PROCEDURES IN COMPLEX-SYSTEMS - THE AIRLINE COCKPIT

In complex human-machine systems, successful operations depend on an e laborate set of procedures which are specified by the operational mana gement of the organization, These procedures indicate to the human ope rator (in this case the pilot) the manner in which operational managem ent intends to have various tasks done, The intent is to provide guida nce to the pilots and to ensure a sake, logical, efficient, and predic table (standardized) means of carrying out the objectives of the job, However, procedures can become a hodge-podge. Inconsistent or illogica l procedures may lead to noncompliance by operators, Based on a held s tudy with three major airlines, the authors propose a model for proced ure development called the ''Four P's'': philosophy, policies, procedu res, and practices, Using this model as a framework, the authors discu ss the intricate issue of designing flight-deck procedures, and propos e a conceptual approach for designing any set of procedures. The vario us factors, bath external and internal to the cockpit, that must be co nsidered for procedure design are presented, In particular, the paper addresses the development of procedures for automated cockpits-a decad e-long, and highly controversial issue in commercial aviation. Althoug h this paper is based on airline operations, we assume that the princi ples discussed here are also applicable to other high-risk supervisory control systems, such as space flight, manufacturing process control, nuclear power production, and military operations.