Human error can and does affect everyone and anyone as we go about our daily lives and activities. Only by learning from our errors and mistakes, can we improve and prevent an incident or accident.
It is vital to the safety and welfare of our organisation, employees - on the ground and in the air - and most importantly, the passengers who travel on our aircraft every day, that we openly report mistakes and errors when they occur.
Engineering, Human Factors and Technical Investigations (EHF&TI) is a dedicated department within Emirates Engineering tasked to help achieve and rigorously maintain the highest safety standards possible.
EHF&TI is responsible for understanding how and why incidents and errors occur during aircraft maintenance and support functions within Emirates Engineering and for instigating remedial change.
Error investigations are undertaken using a number of industry recognised investigative techniques, with the aim of establishing the issues behind an event and not for the purpose of apportioning blame (unless there is identifiable deliberate deviation from established rules or a conscious disregard of approved/certified practices and/or procedures).
When an error is identified either in an Engineering Safety Report (ESR), Air Safety Report (ASR), Cabin Safety Report (CSR) or other to the Quality Assurance Section it is investigated in collaboration with the people involved, using the Boeing Maintenance Error Decision Aid (MEDA) in conjunction with other recognised investigative aids.
Detailed reports of all completed investigations are circulated to our section managers for them to discuss the issues with their staff and to correct or reinforce practises and procedures in order to prevent their reoccurrence. The reports and any resulting recommendations are published both internally and externally on the Emirates Engineering EHF&TI website.
The EHF&TI department is also responsible for the management of “Sentinel” – a database of completed Engineering Safety Reports. Sentinel is employed to help identify reoccurring errors, and failures in practises, procedures and/or components. An agenda of significant issues is prepared quarterly for submission to a meeting of the Emirates Engineering Safety Board, where senior engineering managers discuss and establish strategies for their remedial action.
When an incident involves flight and/or cabin crew, EHF&TI works closely with Emirates Group and the Flight Safety section, conducting parallel investigations. It also has close working relationships with the regulators, manufacturers and vendors - reporting issues and working with them to achieve change through regulatory, design and production process improvements.