|
Local 591 Administrative Executive Board Member Russ Dittmer
January 2023 Activities
Quick synopsis:
Scheduled meetings, teleconferences & calls include:
Weekly Executive Board teleconference, Monthly EAP/MAP Coordinator call, Bi-weekly ASAP/Safety Call, Friday President’s Call, Monthly Executive Board Meeting, Line Mtc & GSE Process Standards Meeting, Present at TOLS on behalf of Local 591
Projects:
Assisting Pres. Schaible with campaigns and legislative efforts, Tracking JCBA questions/answers/future suggestions, Grievance tracking and management system updates and improvements, Tracking Art 33.B Presidential grievances & evidence, Podcasts prep and recording, Website refresh and update project improvements
Details:
January seems to be becoming a month with a lot of travel for me. I travelled to our National Local 591 Headquarters in Colleyville TX for some office improvements and to work on a large number of projects with President Schaible. This included reviewing a great deal of files and determining what documents needed to be retained and what documents could be properly destroyed. With the digital age, it still amazes me how much paperwork we accumulate. I also travelled to DFW for TOLS and a number of SOF meetings that I mentioned in my December 2022 Lookback. I was invited to the CLT Business meetings and was glad to reconnect with many of our Members there, with valuable discussions about their concerns. That same week I went to DFW HDQ to attend meetings regarding the status of the eAML (electronic Aircraft Maintenance Logbook) project, and to review a number of scenarios that needed to be discussed with the eAML. I also travelled to SFO to attend the meeting with the Director and our Local 591 Western Region Station Chairs, Region Chair, and RVP. That was a productive meeting, though moving forward it’s clear that we need more time to discuss the challenges in that Region with the company.
This month, I want to spend some time focusing on the ASAP program. The ASAP Program (Aviation Safety Action Program) has had a lot of misconceptions over the time this program has been in place. In this message, I hope to clear up some of those misconceptions and also help Members better understand what the program is, what the duties and responsibilities for the company, the F.A.A., the Union Representatives, and our Members are.
Let’s start with some boring, but frankly pretty important and impressive history. The TWU first signed the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the company and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) back in 1998. That MOU established the structure for how the ASAP Event Review Committee (ERC) would function. Since then, the MOU has been revised and improved quite a few times. In concert with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Safety Reporting System, much has been learned, and processes improved thanks to these types of voluntary self-disclosure safety focused programs.
The primary focus of all airline ASAP programs is accident prevention and continuous improvement. To do that, the ASAP ERC gathers maintenance event data and information from those who voluntarily report in order to improve safety and compliance both within the airline and also within the industry. This begs the question, what is a maintenance event? A maintenance event is either a possible violation of the Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs), now part of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFRs), or a generic or specific safety concern. As examples of violations or concerns, in simplest terms (NOT a comprehensive list), can include if you make an honest maintenance error (skip a step, use the wrong part, etc.) while performing maintenance, if you find an error/issue with a manual, observe someone being influenced to deviate from CFRs, find a safety in the workplace related issue, etc., would all be valid types of reasons to submit an ASAP report.
The value to the Members who participate in the ASAP Program is that if the submitted event report is accepted into the ASAP program is that it is non-punitive, meaning that if accepted there can be no discipline imposed. This has led to the mistaken belief that ASAP is some sort of ‘get out of jail free’ program. The removal of discipline, in fact, is used as an incentive by the FAA (and NASA) and the company to obtain maintenance event information from those involved so better and safer processes moving forward can be designed or implemented. Studies have shown that this type of event information would not be available if the employer and/or regulator could then later impose discipline and/or take certificate action once provided that much needed information.
Next misconception – ‘all ASAP reports are accepted.’ Not true, there are specific actions which will not be accepted. The actions taken cannot appear to be intentional disregard for safety, and also cannot appear to involve criminal activity, substance abuse, controlled substances, alcohol, or intentional falsification. As a reminder, for any issues which might have roots in substance abuse, controlled substances, or alcohol, the TWU Local 591 Member Assistance Program (MAP/EAP) has excellent resources to get help.
Another misconception – ‘no one can ever know anything about the event because it is a confidential program.’ It’s a confidential program, meaning that anything discovered within the program cannot be released for general consumption, but that doesn’t mean that no one might ever know about the incident. My favorite explanation is that it is a confidential program, not a ‘top secret’ program. What I mean is, if a significant maintenance event occurs, it’s usually pretty obvious that quite a few people are going to know who was involved and that the event occurred, so the actual event itself is not confidential. What is confidential are all of the statements and additional information provided to the ASAP ERC during the investigation after the Member submits their ASAP report. Confidential also means that any technical information discovered in the investigation, for analysis and safety improvement purposes, may be provided outside the ERC, to either the company, FAA, aircraft manufacturer, NASA, etc., but only in fully de-identified form.
I think it’s important to remind you that this program and our TWU Coordinators maintain an excellent reputation both within the industry as well as with the government regulators they interact with. The dedication and focus of your TWU ASAP Coordinators toward both the Members and to safety are always top notch. They are highly trained and experienced in accident investigation, human factors, safety management systems, etc. That said, neither they nor the ASAP program can be successful without your input. Your Local 591 ASAP Coordinators are committed to working with you throughout the entire ASAP process from the moment you believe you might want to submit a report all the way through to when the ASAP report is ultimately resolved. They are also currently participating in the Local 591 Advanced Shop Steward training scheduled in all five Regions, providing your Stewards systemwide with the ability to better assist you in station with your compliance and ASAP needs.
This brings me to my last misconception - ‘once I submit my report, I’m done.’ Actually, once you submit your ASAP report, you’re only getting started in the process of having your report accepted into the program. The next step in the ASAP process is one of our Local 591 ASAP Coordinators is going to contact you. After you file your ASAP report, expect this call, and be ready to answer and/or call them back in a timely manner. Let me remind you, the ASAP program is a voluntary program, meaning that in order for your report to be accepted, you must participate fully within the ASAP process. This means that you must recognize the urgency of the process, and return calls, emails, etc. from the TWU Coordinators in a timely manner. Your TWU ASAP Coordinators will help guide you through the ASAP progress and will also arrange any internal ERC meetings with you which might be deemed necessary by the Committee.
If you have any questions about the ASAP Program or how to submit an ASAP, please contact your in-station TWU Local 591 Representatives. If you have specific questions, or need additional assistance with an ASAP report, your two TWU Local 591 ASAP coordinators are:
Harry Charalambous - 917-579-3200 - hcharalambous@twu.org
Joe Absalon - 917-966-1280 - joeabsalon@gmail.com
Fraternally
Russ Dittmer
Local 591 Administrative E-Board Member
russ.dittmer@local591.com
Download:
|
