not to ask? That is the question. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 56(8), 1159–1164. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/cit005
(2011). Final report no. 2136 concerning the serious incident – airprox involving Airbus A320-214 aircraft registration HB-IJH, operated by Swiss International Airlines and Airbus A320-214 aircraft, registration HB-IJW operated by Swiss International Airlines on 15 March 2011 at Zurich Airport. https://www.sust.admin.ch/inhalte/AV-berichte/2136_e.pdf
. (2012). Final report no. 2203 concerning the serious incident (near collision) involving Saab 2000 aircraft, registration HB-IZG operated by Darwing Airline SA and Sportcruiser aircraft, registration HB-WYC on 22 August 2012 at Zurich Airport. https://www.sust.admin.ch/inhalte/AdueV-berichte/2203_e.pdf
. (2013). Final report no. 2211 concerning the serious incident (Airprox) involving Boeing B737-800 aircraft, EI-ENK operated by Ryanair and Airbus A319-111 aircraft, CS-TT operated by Air Portugal on 12 April 2013 20 NM south-east of Zurich Airport. https://www.sust.admin.ch/inhalte/AV-berichte/2211_e.pdf
. (2020). How perception of just culture affects pilot performace in Chinese airlines (Master’s thesis). City University of London.
(2014). Compliance regimes and barriers to behavioral change. Governance, 27(2), 243–265. https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12032
(1999). Aviation social science: research methods in practice. Ashgate.
(2000). A model of dual attitudes. Psychological Review, 107(1), 101–126. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.107.1.101
(2020). (f)Lex avionica; How soft law serves as an instrumental mediator between professional norms and the hard law regulation of European civil aviation maintenance. Safety Science, 121, 54–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2019.08.037
(