Take a Look At Communication
More often than not, we tend to take aviation speak for granted. This often happens in our industry which can create misunderstandings and even mishaps. Think of the last time when dealing with an aircraft issue how you may have thought, everyone understands the issue in the same way, only to realize they don’t.
Communication in today’s aviation is paramount. I really want to say: “Thank you Captain Obvious.” No really, it is and continues to be “the” challenge for our industry. Communication reaches into so many facets of our daily work lives. And yes, like everything else these days, it is becoming even more complex and challenging. To communicate well and achieve understanding which will drive action is not so easy these days. Consider the vast number of elements impacting our communications. Here are just a few:
Generational Interpretation
Generational interpretation of what our work is or what our job is can have vast differences. Does everyone at work see it the same way? If we don’t stop and discuss this and communicate a common understanding of what this means, we may have disconnects and misunderstandings. Just this issue alone, creates a whole slew of issues and challenges. If we don’t pause and respect this challenge it will make our lives miserable. Do you know how many times (when working with our customers) we hear, “but I told them exactly what we needed to do,” “why are they still doing it wrong?” or “why haven’t they done it at all?” The problem often is not them or you. It is our differences which create the challenge to communicate. Something as simple as: “we need this done right away” can be interpreted to mean something different for almost everyone. Believe me I have heard the debate on the shop floor. We can take that simple communication about completion time and multiply it by 1,000 when we get into even more complex discussions regarding the job at hand and aircraft issue.
Range of Capabilities
The range of capabilities and aircraft technicians backgrounds, skill sets, and knowledge are more varied, today than ever before. This again, is another challenge for communication and trying to achieve cohesive and sometimes comprehensive understanding of technical issues. So the human factor is of greater importance when it comes to communication.
Impact of Technology
Technology is impacting our communication. This is due to the fact that there are so many choices and types of communication channels. It used to be we would all get on the shop floor and there would be foreman telling us what we need to do. There weren’t a lot of ambiguous issues or choices. Clarity was easier to achieve with minimal communication. Today there are many ways to do things. And just as many opinions about how.
Technician Shortage
Shortage of qualified technicians is another recent element which is really causing issues for our industry and further challenging us when it comes to communications. I recently visited with an aircraft owner who hired one technician to take care of the airplane. So far, nothing unusual. The difference was that he hired someone who for many years has been fixing the owner's cars. Wow, I thought. That’s different. But after asking a few questions, I understood the logic, I don’t agree with it, but I understand it. The aircraft owner didn’t care that the mechanic didn’t have any aviation background. He really wasn’t expecting him to fix things anyway, just manage the process of maintaining the aircraft which is a different skill set. Can you imagine the conversation with this guy and the service center?
There are most likely a number of other elements we could site and discuss as the “today” challenges of communication. However, for the purposes of this article, this will be a good start. Because, what I would ask you to do is take the four elements above and now apply it to international activity and dealing with issues of aircraft maintenance in other countries. It would tenfold the challenge. Here are a few:
International Challenges
In an international environment you need to be concerned about the same issues of interpretation only with the added complication of language barriers and cultural differences. Assuming everyone understands you in an English-speaking country is already a challenge today. Imagine throwing a different language into the equation. All of what we talked about above is exasperated in aircraft operations. You have different languages, cultures, governments, and regulations to deal with that you may not understand.
Relax, it’s not really that horrible. We see success stories all around in concurring today’s challenges. The trick to being successful with all of the above is one step. Start with that we agree this is a new landscape. Admit and agree that human interaction and communication today is probably a much bigger factor in driving your success or failure in the aviation industry. Once you embrace this challenge as reality, you will begin to come up with solutions and ways to address the hurdles. That is the main obstacle for all of us. Get your heads wrapped around this phenomenon and you know what will follow! Good luck out there.
