For a fatigue risk management system (FRMS) to work effectively, the host airline must develop a strong safety reporting climate, according to a report published by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).1 In a paper describing their own research, Michelle Harper and Robert Helmreich explain “reporting climate” as “a component of safety climate that is characterized by the beliefs and attitudes that operators hold towards the reporting of their own errors and the behaviors that characterize the use of reporting systems.”2
The ICAO report says, “Both SMS [safety management systems] and FRMS rely on the concept of an ‘effective safety reporting climate,’ where personnel have been trained, and are constantly encouraged, to report hazards whenever observed in the operating environment.” This advice is repeated throughout the document.
The consequences of opera…
