By Peter Fleming  

When Tristar Aviation instructor Peter Fleming began teaching Human Performance and Limitations (HPL) around a decade ago, he predicted that at some time in the not-too-distant-future, HPL would become one of the most difficult subjects for pilots to pass. He was right. In the following column, Peter asks why students are failing one of the most critical subjects in flight safety.

I was recently told that the HPL exam was the most failed exam in the system. And with various training organisations of the opinion that HPL doesn’t deserve any special attention, students at these organisations have tended to accept this way of thinking. The underlying problem may not have anything to do with the importance of HPL, It might simply be a subject so misunderstood that educators find it less practical than other subjects and difficult to teach. The introduction of Threat and Error Management (TEM) into the mix has obviously added to this train of thought and without the issue being adequately addressed the fail rate is likely to continue.

My feeling is that the introduction of TEM has been somewhat convoluted and perhaps a process that has not been explained well for educators and students alike. At the moment it would seem that students are merely learning by rote, using resources that are not well presented. Unfortunately, this has the tendency to appear as if TEM is merely something to add to an exam rather than being the invaluable asset to flight safety that it actually is.

To stop people from assuming that this is just the way things are, I would like you to take another look at TEM and what it’s all about. If you’re not happy with what you see, then make your feelings known to the powers-that-be and tell them that the information provided needs to be better presented. Remember that HPL and TEM are just part of the continuing growth of what was once more commonly referred to as airmanship. For my part I want to present to you my view of how to understand the TEM model and how it is used.

The TEM model presented to us is a practice model, its purpose is to define an area of study and to provide a framework from which to develop and validate tools and outcomes. The tools are things like audit systems and standard operating procedures. As a pilot you are able to use those tools to work more safely and to provide important feedback to ensure that those tools themselves are actually adequate to achieve the desired outcome.  After you as a pilot fill out an audit or question an operating procedure, a specialist in the model uses the model to identify the area of concern, ensure that the reporting system is valid and then uses it to produce information leading to the creation of a safer work environment.

Another way to look at this is, if you have a computer without an operating system, it is nothing more than a collection of expensive electronics. So we need someone to build an operating system, the most common of which is Windows. That operating system is like our TEM model: it provides a structure and interface so we can do something with those electronics. But that’s not enough. You’re not a Windows system expert so you need to buy a program that allows you, a person with limited technical knowledge, to access and use that system, something like a text editing program that allows you to write, print, check spelling and add pictures. This is like our audit and operating procedures.

Last but certainly not least is you. You have an idea, you write it with your text editor and with the appropriate amount of education you are able to take a photo, insert it, write a blurb and print it out. You can do that with virtually nil or little knowledge of the operating system.

What I see as the problem with TEM in its current presentation to pilots is that it basically asks you to skip the middle or interface section of the process. A little like training you to be a typist and then examining you on how the operating system of your computer makes the computer interface with a printer and then print what you typed. The academics who first put TEM together didn’t just throw it out there for people to use, they developed those tools that are needed to collect the information we need to make aviation safer and the system useable. It took a number of years before the successes could be seen. For you as a student or teacher, it is going to take time and much more education. But TEM has been proving its worth and contribution to aviation.