How Did Crew Resource Management Take-Off Outside of the Cockpit? A Systematic Review of How Crew Resource Management Training Is Conceptualised and Evaluated for Non-Pilots

Abstract

Abstract:Crew resource management (CRM) training for flight crews is widespread and has been credited with improving aviation safety. As other industries have adopted CRM, they have interpreted CRM in different ways. We sought to understand how industries have adopted CRM, regarding its conceptualisation and evaluation. For this, we conducted a systematic review of CRM studies in the Maritime, Nuclear Power, Oil and Gas, and Air Traffic Control industries. We searched three electronic databases (Web of Science, Science Direct, Scopus) and CRM reviews for papers. We analysed these papers on their goals, scope, levers of change, and evaluation. To synthesise, we compared the analysis results across industries. We found that most CRM programs have the broad goals of improving safety and efficiency. However, there are differences in the scope and levers of change between programs, both within and between industries. Most evaluative studies suffer from methodological weaknesses, and the evaluation does not align with how studies conceptualise CRM. These results challenge the assumption that there is a clear link between CRM training and enhanced safety in the analysed industries. Future CRM research needs to provide a clear conceptualisation-how CRM is expected to improve safety-and select evaluation measures consistent with this.

Can Teamwork Promote Safety in Organizations?

“…2019). After this directive, the team-training trend continued to permeate across other high-stakes industries as CRM became effectively adopted in maritime, offshore drilling, and energy manufacturing (Havinga et al 2017).…”

Teams of psychologists helping teams: The evolution of the science of team training.

“…31–34). Since then, CRM has been applied to many industries outside the flight deck, such as air traffic control, oil and gas, nuclear power, and maritime (Havinga, de Boer, Rae, & Dekker, 2017). In addition to Helmreich, other major influencers (including scientists, sponsors, regulators, and practitioners) of team training research around this era were Clay Foushee, Steven Gregorich, Thomas Chidester, Brian Sexton, John Lauber, Eleana Edens, Douglas Farrow, Linda Orlady, Kathy Abbott, Thomas Longridge, Judith Orasanu, Barbara Kanki, and Earl Wiener 2…”

“…Open access allowed for wide dissemination of life-saving tools that could be adapted and used across contexts. For example, CRM originated in aviation, but the study reported by Havinga et al (2017) exhibited its expansion into oil and gas, nuclear power, and maritime. Likewise, TeamSTEPPS has been adapted to contexts within and even outside health care, such as in education (Benishek et al, 2016).…”

Enhancing Maritime Crew Resource Management Training by Applying Resilience Engineering: A Case Study of the Bachelor Maritime Officer Training Programme in Rotterdam

“…The goal of both the BTM and BRM training programs is, in general, improving safety performance by reducing accidents caused by human error. Research on the effectiveness of CRM trainings has not found a clear link between the training and a reduction of accidents [2,13,14], although there is some evidence of safety improvement in maritime transport. It is difficult to say whether this improvement is specifically due to the CRM training or a more general acceptance of procedures on board ships [15].…”