American’s safety assurance programs
The Safety Assurance component of our SMS stipulates how we use data and conduct quality assurance and internal oversight to validate the effectiveness of risk controls and the performance of the SMS. Safety Assurance verifies that risk controls in our operational processes continue to conform to requirements and remain effective in maintaining risks at acceptable levels. It is composed of several individual programs and initiatives, including the following:
Aviation Safety Action Programs
Everyone at American plays a role to keep our people, customers and equipment safe. American pioneered the use of Aviation Safety Action Programs (ASAPs), which are voluntary, self-reporting programs designed to identify and reduce safety concerns. They encourage team members to confidentially report potential hazards and errors without concern of fault or fear of punitive action, thus reinforcing a learning culture. These programs are currently in place for Central Load Planning, Dispatch, Airports, Flight, Cabin and Technical Operations workgroups.
Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA)
FOQA is a voluntary safety program administered jointly by American and the Allied Pilots Association that uses routinely recorded flight data to proactively identify and correct deficiencies in flight operations. We routinely monitor all our flights and use algorithms to look for potential safety risks and trends. The results allow us to monitor aircraft systems, performance and operational efficiency and help us to better understand pilot performance in the operating environment.
International Air Transport Association Operational Safety Audit (IOSA)
We are a registered participant in the IOSA program, an internationally recognized evaluation approach designed to assess an airline’s operational management and control systems. An IOSA, which takes place every two years, creates a structured methodology with standardized checklists that are comparable on a worldwide basis. That allows consistent auditing across carriers and a straightforward way to compare safety performance.
Line Operations Safety Audits (LOSA)
Since launching our continuous pilot LOSA program in 2017, we have been sending highly trained pilot observers onto the flight deck to better understand work-as-done as opposed to work-as-imagined. Observing our frontline team members in action and gathering safety-related data on environmental conditions, operational complexities and crew performance in real-time provides us with valuable insights for enhancing safety and resilience. We also operate continuous Dispatch LOSA and Cabin LOSA programs.
Learning and Improvement Team (LIT)
The overwhelming majority of airline flights conclude safely and without incident. LIT studies these flights to collect and analyze data on how American’s pilots demonstrate resilience every day. A significant amount of data collection by LIT is done outside of the flight deck through interviews, crew room visits and interactive discussions with line pilots. Combining LIT data with other safety data provides American with a broader picture of the system rather than looking solely at unwanted outcomes.
Fatigue Risk Management Team
Fatigue is an ever-present risk and challenge for flight operations. Our Fatigue Risk Management Team helps manage and lower fatigue risk by collecting data from the operational environment and comparing it with scientific knowledge on sleep and fatigue. This ongoing process proactively identifies fatigue risk, implements mitigating strategies and reviews outcomes to ensure that our controls are effective. In addition to support we provide for our pilots and operations teams, we are in the process of enhancing our existing fatigue risk management program for flight attendants.