Managing Human Factors in Aviation

It is important for aviators to accept the inevitable fact that human errors will always occur. No human is expected to perform flawlessly at all times. Human error is an event that occurs whenever a task or a task element (portion of a task) is not performed in accordance with its specification. An error occurs when a task is not performed when required (also referred to as the error of omission), is performed when not required (also referred to as the error of commission), is performed incorrectly (also referred to as an error of substitution), is performed out of sequence (not performing in accordance with the aircraft checklist), or is performed late (overshooting the runway).
There are many management procedures in effect to reduce the occurrence of human errors in aviation. They are broken into two sections: engineering control strategies and administrative control strategies. Engineering strategies concentrate on the use of engineering through automation and human-factors engineering. Administrative strategies include employee selection and training, modifying or workload management, and regulatory non-design related initiatives.
Some of the engineering control strategies are cockpit standardization, cockpit automation, warning and altering systems, display conspicuity and system recovery, flight management computer and air-to-ground communication. More than 70 percent of the reports to the Aviation Safety Reporting System involve some type of oral communication problem related to the operation of an aircraft. For this reason, I would argue that the most important engineering control system is the air-to-ground communication control system.
Administrative error management includes to collection of practices and procedures that are developed, promulgated, and implemented by the airlines, regulatory agencies, and labor groups. Some of the administrative control strategies include: airline practices, employee selection, training, responsibility accountability, and enforcement, procedures and checklist, paperwork reduction and management, workload management, communication, team concept (cognitive redundancy), and peer-pressure control. Although my opinion is solely based on military flight training, I believe the most effective administrative control strategy is the training strategy. The cost of training can be very expensive, but the cost of human lives is without price.
Human error in the aviation industry can never be totally eliminated. However, through constant monitoring of accidents, incidents, and internal reports the number of human error occurrences can be greatly reduced. Throughout my career as an Army aviator I have seen the effectiveness of these strategies. The improvements on human errors in aviation continue without end. These strategies have given air transportation an excellent safety record.