Safety SWOT Analysis

[James Shaw]

As a Safety Professional I am always looking for ways to improve or maintain a robust safety program. One of the best and simplest tools to use is a SWOT Analysis. The SWOT Analysis (Strengths/Weaknesses/Opportunities/Threats), can provide great information and feedback from those members and others who are part of the safety system.

I would like to get some feedback about the CAP Safety Program from the field. There are a few things to remember when doing this:

1)This is about the Program and not the people involved. Do not put anyone's name in your comments please.
2)This is your opinion and not someone elses work. Please put your feedback only.
3)Be professional about it, even if you have strong disdain make sure you are civil.

Please follow the format below so I can use the information presented.
A)CAP Safety Program Strengths
B)CAP Safety Program Weaknesses
C)CAP Safety Program Opportunities
D)CAP Safety Program Threats

Additional input you can provide as well.
A)Is safety only important on paper to check the box and move on?
B)People tout safety as important but do we really behave in that manner?
C)We have very few Mission Safety Officers overall. Why is that?
D)Is the Safety Recognition program effective?
E)Is the Safety Officer training effective?
F)What is your opinion of the Annual Safety Survey?
G)Is safety inconvenient?
H)What can we do to get more safety officers?

Just for thought......would you put your loved ones in harms way because safety can be inconvenient?

As a Safety Professional I have done my own SWOT and want to see if others have the same or similar thoughts. This is not about the individuals that may be involved but about the process overall. That is the most important thing to remember about this inquiry.

If you do not wish to make your comments and thoughts public you can PM them to me and they will stay confidential.

This is my inquiry........no one elses.

Some safety wisdom: "Wisdom is not a product of schooling, but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it" Albert Einstein

[lordmonar]

Lt Col Shaw, 

I thank you for your service and dedication to the CAP safety program.
I know that all you safety professionals have our and our organization's best interests in mind.

But......CAP SAFETY......sucks.

1.  Streghts......it is easy to report safety incidents using E-services.
2.  Weakness.....Too much reliance on "safety education" and "Compliance" mentality.
3.  Opportunities.......None
4.  Threats.....

a.  Safety is important to me.....it is my butt......but the SAFETY PROGRAM does not make me any more safer...it is just a paper exercise.
b.  Yes, No, Maybe so.  ORM is important.....not the safety program.
c.  No one is making take the training.    Need more MSO's.....identify your safety officers and tell them to get trained.  Also....why a separate ES rating for Mission Safety?  Kind of stupid if you ask me.
d. Who cares?  Effective in what way?  If you are not a safety officer what does the recognition program do for me?
e.  Again.....define effective?
f.  It is okay....but is it necessary?   Why only annual?  Should not the safety officer be doing this each meeting each activity?
g.  The safety PROGRAM is inconvenient.....safety (ORM) is not.
h.  Why do we need more safety officers?

To me.......safety is important because I don't want to get hurt.  But no amount of safety education, monthly briefings, pre-flight safety briefings are going to keep people safe.   Dumb people will still do dumb things, and some times Sh*t happens.

[a2capt]

The online reporting system is an interesting beast.

It's basically an alerting system. It alerts everyone. Whoever is at the top is probably getting 16 more messages right now.

We've been told over and over, starting with every bandaid , that it all gets reported. Seems excessive doesn't it? Then someone takes these statistics and says "my, we are an unsafe organization, we need to crack down on these units going crazy!"

Yet in the same dictation we've got them saying "don't report anything until you reach one of these people, so they are not surprised when they get an alert!"

So they want an alert that an alert is going to come out via the alerting system?

Threats: You're darned if you do, darned if you don't.

[lordmonar]

I don't mind the reporting every bandaid......let the wing safety officer make the call if an incedent crosses the threshold for reporting.

As for "calling"......again same thing...if the safety officer and wing CC want to get a bunch of phone calls....not too onerous.

I don't wait for phone call before I start the report (assuming I have access to eservices right there)....but that's just me.

[SARDOC]

You should report any and all injuries or CAP related Illnesses.  Even if it's a minor bandaid.  If that small scratch becomes infected and requires hospitalization you'll wish you've reported it sooner. you should also be reporting Near misses as well.  If you've seen something that could have resulted in accident or injury you should report it.  It allows those that create a safety plan to mitigate risks to tailor training to improve the way we do business.

It also protect out organization and our members.

I agree with Lordmonar, Our current mentality of the monthly safety brief is overkill.  I think this could easily be accomplished by just conducting a basic mission oriented safety brief and ORM assessment. 

[SunDog]

Sir,

Strengths: The program appears to be effective with Cadets.

Weakneses: Redundant, repetitive, and not much credibility with Seniors. And even less with aircrew. I do not nead to hear, one more time, about not taxiing into a fixed object. If I never have a taxi accident, the safety program won't be the reason. And if I do, it won't be intentional! So endless, annual, babbling about it is wrthless. Or that getting wet and cold can cause hyperthermia. Or that lightening can kill. We. All. Already. Have. Heard. It . Before.

Oppurtunities: Tap the membership to give us worthwhile info; how quickly can a thunderstorm form in a block of clear air? How long will an engine run after the oil pressure drops to zero? Which avionics use the most power, if I have to shed load?

Five minutes for the thunder bumper, 6-9 minutes for zero oil pressure. And the transponder. None of that info was acquired via CAP.

Threats: CAP safety elevates the trivial to the essential. So it ALL becomes trivial in SM eyes. The program has lost the audience. Check the post dates on this blog. We aren't interested anymore.

Safety matters to me, and of course I would't risk a loved one to avoid inconvenience. But I do routinely risk myself, Cadets, family members, and other people.

We aren't here to be safe; we are here to do things, and as safely as is reasonbly possible. Is ORM valuable? Sure. All the time? No, defintely not! On a severe clear VFR day, it steals time better spent on things that are valuable - another look at the chart for obstructions, a quick call to the pilot lauching into sn adjacent grid, etc.

Understand, we all know when our time us being wasted. And the prgram is compromised when it's credibilty is undermined.

I don't have an opinion about the Safety Officer situation, and if I ever heard about the annual survey, I must have forgotten about it.

Maybe less is more? Maybe the program should have a tighter focus? Use less of our time, and use it for real info sharing, and high priority topics?

[arajca]

As with many things in CAP, the effectiveness of the Safety program is locally determined. In my squadron, our safety officer is great at presenting topics that are timely and pertinent. We have a winter briefing in Oct/Nov and a summer briefing in May/June. If there is a trend developing, it is discussed. Our SE not only looks at CAP trends but also teen trends as published by various public health organizations and as relayed by his own observations. If there is a serious incident that makes the safety newsletter, it is discussed.

No one, I hope, thinks aircrews intentionally have accidents, but many occur due to complacency. A reminder about it, provided it's not every month unless it's happening every month, is not a bad thing.

[SunDog]

Ah, well said on the effectiveness being locally determined. And complacency does kill, can't disagree with you. My frustration is with the time budget; it has limits, and there are a lot of things that aren't "bad", but steal time from worthier endeavors.

I think the safety culture (and not just in CAP) is driven by skewed metrics. Zero accidents or mishaps should not be a goal. Doing things safely as possible should be, for sure. But unforecast weather happens, tires blow, engines fail, lights shine in eyes on dark ramps, and kids horse play. There will be losses, casualities, and injuries. There is a point of diminishing returns. Our threshold may be too high now. If we ever get through a year with no incidents, we likely didn't do anything worthwhile.

A Cadet's mom asked me if an 'O' ride was perfectly safe. I told her the truth - Little Johnny had a very, very high proabilty of coming back intact. But there was a slight chance he would not. The machine could break. We could collide with another aircraft. Or I could make a hideous mistake. She said she didn't want him to fly unless it was absolutley safe.  She did drive away in Volvo.

Rant complete. CAP flying appears to have a somehat better record than GA as a whole. We fly multi-pilot more, with more frequent check rides, and usually in familiar airspace and airports. I can't say the Safety Program is a main driver. But I can't say it isn't, either. I know I do feel rushed, and annoyed, at ORM when its value is limited  (severe VFR), and cramming a silly on-line safety class into my sleep or prep time. Mostly, frequently, neither adds to my safe flying, and they sometimes add some risk.