On June 15, the American Airlines Maintenance and Engineering Organization (known as M&E) implemented a new policy designed to enhance the company’s ability to learn from errors and violations in the workplace, and to identify the most effective actions we can take to prevent their reoccurrence. Basically, our approach applies just culture philosophy and tools, and standardizes previously diverse investigative processes into one cooperative investigation that considers errors and violations as learning opportunities for everyone, not just our aviation maintenance technicians. The resulting document is titled Just Policy for Maintenance Errors and Violations.
The greatest benefit that we expected already is becoming a reality: preventing rash decisions by managers after a costly outcome that, in the past, would have focused their attention on “disciplining the last person who touched the airplane.” We also are now setting up, as quickly as possible, a method of commu…
