Aviation Legislation and Human Factors Tricky Questions PDF

# Tricky Questions ## H1 Tricky Questions 1.1) What does Murphy's Law imply? - Accidents are inevitable due to the cause of human factors. - Errors can be made by anyone regardless of his seniority, experience or whether he is well-respected. - Incidents and accidents will never happen to me if I...

# Tricky Questions ## H1 Tricky Questions 1.1) What does Murphy's Law imply? - Accidents are inevitable due to the cause of human factors. - Errors can be made by anyone regardless of his seniority, experience or whether he is well-respected. - Incidents and accidents will never happen to me if I am very responsible, careful and experienced. - Incidents and accidents will never happen to organisations which are regarded as very safe. **Critique:** CAP 715: If everyone could be persuaded to acknowledge Murphy's Law, this might help overcome the "it will never happen to me" belief that many people hold. It is not true that accidents only happen to people who are irresponsible or 'sloppy'. The incidents and accidents described in paragraph 2. show that errors can be made by experienced, well-respected individuals and accidents can occur in organisations previously thought to be "safe". **Critique:** Definition rephrased from 'If something can go wrong, it will'. 1.2) Which of the following statements best describes Murphy's law? - It is good enough to have a design with low probability of failure. - It is human nature to make errors at times. - If the failure is possible to occur, no matter how slim the probability can be, it will happen eventually. 1.3) What is the purpose of implementing human factors consideration in the workplace? - It reduces errors made by the workers. - It affects the health of the workers. - It makes lives easier for people and saves cost. 1.4) Which of the following is WRONG? - Human factors study can help people minimize mistakes and errors. - Human factors study can provide knowledge for people to operate the equipment. - Human factors issues usually were present before the aviation accidents took place. 1.5) What is the aim of studying human factors? - To eliminate errors in the workplace - To optimise the relationship between maintenance personnel and systems with a view to improving safety, efficiency and well-being - To create an awareness of past mistakes so that they will not be repeated - To establish who is at fault so that he will take the blame - To help in understanding what human is performing **Critique:** Need to fine-tune (C), (D) and (E). CAP715, Chapter 1, 1.4.3. 1.6) Why is the study of Human Factor important in the workplace? - To improve the relationship between human and systems. - It is unreasonable to expect an errorless workplace. - To identify any workers who do not understand how to do their job and teach them on their designated work. 1.7) Human factors can help - reduce error to create a safer environment - eliminate error for a better environment - in anthropometry **Critique:** CAP 715, 1.5.4 1.8) What does Murphy's Law help overcome? - The "it will never happen to me" belief - The "accidents are inevitable" belief - The "accidents also happen to people who are responsible and careful" belief **Critique:** From CAP 715 Chapter 1, "If everyone could be persuaded to acknowledge Murphy's Law, this might help overcome the "it will never happen to me" belief that many people hold. It is not true that accidents only happen to people who are irresponsible or 'sloppy'." 1.9) Which of the following statements is true? - The study of human factors is useful for determining who is responsible for accidents and incidents. - The study of human factors is useful when selecting people to work in aviation maintenance. - The study of human factors is useful in optimising the relationship between maintenance personnel and systems with a view to improving safety, efficiency and well-being. 1.10) Which is false about the study of human factors playing a part in the aviation industry? - It helps to understand human limitations. - It helps to identify and teach an engineer how to safely operate a machine or tool. - It studies issues and reduces and contains the errors and mistakes before they lead to an accident. **Critique:** The study of human factors does not help to identify and teach an engineer how to safely operate a machine or tool. It studies issues and reduces and contains the errors and mistakes before they lead to an accident. 1.11) Which of the following is correct for the interpretation of "SHEL" model? - S - relationship between people, economy, regulation, air pressure, congested airspace - L-system management, administrative personnel, operator performance - H- tools and equipment, hanger space, building ## H2 Tricky Questions 2.1) Which of the following statements is true regarding vision deficiencies? - The use of glasses or contact lenses to correct any vision problems is perfectly acceptable. - The company should know when an individual will be affected in vision. - Personnel having colour-defective vision cannot be employed to work in aviation maintenance line. **Critique:** (c) is the best answer as lenses cannot correct colour-defective vision and that color deficiency is not acceptable for anyone who wishes to be accepted in the aircraft maintenance industry. 2.2) Which of the following types of noises is more disruptive to aircraft maintenance engineers? - Low frequency noise coming from a nearby air-conditioner and some machinery - Intermittent and sudden noise caused by riveting work - Exposure to continuous noise of low/medium frequency coming from a running engine **Critique:** CAP715 Chap 2 Page 10 3.6.2 Intermittent and sudden noise are generally considered more disruptive than continuous noise at the same level. In addition, high frequency noise generally has a more adverse effect on performance than that of lower frequency. Noise tends to increase errors and variability, rather than directly affect work rate. 2.3) Visual information is stored for up to - half a second in iconic memory - two seconds in iconic memory - two seconds in echoic memory **Critique:** Chap 2: 4.2 Sensory Receptors and Sensory Stores Physical stimuli are received via the sensory receptors (eyes, ears, etc.) and stored for a very brief period of time in sensory stores (sensory memory). Visual information is stored for up to half a second in iconic memory and sounds are stored for slightly longer (up to 2 seconds) in echoic memory. This enables us to remember a sentence as a sentence, rather than merely as an unconnected string of isolated words, or a film as a film, rather than as a series of disjointed images. 2.4) Sounds are stored for up to - half a second in iconic memory - two seconds in iconic memory - two seconds in echoic memory 2.5) Which of the following is perception? - Decision is made mentally when an engineer faces a problem. - Engineer uses his memory to decide on the bolt to be used. - An LAE takes short breaks when he feels that he is tired. **Critique:** CAP715 Chapter 2. 4.8.7 Attention and perception shortcomings can clearly impinge on decision making. Perceiving something incorrectly may mean that an incorrect decision is made, resulting in an inappropriate action. It was explained earlier that sensory and short-term memory have limited capacity, both in terms of capacity and duration. It is also important to bear in mind that human memory is fallible, so that information: - may not be stored; - may be stored incorrectly; - may be difficult to retrieve. 2.6) Which of the following is NOT an example of a part of human perception? - Concentrating mental resources on specific elements - Understanding instructions via the company - Understanding orders given by superiors - Creating faces, melodies, works of arts out of the raw material of sensation **Critique:** Perception can be defined as the process of assembling sensations into a useable mental representation of the world. Perception creates faces, melodies, works of art, illusions, etc. out of the raw material of sensation. Perception involves the organisation and interpretation of sensory data in order to make it meaningful, discarding non-relevant data, i.e. transforming data into information. Perception is a highly sophisticated mechanism and requires existing knowledge and experience to know what data to keep and what to discard, and how to associate the data in a meaningful manner. Having detected information, our mental resources are concentrated on specific elements - this is attention, not perception. 2.7) Ingrained routines that have been established through practice are known as - cognitive learning - motor programmes - episodic memory **Critique:** CAP 715 Ch.2 Para 4.6. If a task is performed often enough, it may eventually become automatic and the required skills and actions are stored in long term memory. These are known as motor programmes and are ingrained routines that have been established through practice. 2.8) Where are motor programmes stored? - Ultra-short-term memory - Short-term memory - Long-term memory 2.9) When a person moves from an extremely bright area to a dimmer one, what is the minimum time he should allow for his eyes to become dark adapted? - 3 minutes - 5 minutes - 7 minutes **Critique:** CAP715: Chap 2. 2.9.1 Moving from an extremely bright environment to a dimmer one has the effect of vision being severely reduced until the eyes get used to less light being available. This is because the eyes have become light adapted. If an engineer works in a very dark environment for a long time, his eyes gradually become dark adapted allowing better visual acuity. This can take about 7 minutes for the cones and 30 minutes for the rods. 2.10) If an engineer works in a very dark environment for a long time, his eyes gradually become dark adapted allowing better visual acuity. Which of the following statements is correct for the adaptation time for the rods and the cones? - This can take about 3 minutes for the cones and 7 minutes for the rods. - This can take about 7 minutes for the cones and 3 minutes for the rods. - This can take about 7 minutes for the cones and 30 minutes for the rods. 2.11) What is the effect of drug intake? - It provides euphoric effects that lasts for only 24 hours. - It has long-term effects on health and no other effects. - Vision can be affected and affects day-to-day health and fitness. **Critique:** CAP715, Chap 2, 2.8: Vision can be adversely affected by the use of certain drugs and medications, alcohol, and smoking cigarettes. With smoking, carbon monoxide which builds up in the bloodstream allows less oxygen to be carried in the blood to the eyes. This is known as hypoxia and can impair rapidly the sensitivity of the rods. Alcohol can have similar effects, even hours after the last drink. 2.12) If the engineer works under poor lighting condition, the vision will - be less sharp - be less sensitive - have a blind spot **Critique:** CAP715, Chapter 2. 2.6.1 Factors Affecting Clarity of Sight The eye is very sensitive in the right conditions (e.g. clear air, good light, etc.). In fact, the eye has approximately 1.2 million nerve cells leading from the retinas to the area of the brain responsible for vision, while there are only about 50,000 from the inner ears - making the eye about 24 times more sensitive than the ear. 2.13) If the engineer works for long hours, his vision will - be less sharp - be less sensitive - have a blind spot **Critique:** CAP715, Chap 2, 2.4. When a person is tired accommodation is reduced, resulting in less sharp vision (sharpness of vision is known as visual acuity). 2.5.1 At the point at which the optic nerve joins the back of the eye, a 'blind spot' occurs. This is not evident when viewing things with both eyes (binocular vision), since it is not possible for the image of an object to fall on the blind spots of both eyes at the same time. 2.14) A person suffering from claustrophobia is working in a tight space, he will - experience migraine and headache while working - feel panic when he experiences trouble getting out of the place **Critique:** CAP 715, Chapter 2, 5.1.2 It is quite possible that susceptibility to claustrophobia is not apparent at the start of employment. It may come about for the first time because of an incident when working within a confined space, e.g. panic if unable to extricate oneself from a fuel tank. 2.15) What will happen to our hearing when we are exposed to intense noise for a very short period of time? - Permanent hearing loss - Temporary hearing loss - Almost no effect **Critique:** Cap 715, Chap 2, 3.7.1 Hearing loss can result from exposure to even relatively short duration noise. The degree of impairment is influenced mainly by the intensity of the noise. Such damage is known as Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL). The hearing loss can be temporary - lasting from a few seconds to a few days - or permanent. Temporary hearing loss may be caused by relatively short exposure to very loud sound, as the hair-like cells on the basilar membrane take time to 'recover'. With additional exposure, the amount or recovery gradually decreases and hearing loss becomes permanent. CAP 715, Chap 5, 1.3 Short periods of intense noise are not uncommon here and can cause temporary hearing loss. 2.16) When inspecting an airframe structure for small cracks, to avoid a crack being missed you should - Hold the vision stationary for several seconds on each area to allow the eye to focus correctly. - Not use a mirror as mirrors absorb and refract light and may obscure a crack. - Constantly move the eye across and around the area of interest to avoid the crack falling into the eye's natural blind spot. 2.17) Perception is a form of - memory - transforming data into information - image **Critique:** CAP715 Chap 2 Perception involves the organisation and interpretation of sensory data in order to make it meaningful, discarding non-relevant data, i.e. transforming data into information. Perception is a highly sophisticated mechanism and requires existing knowledge and experience to know what data to keep and what to discard, and how to associate the data in a meaningful manner. Perception can be defined as the process of assembling sensations into a useable mental representation of the world. Perception creates faces, melodies, works of art, illusions, etc. out of the raw material of sensation. Source: Coon, 1983.1. 2.18) Situation awareness for the aircraft maintenance engineer includes: - The status of the system the engineer is working on; - The relationship between the reported defect and the intended rectification; - The possible effect on this work on other systems; - The effect of this work on that being done by others and the effect of their work on this work. a) I & III only b) I, II & IV only c) All of the above **Critique:** Chapter 2, 4.7.4 2.19) How can managers help technicians with claustrophobia? - Assign the task to other technicians - Assist technicians in completing the task - Ensure staging does not wobble 2.20) Which of the following is considered as a perception? - Handling a machine - The organisation and interpretation of sensory data in order to gather information - Talking to a colleague **Critique:** Chap 2. 4.3.8 Perception involves the organisation and interpretation of sensory data in order to make it meaningful, discarding non-relevant data, i.e. transforming data into information. Perception is a highly sophisticated mechanism and requires existing knowledge and experience to know what data to keep and what to discard, and how to associate the data in a meaningful manner. 2.21) Information in long-term memory can be divided into two types: (i) semantic and (ii) episodic. Which of the following statements is correct for the comparison between the two types? - Semantic memory is more heavily influenced by a person's expectations of what should have happened than episodic memory is. - Episodic memory is more heavily influenced by a person's expectations of what should have happened than semantic memory is. - Both episodic memory and semantic memory are influenced equally by a person's expectations of what should have happened. **CAP 715 Chap 2.** Information in long-term memory can be divided into two types: (i) semantic and (ii) episodic. Semantic memory refers to our store of general, factual knowledge about the world, such as concepts, rules, one's own language, etc. It is information that is not tied to where and when the knowledge was originally acquired. Episodic memory refers to memory of specific events, such as our past experiences (including people, events and objects). We can usually place these things within a certain context. It is believed that episodic memory is heavily influenced by a person's expectations of what should have happened, thus two people's recollection of the same event can differ. 2.22) Which of the statements is true? - People with vision deficiencies are unable to work in the engineering industry - Workers are able to use various methods, such as contact lenses, to correct any vision deficiencies. - Supervisors and Inspectors are supposed to know that their workers and subordinates have vision deficiencies. 2.23) Two types of light sensitive cells are found in the retina: rods and cones. Which of the following comparisons between them is correct? - Cones cannot detect colour and rods are colour sensitive. - Cones are capable of detecting fine detail and rods are poor at distinguishing fine detail. - Cones function in poor light and rods are not sensitive at lower light levels. 2.24) Ageing causes progressive changes in colour vision, resulting in a reduction in colour discrimination in the - red-green range - blue-yellow range - red-yellow range 2.25) Which of the following attentions should not be applied when maintaining an aircraft? - Selective attention - Undivided attention - Sustained attention 2.26) Which of the following is not a form of recognised attention? - Selective attention - Undivided attention - Sustained attention **Critique:** CAP715 Chap 2 Although attention can move very quickly from one item to another, it can only deal with one item at a time. Attention can take the form of: - selective attention, - divided attention, - focused attention, - sustained attention. 2.27) Which of the following is a form of recognised attention? - Concentrated attention - Prolonged attention - Sustained attention **Critique:** CAP 715 Chap 2. Selective attention occurs when a person is monitoring several sources of input, with greater attention being given to one or more sources which appear more important. A person can be consciously attending to one source whilst still sampling other sources in the background. Psychologists refer to this as the 'cocktail party effect 'whereby you can be engrossed in a conversation with one person but your attention is temporarily diverted if you overhear your name being mentioned at the other side of the room, even though you were not aware of listening in to other people's conversations. Distraction is the negative side of selective attention. Divided attention is common in most work situations, where people are required to do more than one thing at the same time. Usually, one task suffers at the expense of the other, more so if they are similar in nature. This type of situation is also sometimes referred to as time sharing. Focused attention is merely the skill of focussing one's attention upon a single source and avoiding distraction. Sustained attention as its name implies, refers to the ability to maintain attention and remain alert over long periods of time, often on one task. Most of the research has been carried out in connection with monitoring radar displays, but there is also associated research which has concentrated upon inspection tasks. 2.28) What are decision-making tools an engineer can utilise? - Maintenance manuals and Decision Trees - Headwork and attitude - Age and education level - Knowledge and prior experience **Critique:** From Chap 2 of CAP 715: We are not usually fully aware of the processes and information which we use to make a decision. Tools can be used to assist the process of making a decision. For instance, in aircraft maintenance engineering, many documents (e.g. maintenance manuals, fault diagnosis manuals), and procedures are available to supplement the basic decision making skills of the individual. Thus, good decisions are based on knowledge supplemented by written information and procedures, analysis of observed symptoms, performance indications, etc. It can be dangerous to believe that existing knowledge and prior experience will always be sufficient in every situation as will be shown in the section entitled 'Information Processing Limitations'. 2.29) Which of the following conditions under which a technician still can perform maintenance work? - Environment is dusty - Environment is foggy - Environment is snowy **Critique:** CAP 715 Chapter 2 (Any airborne particles such as dust, rain or mist can interfere with the transmission of light through the air, distorting what is seen. This can be even worse when spectacles are worn, as they are susceptible to getting dirty, wet, misted up or scratched.) 2.30) Which of the following statements is correct? - Personnel having colour-defective vision cannot be allowed to work in aviation maintenance line. - Colour discrimination is not necessary for an individual to drive in areas where aircraft manoeuvre or where colour coding is used. - The use of glasses or contact lenses to correct any vision problems is perfectly acceptable. 2.31) As a licensed aircraft engineer over the age of 40, you may need reading glasses for - walking around the hangar - reading safety posters around the hanger in detail - reading aircraft manuals and log books **Critique:** CAP 715 Chapter 2 Finally as a person grows older, the lens becomes less flexible meaning that it is unable to accommodate sufficiently. This is known as presbyopia and is a form of long sightedness. Consequently, after the age of 40, spectacles may be required for near vision, especially in poor light conditions. 2.32) Presbycusis is a type of hearing deterioration that may occur gradually from the 30's onwards, and it affects ability to hear first. - High pitch sound - Low pitch sound - Normal sound **Critique:** CAP 715 Chapter 2 Hearing deteriorates naturally as one grows older. This is known as presbycusis. This affects ability to hear high pitch sounds first, and may occur gradually from the 30's onwards. When this natural decline is exacerbated by Noise Induced Hearing Loss, it can obviously occur rather sooner. 2.33) "Cocktail party effect" occurs when one is - engrossed in a conversation with his supervisor but his attention is temporarily diverted if he overhears his name being mentioned at the other side of the room - overhearing a conversation between the management and his supervisor - too focused on the task and his attention is not divided **Critique:** CAP 715 Chapter 2 Selective attention occurs when a person is monitoring several sources of input, with greater attention being given to one or more sources which appear more important. A person can be consciously attending to one source whilst still sampling other sources in the background. Psychologists refer to this as the 'cocktail party effect 'whereby you can be engrossed in a conversation with one person but your attention is temporarily diverted if you overhear your name being mentioned at the other side of the room, even though you were not aware of listening in to other people's conversations. Distraction is the negative side of selective attention. Divided attention is common in most work situations, where people are required to do more than one thing at the same time. Usually, one task suffers at the expense of the other, more so if they are similar in nature. This type of situation is also sometimes referred to as time sharing. Focused attention is merely the skill of focussing one's attention upon a single source and avoiding distraction. Sustained attention as its name implies, refers to the ability to maintain attention and remain alert over long periods of time, often on one task. Most of the research has been carried out in connection with monitoring radar displays, but there is also associated research which has concentrated upon inspection tasks. 2.34) An aircraft maintenance engineer who wears corrective lens for his eyesight should - have his tasks to be restricted - not require their duties to be restricted providing they have frequent checks to ensure the adequacy of their glasses/contact lenses - not require their duties to be restricted providing they wear their glasses/contact lenses at all times they carry out their duties **Critique:** CAP 715 2.2.12.2 The use of glasses or contact lenses to correct any vision problems is perfectly acceptable and indeed they must be worn as prescribed. Frequent checks should be made to ensure the continued adequacy of any glasses or contact lenses. 2.35) When inspecting an airframe structure for small cracks, to avoid a crack being missed you should - Hold the vision stationary for several seconds on each area to allow the eye to focus correctly. - Not use a mirror as mirrors absorb and refract light and may obscure a crack. - Constantly move the eye across and around the area of interest to avoid the crack falling into the eye's natural blind spot. 2.36) Perception is a form of - memory - transforming data into information - image **Critique:** CAP715 Chap 2 Perception involves the organisation and interpretation of sensory data in order to make it meaningful, discarding non-relevant data, i.e. transforming data into information. Perception is a highly sophisticated mechanism and requires existing knowledge and experience to know what data to keep and what to discard, and how to associate the data in a meaningful manner. Perception can be defined as the process of assembling sensations into a useable mental representation of the world. Perception creates faces, melodies, works of art, illusions, etc. out of the raw material of sensation. Source: Coon, 1983.1. 2.37) Ingrained routines that have been established through practice are known as - cognitive learning - motor programmes - episodic memory **Critique:** CAP 715 Ch.2 Para 4.6. If a task is performed often enough, it may eventually become automatic and the required skills and actions are stored in long term memory. These are known as motor programmes and are ingrained routines that have been established through practice. ## H3 Tricky Questions 3.1) When one feels pressured to follow his team members to take short cuts, so that the aircraft can take off on time, what is the best term to describe this scenario? - Group Polarization - Conformity - Social Loafing - Risky Shift **Critique:** CAP715, Chap 3. Peer pressure thus falls within the area of conformity. Conformity is the tendency to allow one's opinions, attitudes, actions and even perceptions to be affected by prevailing opinions, attitudes, actions and perceptions. The degree to which an individual's view is likely to be affected by conformity or peer pressure, depends on many factors. The discussion on motivation suggests that individuals need to feel part of a social group. In this respect, team working is advantageous. However, the work on conformity suggests that they feel some pressure to adhere to a group's views, which may be seen as a potential disadvantage. 3.2) There are many benefits working with a group. On the other hand, there are disadvantages too. Which is a clear disadvantage? - One feels pressured to adhere to the group's views - Having to share rewards with the group - Lack of personal achievement 3.3) If someone says that you are a "motivated" person, it means that - you work consistently to achieve the same results - you are willing to explore beyond your limits - you are working hard for financial stability 3.4) Being an aircraft maintenance engineer is a responsible job. In this context, "responsible" means the engineer - works with integrity and care at all times - is liable to be called to answer for the work done by him or his team - is responsible for his own actions and errors only and the consequences of those actions **Critique:** Chap 3. 2.1 Being an aircraft maintenance engineer is a responsible job. Clearly, the engineer plays a part in the safe and efficient passage of the travelling public when they use aircraft. If someone is considered responsible, they are liable to be called to account as being in charge or control of, or answerable for something. 3.5) Who holds the prime responsibility to ensure the accuracy of the maintenance records? - The maintenance organisation that holds the SAR-145 licence - The engineers that issue the certificates of release to service - The technicians that perform the maintenance tasks **Critique:** Chap 3. 2.4.3 An organisation approved in accordance with JAR145 must establish the competence of every person, whether directly involved in hands-on maintenance or not. An organisation can make provision on maintenance records or work sheets for the mechanic(s) involved to sign for the work. Whilst this is not the legally required certification under the requirements of ANO Article 12 or JAR 145.50, it provides the traceability to those who were involved in the job. The LAE is then responsible for any adjustment or functional test and the required maintenance records are satisfied before making the legal certification. 3.6) Which of the following statements concerning peer pressure is correct? - Men experience more peer pressure than women do. - Peer pressure can be positive and enhance safety. - Peer pressure is negative and should never be tolerated. **Critique:** CAP715, Chap 3, 4.5.2: It is important for an organisation to engender a positive approach to safety throughout their workforce, so that peer pressure and conformity perpetuates this. In this instance, peer pressure is clearly a good thing. Too often, however, it works in reverse, with safety standards gradually deteriorating as shift members develop practices which might appear to them to be more efficient, but which erode safety. These place pressure, albeit possibly unwittingly, upon new engineers joining the shift, to do likewise. 3.7) What is part of the shift supervision? - the supervisor has to assume and check available resources - the supervisor has to ensure everything is done up to standard - the supervisor may often have to step in when there are staff shortages **Critique:** CAP 715 Chap 3 Pg 15. - He is generally authorized to sign for his own work; - He may often have to step in when there are staff shortages and, therefore, no spare staff to monitor or check the tasks; - He may be "closer" (i.e. more sensitive to) to any commercial pressures which may exist, or may perceive that pressure to a greater extent than other engineers. 3.8) When working as a team, what is the responsibility of each individual? - Each engineer completes the distinct tasks assigned to him within the time allocated. - The certifying engineer shall be responsible for ensuring that work is performed and recorded in a satisfactory manner. - The team is responsible for any adjustment or functional test and the required maintenance records are satisfied by the team. **Critique:** CAP715, Chapter 3, 2.4. 3.9) The disadvantage of working in a group is that - the team leader will get the blame if something goes wrong. - individuals may need to cross-check others' work. **Critique:** Need to insert choice (C) further. Source: CAP715, Chapter 3, 2.3. The main disadvantage of any emphasis upon personal responsibility is that this may overlook the importance of working together as a cohesive team or group to achieve goals. In practice, aircraft maintenance engineers are often assigned to groups or teams in the workplace. These may be shift teams, or smaller groups within a shift. A team may be made up of various engineering trades, or be structured around aircraft types or place of work (e.g. a particular hangar). Although distinct tasks may be assigned to individuals within a team, the responsibility for fulfilling overall goals would fall on the entire team. **Source:** CAP715, Chapter 3, 2.5. Group responsibility has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are that each member of the group ought to feel responsible for the output of that group, not just their own output as an individual, and ought to work towards ensuring that the whole 'product' is safe. This may involve cross-checking others' work (even when not strictly required), politely challenging others if you think that something is not quite right, etc. The disadvantage of group responsibility is that it can potentially act against safety, with responsibility being devolved to such an extent that no-one feels personally responsible for safety (referred to as diffusion of responsibility). Here, an individual, on his own, may take action but, once placed within a group situation, he may not act if none of the other group members do so, each member of the group or team assuming that 'someone else will do it'. 3.10) Which is a disadvantage of working in groups? - Group responsibility can potentially act against safety - It limits the creativity of an individual - Members will suffer from peer pressure **Critique:** CAP 715, Chap 3, 2.5.2 The disadvantage of group responsibility is that it can potentially act against safety, with responsibility being devolved to such an extent that no-one feels personally responsible for safety (referred to as diffusion of responsibility). 3.11) What is the main job of a supervisor? - To ensure all jobs are done safely - To fill in when there is a shortage of staff - To ensure all tools and equipment are available for the job **Critique:** CAP 715 Chap 3 Pg 15 It is mainly his job to prevent unsafe norms from developing, and to ensure that good safety practices are maintained. 3.12) The culture of an organisation is the - type of work the workers do - the way the workers do things - management structure 3.13) Which of the following can best counter the influence of peer pressure and conformity on an individual's views? - Allow all staff to air their views publicly from the outset - All staff are to keep their views to themselves - Allow only senior staff to air their views as they are empowered to talk **Critique:** CAP 715 Chapter 3, 4.5.1 The influence of peer pressure and conformity on an individual's views can be reduced considerably if the individual airs their views publidy from the outset. However, this can be very difficult: after Asch's experiments, when asked, many participants said they agreed with the majority as they did not want to appear different or to look foolish. 3.14) Which of the following is an example of asynchronous communications? - Face-to-face conversations - Writings on workcards - Radio communication **Critique:** CAP715 Chap 3 Maintenance operations tend to be characterized by "asynchronous" communications such as technical manuals, memos, Advisory Circulars, Airworthiness Directives, workcards and other non-immediate formats. Much of the information transfer tends to be of a non-verbal nature. 3.15) If someone is considered responsible, - he will be the one to face the punishment should there be a problem - he is liable to be called to account as being answerable for something - his team is to take the blame should there be a problem **Critique:** CAP715. Chapter 3, 2.1 Being an aircraft maintenance engineer is a responsible job. Clearly, the engineer plays a part in the safe and efficient passage of the travelling public when they use aircraft. If someone is considered responsible, he is liable to be called to account as being in charge or control of, or answerable for something. 3.16) How does the maintenance organisation ensure the accuracy of the maintenance records? - Pass on the responsibility to the Licensed Aircraft Engineers (LAES) - Employ a separate company to maintain the records - Pass the responsibility to the technicians **Critique:** CAP 715 Chap 3. 2.4.3 An organisation approved in accordance with JAR-145 must establish the competence of every person, whether directly involved in hands-on maintenance or not. An organisation can make provision on maintenance records or work sheets for the mechanic(s) involved to sign for the work. Whilst this is not the legally required certification under the requirements of ANO Article 12 or JAR-145.50, it provides the traceability to those who were involved in the job. The LAE is the responsible for any adjustment or functional test & the required maintenance records are satisfied before making the legal certification. 3.17 The responsibility of a line manager is to - ensure that task can be carried out safely with the available resources - ensure corporate expectations to meet deadlines - make sure there are adequate tools, manpower and they can finish all tasks according to schedule (or ensure deadlines met by distributing workload evenly) **Critique:** Chap 715 Chap 3 Managers and supervisors have a key role to play in ensuring that work is carried out safely. The Management Role Line Managers, particularly those working as an integral part of the 'front line' operation, may be placed in a situation where they may have to compromise between commercial drivers and 'ideal' safety practices (both of which are passed down from 'top management' in the organisation). For example, if there is a temporary staff shortage, he must decide whether maintenance tasks can be safely carried out with reduced manpower, or he