Leader’s Blog

Technical Skills will always be a core component of every professional aviator’s career success. At one time (long ago, now) it was typical to view technical skills as the sole factor in determining a pilot’s or crewmember’s value to the team. History – and accident statistics – has now proven that an interdisciplinary team of aviators are in a position to tackle more complex problems, meet with more diverse challenges, and be more aware of the hazards that constantly threaten the safety margins of pilots and crewmembers everywhere.

Over two decades ago this observation was the spark that ignited the human factors discipline that transformed how aviators perform in cockpits, on flight decks, in mission compartments and maintenance hangars around the world. The Canadian Air Force adopted Human Performance in Military Aviation as the system of non-technical skills which would complement the Crew Resource Management discipline applied in other flying organizations, civil and military alike. The large-scale introduction of highly automated aircraft into Canadian Air Force operations begun this century heightened the role of human performance in the day to day work of Air Force aviators, and the HPMA program embraced the challenge of putting in place a “system upgrade” that would match the demands of these new technology-centric weapon systems. The ASTRA project, led by the new Air Force Standards Organization has been overseeing this system upgrade, and this ASTRA update is intended to provide all forces with an update of this vital component of the overall ASTRA project.

In the late summer and fall of 2010, ASTRA resources were called upon to investigate the possibility of merging the corporate knowledge of the HPMA program with industry-leading human factors expertise in highly-automated aircraft. The contractor team of Esterline-CMC and Convergent Performance provided briefings and collaboration with the HPMA Flight in Winnipeg to infuse the HPMA program with the latest in observing and evaluating human performance in complex man-machine systems. The goal from the outset of this project was to “custom-fit” a set of skills that could be honed by the experience of operational Air Force crewmembers, taught in existing training systems, and exported directly to the organizations and environments that rely on them every day.  This “upgrade” would complement the ongoing adoption Air Force-wide of the most advanced aircraft fleet in the world, leaving the Air Force more ready to face the national defense challenges of Canada than at any time in its history.

The first step in the process was to engage an already proven asset to the ASTRA project – Air Force SETs personnel – the very experts who already maintain the standard of performance for the operational Air Force. In similar working groups which have met regularly since 2007, the integrated team of Air Force SETs personnel, representing virtually every aircraft community, and industry experts provided by the contractor team met to hammer-out the merger of existing HPMA standards with the principles of Automation Airmanship®. This group met over four long work days in Winnipeg in late 2010, and continued to work on the new family of HPMA behavioural markers with industry leadership including Dr. Tony Kern, author of several books and programs on airmanship and flight discipline. Together this team honed a set of behavioural standards that puts the Air Force on the very “tip of the spear” among all Allied Air Forces in the discipline of human performance in highly automated aircraft. Though this work is not yet complete, it is entering its final stages of development and will enter the approval process in 2011.

Without a doubt, this work represents a clear departure from the “status quo” of HPMA and its record of adoption across the Air Force over the past decade. The new family of non-technical skills, collectively referred to as “Automation and HPMA Non-Technical Skills”, includes 18 skills and over 400 clearly identifiable, observable, measurable behavioural markers that will benchmark the performance of Canadian Air Force flight crews well beyond the current transformation which new, highly automated aircraft and aircraft upgrades have begun. It is a critical part of the ASTRA project:  to match the increased performance of the new Air Force fleet with the increased performance of the crews who operate and maintain its aircraft and weapon systems.

I personally look forward to working with Air Force crews in putting the finishing touches on this aspect of the project. Please do not hesitate to contact me directly with your observations, feedback, and suggestions as the ASTRA project moves ahead. I can be reached at

clutat@ConvergentPerformance.com

I look forward to hearing from you!

Chris Lutat, Convergent Performance

ASTRA Management Integrated Project Team

Welcome to the ASTRA website and, in a broader sense, to the ASTRA project! For those who are returning, welcome back. Before the launch of this website the ASTRA management team decided that we would post periodic messages on project progress and any special information worthy of the widest broadcast. I hope that in this first message you find both explanation and inspiration as the ASTRA project begins to approach cruise altitude and airspeed in 2011. During the last half of 2010 the ASTRA project emerged from a period of relative inactivity since the end of September, 2009, resulting from contractual issues and the contraction of resources that we are all absorbing. As 2011 opens, we can safely say that the slow-down is behind us and activity should be noticeably increased across all tracks.

Last October the SETs met for their annual conference in Winnipeg producing significant results pursuant to ASTRA objectives. Most notable was their final submission of Air Orders revisions which were subsequently approved at 1 Canadian Air Division in December. The SETs also commenced work on a comprehensive family of HPMA performance measures and standards – a vital step toward creating a modern training and evaluation framework to match a modern, global Air Force. Additionally, the august group exchanged conceptual ideas on an updated style and content guide for SMMs and AOIs, which is now in the final stages of preparation and should receive review and acceptance in the first half of 2011. This guidance document will become a very important standardization tool for the provision and maintenance of flight publications. The impact of this reaches across operations, training and evaluation activities, and will be invaluable for those in the field in search of sound, up-to-date guidance for these vitally important publications – what we like to refer to as flight crew interfaces – as they provide more than just "operating instructions", but project the relationship between the crew, aircraft systems, and automated flight control paths. They are the primary means through which the crew interfaces with the aircraft and mission systems. We think that the style and content guide will be the first truly dramatic and broadly appreciated output of the ASTRA project.

In November, the CP140 IPT completed final stage work in Greenwood on normal procedures and laid the groundwork for the future Quick Reference Checklist (QRC) and emergency procedures, with work expected to begin in early 2011. And in December the ASTRA team also convened an off-site meeting at the Convergent Performance facility in Colorado Springs to wrap up the HPMA performance measures and standards effort begun with the SETs in October. This work continues into 2011, and will soon be ready for SETs review under the guidance of the Air Force Standards Organization in Winnipeg.

As you can see, much work has been done as the ASTRA project continues "clean up and accelerate" in the climb to cruise altitude. As the project activity levels off at cruise in the coming months, we are anxious to provide in 2011 relief to every community in need of additional support and expertise as the Air Force continues its push to a modern, safe and increasingly capable family of advanced aircraft.

The MH (Cyclone), the ACP-T (CC-130J) and MHLH (Chinook) programs are on the minds of every strategic planner in the Air Force. Successfully bringing these aircraft into the fleet may tempt many planners into overlooking other vital programs – the BALE program for the Buffalo, the CP-140 Block II & III upgrades, among others. The ASTRA project is committed to managing the technology upgrades in each community, equally. You should return to this section of the website periodically to monitor how each program is progressing, and what each community is reporting so that others can benefit from the experience gained in the transition.

Recently, I was reminded of a story that has a very topical lesson for those of us involved in the ASTRA project. It is the history of the Roman city of Pompeii, which was built on the fertile slopes and plains around the Vesuvius volcano east of the present day city of Naples, Italy: "Inhabitants of Pompeii gave that friendly peak the most immediate meaning they could think of: it was a mountain. These residents populated the mountain with vineyards and farms, disregarding even strange signs such as frequent earthquakes (considered normal in that area) and the conical summit, with its large flat area surrounded by a steep and rocky rim. In 79 A.D. the mountain dramatically revealed its quiescent meaning." For several weeks I kept coming back to this allegory because it seemed to hold a meaning beyond geography and science. Quiescent is commonly defined as "marked by inactivity or repose: tranquility at rest; latent." In a short space of time I came to replace the word "mountain" with "advanced aircraft," and quickly saw a parallel meaning which can be applied to those of us whose profession is operating in and around the latest generation of shiny, sleek new aircraft. As a large body of accident data has (and continues) to show, we must heed the signs around us that there is more to learn about the new environment: new types of flight deck errors, different crew-to-crew and crew-to-aircraft relationships, all attributed to the new technology. To be successful, we must bring the quiescent meaning of the new technology to the surface of all operations, and exploit the technology safely and effectively. We must not fall into the "tranquility at rest" trap, but meet the challenge with equal human capacity.

As you invest your individual time and effort into the ASTRA project, please do not hesitate to contact the members of the ASTRA team with questions about its mission or suggestions which might make it more successful in your unique environment. You can reach me directly at clutat@ConvergentPerformance.com.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Chris Lutat,
Convergent Performance