Ramp and Apron Safety

When the summer season is in full swing the ramp becomes a very busy place; there’s always a lot going on. There are risks and hazards everywhere, from aircraft, vehicles of every kind, equipment and baggage and cargo. Add in lots of seasonal staff who might not be so familiar with the environment, and the ramp is a place where our Summer Safety concept of “Aviate-Navigate-Communicate” takes on a completely new meaning. 

The EASA Team were recently with easyJet at Manchester to join them for their "Go Safe" campaign. Check out this video on the importance of not approaching aircraft with running engines. 

The Ramp View of the Summer Safety Priorities

Firstly, let’s take our summer safety tips and apply them specifically to the ramp environment. 

Master the Basics

-              Clear the Air - Communicate Clearly and with Intent to Prevent Confusion.  This means everyone knowing who is responsible for what and then communicating continually about what is going on - even (especially) when things are going well. 

-              Stick to the Procedures.  Fundamentals save lives: know the procedures and follow them.  The rules and procedures provide the background of daily work on the ramp; don’t take shortcuts.  If you cannot do a job using the established procedure(s), talk to your supervisor or manager about it. 

-              Pace Yourself.  Summer is a marathon not a sprint, so prioritise wellbeing. As teams and individuals, please do everything you can to take care of yourself.  A lot of work on the ramp is very physical; to prevent injury, remember to stretch and to use the right manual-handling techniques.  

Manage the Risks 

-              Expect the Unexpected.  Keep your eyes open for anything unusual or just not the way it should be/look.  When you stay alert, you have the chance to see things that might cause a problem. If you do spot something that doesn’t look right, speak up.  Stay alert, adapt fast and manage or mitigate threats.  

-              Check, Double-check (and Check Again…).  As humans we have two brains: our fast brain, where we do familiar tasks on autopilot, and our slow brain, where we make deliberate actions.  Think about moments where risk(s) might be greatest, and take time to make clear decisions - if needed, with enough time for a double/triple check.  Risk is reduced when complacency is eliminated.  

-              Weather the Storm.  Prior planning and preparation are vital to a safe operation.  So, think ahead to allow the time to make deliberate decisions that are much harder in the heat of the moment.  So, assess conditions, plan ahead and make informed choices. 

Make the Right Choices

-              Think Before You Act.  We keep hammering this point, but it is important.  Make key decisions and choices mindfully, being fully aware of what you are doing.  Mindful decisions keep operations safe.  

-              No Short-cuts, No Regrets.  Doing things the right way and without rushing is the best way to keep passengers and colleagues safe.  There will be pressure over the summer, and we need to act as a team, supporting each other to do the right thing.  Rushing can risk lives - take the time to do it right.

-              Stay Sharp, Stay Safe.  Finally, be aware that you will get tired and fatigued over the summer.  Think about how this might impact the performance of the team and yourself as an individual - again, working together mitigates the risks.  Fatigue and pressure cloud judgment, so pause, assess and decide wisely.

Here's an example of a situation - a made up Safewings story

The following event occurred at our home base in Cologne during the departure activities of one of our regional turboprop aircraft.

The ground crew consisted of a headset operator and a trainee, who had just completed the aircraft pushback.  The towbar had been disconnected, and the headset operator and his trainee were completing the final items when suddenly they felt that the aircraft had started to move.

They immediately backed away from the aircraft and managed to establish visual contact with the pilot-in-command who subsequently stopped the aircraft.

What came next….

When the Safety Team were first notified of this occurrence, the first thing we asked ourselves was “how could such a thing happen?”  An in-depth analysis of the event revealed what had led to this narrow escape, which - thankfully - did not result in an accident.

Both groundcrew (headset operator and his trainee) were standing on the forward left-hand side of the aircraft, next to the connecting point for the groundcrew interphone system.  The groundcrew were in a blind spot and, as such, not visible to the cockpit crew.  The groundcrew were about to disconnect the headset and close the panel when the aircraft started to move. 

One key question was “why did the pilot-in-command start to taxi without having received and acknowledged the “all-clear” signal?”  From the pilot’s perspective, before commencing the taxi he was convinced that the area around the aircraft was clear and that he was good to go.

A clear communication had been established between the groundcrew and the pilot-in-command; the latter had informed the groundcrew to disconnect and give him the “all-clear” signal once ready. 

The analysis revealed that pressure had been a significant contributory factor in this incident. The flight had already been subjected to a delay and the cockpit crew wanted to depart as soon as possible, as most of the passengers on board had connecting flights at the destination airport. Additionally, the cockpit crew wanted to clear the way for an arriving aircraft that had just vacated the runway.

Factors that reinforced the flight deck’s understanding that the groundcrew had cleared the aircraft

Whenever there is an occurrence report or hazard report, it’s always important to dig beneath the surface to really understand the human factors at play. It might be easy to sit in an office and try to identify what might have contributed to someone making a specific decision, but that isn’t the learning mindset that is critical to helping us identify lessons and manage our risks every day. 

Although the headset operator was still connected to the interphone system, the pilot-in-command was sure that the operator had already disconnected. The pilot’s assumption was based on the crackling noise that could be heard when the headset is being disconnected. During on-the-job training (OJT), however, the groundcrew use a sharing splitter that allows the connection of two headsets to the interphone system. The crackling noise that pilot-in-command heard was the disconnection of the trainee, whereas the headset operator remained connected to the aircraft interphone system. The analysis revealed that the cockpit crews were unaware about the usage of a sharing splitter on the interphone system.

Being busy with the after-start items and the associated checklist, the cockpit crew did not monitor the activities of the groundcrew. After having finalised their checklist, the cockpit crew saw the pushback truck driving away from the aircraft towards the airport terminal. The cockpit crew assumed that the headset operator had given the “all-clear” signal while they were going through their checklist and that they had simply missed it. Furthermore, the elapsed time since the removal of the towbar had already exceeded the usual time span for this kind of operation; it turned out that it had been the trainee’s first OJT session, hence the extra time.

The cockpit crew had had no doubts, as at this airport it had become the norm that, after having given the “all-clear” signal to the pilot-in-command, the headset operator boarded the pushback truck to return to the terminal. On this specific day, however, the pushback truck was needed for another departure and had been dispatched to another position without taking the headset operator.

After having sorted out what just happened, the pilot-in-command apologised to the groundcrew, and the aircraft departed for its one-hour journey. It was only later, during cruise when the pilot-in-command suddenly started to realise how close they had been to a potential accident.

Immediately after their return flight back to the home base, the cockpit crew went to see the groundcrew to discuss and analyse the event together. The occurrence was reported via the internal reporting system by both ground and cockpit crews and it really helped to have both teams capture their initial thoughts immediately after the occurrence.

Follow-up Communication and Learning

Everyone involved in this occurrence agreed that there were lots of lessons that the wider organisation could benefit from. This led to a lessons learned briefing being created by the safety team with input from everyone involved. This was then shared with both cockpit and groundcrew groups across the company - hopefully, you saw it at the time of the occurrence. 

This occurrence highlighted the importance of a specific procedural barrier; namely the reception and confirmation of the “all-clear” signal. The event also highlights how easily we can run into the trap of confirmation bias by not challenging our own assumptions. 

Organisational Improvements

At the organisational level, the occurrence led to a review of the associated ground procedures. For groundcrew OJT, it is important to keep the cockpit crew in the loop to avoid different mental models of the situation and to reduce training related debriefings in the vicinity of the aircraft to a strict minimum. Last but not least: on an individual level, it is important to perform a recap of the situation with the involved colleagues after such a near-miss event.

Learning in action - what safety is all about

As well as the operational aspects, this occurrence highlights some really important things about our safety in general. 

1.            Safety is For Everyone.  The first key point is that safety is not something just for the safety team to do. At Safewings, we do safety together as an integral part of our day-to-day operations. Front-line staff, operational managers, support teams - everyone has a role to play in keeping each other and our passengers safe. 

2.            It’s All About Learning.  In the bad old days of safety, we might have blamed the pilot for not following the procedure and moved onto the next thing without taking the time to analyses and understand the situation from everyone’s point of view. Safety is about understanding everyone’s perspective and then understanding how we can learn and improve so our risks are managed effectively. 

The Main Ramp Safety Issues

The occurrence in this article highlights one of a number of ramp safety issues that we need to pay attention to this summer season; here are our Top 5 is below:

• Stay Clear of the Aircraft with Engines Running. Do not approach the aircraft until Engines are off, Anti-Collision Beacons are off, Chocks are in and the Thumbs Up has been given. 

• Vehicle Collisions with Aircraft (and Vice Versa).  Every year, aircraft are hit by baggage tugs, belt loaders, catering trucks, fuel bowsers and GPUs.  Aircraft also collide with parked vehicles equipment. When things are busy it can be easy to overlook something. Always check areas on stand when aircraft are approaching and monitor marshalling vehicles when they are close to aircraft. 

• Injury Risk During Turnaround.  As we saw in the occurrence, there is a risk of injury to ground staff during turnaround, particularly when the aircraft is coming onto stand and departing. These are key moments for mindful decisions and positive communication. 

• Falls from Height  Ground staff and even cabin crew spend a lot of time working at height around the aircraft. We have had people falling from catering trucks, belt loaders, aircraft doors, or stairs, especially during wet or icy conditions. Again, communication is key, particularly when removing steps from the aircraft. 

• Misloading of Baggage or Cargo.  Incorrect loading, unbalanced Unit Load Devices (ULDs – that we put baggage and cargo in for the uninitiated), or skipped load sheet updates can affect an aircraft’s centre of gravity and stability. There is also a risk from mishandled or incorrectly labelled dangerous goods. It’s important to use the correct document, follow procedures and secure loads correctly. 

• Weather-related Hazards.  The summer weather can often lull us into a false sense of security. Weather can change quickly and pose risks to safe operations. It can be sudden rain or wind, sun that can make it harder to see and high temperatures that make it uncomfortable to perform certain tasks. Continually be on the look-out for weather-related hazards, think ahead and take the necessary precautions in advance. This can be as simple as tying down equipment if winds are picking up to wearing sunglasses if the sun is likely to cause glare during a task. 

We have also made some posters and other promotion material on some of these to help focus everyone’s minds over the summer.

Finally, Communication is Everything

To finish our focus on Ramp Safety, the most important thing is clear and deliberate communications. Safe operations on the ramp require lots of people - often from different companies and with different native languages - to interact together . When things get busy it can be hard to take those extra moments to make mindful decisions and communicate clearly; as we saw from the occurrence we highlighted, someone’s life may depend on it.