An incident with a plane when it descended 5000 feet without the knowledge of the pilots is reported in newspapers. The commander of the aircraft was under "controlled rest" , (naps allowed by rules) while the co pilot was reported to be busy with the flight data on her ipad. The ATC in Ankara, over which the plane was flying,noticed the flight dropping from its assigned altitude and radioed an emergency alert to the co pilot. The flight was then brought back to its designated altitude. This incident is being investigated and the results of the investigation will be interesting to see. With so much automation, how did the plane drop 5000 feet without the co pilot noticing it?
In chemical plants, also, an alert and trained operator is the best defence against an incident. Automation is only an enabler and cannot replace the human. Focus on competency development program for your operators and shift crew. Establish a fatigue management program for your shift crew. When I was working in shifts in the Middle East in 1990's the management gave a lot of importance to fatigue management. In fact a near miss incident was reported when a maintenance worker was working on overtime on a critical equipment.
Contribute to the surviving victims of Bhopal by buying my book "Practical Process Safety Management"
In chemical plants, also, an alert and trained operator is the best defence against an incident. Automation is only an enabler and cannot replace the human. Focus on competency development program for your operators and shift crew. Establish a fatigue management program for your shift crew. When I was working in shifts in the Middle East in 1990's the management gave a lot of importance to fatigue management. In fact a near miss incident was reported when a maintenance worker was working on overtime on a critical equipment.
Contribute to the surviving victims of Bhopal by buying my book "Practical Process Safety Management"
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