Communications
What is Communication?
Communication is the glue that links people together, whether it’s your team members collaborating effectively, or building positive relationships with external agencies. It enables information-sharing, people to build perspective and grow connections.
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This in turn can help foster an environment where your people can use core Human Factors skills to reduce or minimise errors
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Unless we can exchange information, respond to ideas and explain feelings clearly and effectively, we can’t build Situational Awareness or make decisions that lead to high – or even safe – performance for your team.
Most communication is non-verbal
According to studies by Mehrabian and Ferris, we communicate 55% through body language, 38% through tone of voice and only 7% by the words we use. [15]
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If you factor in language barriers, cultural differences or sensitivities, it’s easy to see how misunderstandings can arise
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Remote communications channels can add an extra layer of complexity
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What’s key to remember is that communication becomes ineffective unless the message you intended to convey has been both received and understood.
The rise of the remote referee
Some industries, such as football, develop face-to-face communications first, where players and officials spend years learning nuanced skills.
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As technology evolves, it forces these more natural communication methods to change.
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On-field refereeing has given way to the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) suite, where referees are remotely located in different physical locations, using both video technology and audio headsets
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This new method of communication contains its own vulnerabilities if not correctly managed.
The dangers of miscommunication
In the world of financial trading, sales teams, brokers and clients operate in different physical locations, using industry-specific terminology across multiple time zones – while multiple simultaneous conversations occur around them.
Linked only by screens and phone lines, other factors include minimal face-to-face meetings, language barriers, the “noise” of time pressure, and the drive to negotiate the best deal.​
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This can produce a culture where there’s less openness to clarify nuance
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Add in cultural differences as another mitigating factor, and our innate human ability to communicate can be stretched thin – opening the way to costly misunderstandings
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Miscommunication can be immediate and deadly in some industries
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If a Doctor’s handwriting is illegible or riddled with abbreviations that nobody else understands, it can lead to the fatal administration of incorrect drugs
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In aviation, if a pilot misunderstands the instructions of an Air Traffic Controller (ATC), tragic consequences can follow
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The most significant aircraft accident in history occurred on a foggy day in Tenerife in 1977 when the Captain of the KLM 747 proceeded to take off without requesting or receiving ATC take-off clearance
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This led to two 747’s colliding on the runway, killing all on board the KLM aircraft and 335 of the 396 occupants of the Pan Am aircraft. [16]
Real-world example of the results of poor Communications
Oil & Gas
Piper Alpha Disaster, July 1988
Background
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Oil platform, Piper Alpha, was based 120 miles north-east of Aberdeen, Scotland
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After retrofitting, unprotected gas facilities were placed next to the control room
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Overnight between 6-7 July, sustained gas jet fires caused platform collapse and explosions
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Of the 165 fatalities of the men on board, 30 bodies were never recovered. [17]
Applying Communication in your teams
On our Sapien Human Factors Consulting courses we’ll show you how to:
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Recognise that communication is a skill which can be learned, developed and improved
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Examine the vulnerabilities in different methods of communication, verbal and non-verbal
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Become aware of barriers to effective communications and limitations in our communication
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Establish proven communication strategies used in other safety-critical industries
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Highlight the dangers of making assumptions in multi-disciplinary team communications
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Learn that communication is a two-way process which needs feedback to check its efficacy
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Understand how to make correct and timely interventions for greater understanding
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Maintain team cohesion when speaking up or challenging the status quo
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Develop strategies to become more successful communicators
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Discover how effective communication affects Situational Awareness and Decision Making.
