Currently, published risk analyses for drones refer mainly to commercial systems, use data from civil aviation, and are based on probabilistic approaches without suggesting an inclusive list of hazards and respective requirements. Within this context, this article presents: (1) a set of safety requirements generated from the application of the systems theoretic process analysis (STPA) technique on a generic small drone system; (2) a gap analysis between the set of safety requirements and the ones met by 19 popular drone models; (3) the extent of the differences between those models, their manufacturers, and the countries of origin; and (4) the association of drone prices with the extent they meet the requirements derived by STPA. The application of STPA resulted in 70 safety requirements distributed across the authority, manufacturer, end user, or drone automation levels. A gap analysis showed high dissimilarities regarding the extent to which the 19 drones meet the same safety requirements. Statistical results suggested a positive correlation between drone prices and the extent that the 19 drones studied herein met the safety requirements generated by STPA, and significant differences were identified among the manufacturers. This work complements the existing risk assessment frameworks for small drones, and contributes to the establishment of a commonly endorsed international risk analysis framework. Such a framework will support the development of a holistic and methodologically justified standardization scheme for small drone flights.
Most safety oriented organizations have established their accidents classification taking into account the magnitude of the combined adverse outcomes on humans, assets and the environment without considering the accidents" potential and the actual attempts of the involved persons to intervene with the accident progress. The specific research exploited a large sample of an aviation organization accident records for an 11 years" time period and employed frequency and chi-square analyses to test a new accident classification scheme based on the distinction among the safety events with or without human intervention on the accident scene, indicating the management or not of their ultimate consequences. Furthermore, the research depicted the effectiveness of personnel strains to alleviate the accident potential outcomes and studied the contribution of time, local and complexity factors on the accident control attempt and the humans" positive or negative interference. The specific newly proposed accident classification successfully addressed the "controlled" or "uncontrolled" traits of the safety events studies, prior their severities consideration, and unveiled the effectiveness of personnel efforts to compensate for the adverse accident march. The portion between controlled and uncontrolled accidents in terms of the human intervention along with the effectiveness of the later may comprise a useful safety performance indicator that can be adopted by any industry sector and may be recommended through international and state safety related authorities.
BackgroundThis paper presents the findings of a pilot research survey which assessed the degree of balance between safety and productivity, and its relationship with awareness and communication of human factors and safety rules in the aircraft manufacturing environment.MethodsThe study was carried out at two Australian aircraft manufacturing facilities where a Likert-scale questionnaire was administered to a representative sample. The research instrument included topics relevant to the safety and human factors training provided to the target workforce. The answers were processed in overall, and against demographic characteristics of the sample population.ResultsThe workers were sufficiently aware of how human factors and safety rules influence their performance and acknowledged that supervisors had adequately communicated such topics. Safety and productivity seemed equally balanced across the sample. A preference for the former over the latter was associated with a higher awareness about human factors and safety rules, but not linked with safety communication. The size of the facility and the length and type of employment were occasionally correlated with responses to some communication and human factors topics and the equilibrium between productivity and safety.ConclusionAlthough human factors training had been provided and sufficient bidirectional communication was present across the sample, it seems that quality and complexity factors might have influenced the effects of those safety related practices on the safety–productivity balance for specific parts of the population studied. Customization of safety training and communication to specific characteristics of employees may be necessary to achieve the desired outcomes.
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