Cessna completed an initial round of concentrated human factors training for nearly 1,400 employees at its nine Citation Service Centers located throughout the United States.
The training assists employees in identifying factors that could contribute to errors and arms them with strategies to diminish such errors. After the initial round of classroom training, Cessna has begun recurrent human factors training for all airframe & powerplant (A&P) mechanics, avionics technicians, inspectors and selected administrative personnel.
Topics covered in the human factors training include mistake proofing, personal accountability, fatigue, stress, complacency, communication, awareness, distraction, lack of knowledge, teamwork, resources, pressure, lack of assertiveness, and norms of behavior.
Cessna created the human factors training program in 2006 and is one of the first aviation companies to develop its own in-house training curriculum for maintenance activities. While the training is not yet required by the Federal Aviation Administration, it has been reviewed and approved by the agency. The European Aviation Safety Agency already has Part 145 human factors training requirements, and the Citation Service Centers achieved 100 percent compliance with those requirements in 2007.