Accountability

Accountability

Post by CatalinaNJB

Accountability is without supervision, to comply with regulatory requirements, standards, policies, recommendations, job descriptions, expectations or intent of job performance and for personnel to be actively and independently involved. Accountability is an element of a just culture, which is an organizational culture where there is Trust, Learning, Accountability and Information Sharing.

Accountability is process in motion 

Accountability is a process in motion and not a static state of virtual events. Accountability is different than responsibility since it is the behavior to trigger events in a form that produces the most positive result. When a person gets the drivers license they have a responsibility to stay on the correct side of the yellow line that is dividing oncoming traffic. This personal responsibility does not leave the person even if the person is not driving a vehicle. It’s a responsibility of the license itself. This is the same for a pilot license or aircraft mechanic where the responsibility follows their licenses. On the highway it doesn’t make safety-sense to divide oncoming traffic with a 6-inch yellow line. However, it is accountability that makes this possible. A driver of a vehicle is not accountable to all and everyone on the road, but only to the first approaching vehicle, then accountable to the next vehicle and then accountable to the next vehicle and so on. Accountability is action in motion. Everyone expects that the other driver comprehends the responsibility and is accountable to safety. When driving down a two-lane highway there must be Trust involved.

Trust is the first element of a just culture. Without trust there is nothing. A pilot is trusted to become a part of the operations, trusted with a single engine bush-plane or a multi-million dollars airplane and carrying one or several hundred passengers onboard who trust the pilot and the flight crew. Without trust there are no flights.

Learning is voluntarily. 

Learning is the second element of a just culture. Trust has given a person an opportunity to apply their skills and knowledge, but they are continuing to learn and excel in performance. At times this learning curve levels off, while at other times the learning curve is steep. A steep learning curve may come from new challenges, but also by learning from indents. Incidents are not a requirement for learning and every effort is made to ensure that every flight goes right, in the sense that everyday work achieves its objectives.

The third element of a just culture is Accountability. Accountability is applied to trust and learning. Accountability is to be accountable to safety by staying of the correct side of the yellow line painted on a highway. If it was not learned what the yellow line communicates, a driver could be zigzagging across the line and if there were no trust the opposing traffic could not maintain safe separation.

The fourth element is Information Sharing. After trust is established learning is ongoing and accountability

Information Sharing applicable to the process.

 Accountability is applied to trust and learning. Accountability is to be accountable to safety by staying of the correct side of the yellow line painted on a highway. If it was not learned what the yellow line communicates, a driver could be zigzagging across the line and if there were no trust the opposing traffic could not maintain safe separation.

The fourth element is Information Sharing. After trust is established learning is ongoing and accountability has a track record then Information Sharing is implemented. This information sharing, being internal, with stakeholders or with customers as advertising or operational safety is an operational tool for continuous or continual safety improvements. One fabulous way to improve safety is to share ideas across the board and then implement the best ideas in your own operations. One reason that ideas or demands from a regulatory authority does not work in operations is that a regulatory body is implementing ideas in the concept of reactive accountability and outside a just culture.

Accountability is the backbone of a successful SMS. It is not to be held accountable in a traditional reactive concept, but it is to be held accountable in a proactive concept. When there is proactive accountability there is the ability to succeed under varying conditions, so that the number of intended and acceptable outcomes are as high as possible. Accountability is to harness human factors and human resilience.

CatalinaNJB