A systemic modelling of ground handling services using the functional resonance analysis method

In contrast to air transport safety, safety in ground handling is not concerned only with aircraft accidents but also the Occupational Health and Safety of the employees who work at airport aprons. Ground handling safety costs the aviation industry tens of billions USD every year which raises the questions about the effectiveness of linear safety risk management of Ground Handling Services (GHS). This paper uses the state-of-the-art safety theory to justify and highlight the need for a systemic approach to safety risk management of GHS on the apron. A hybrid Total Apron Safety Management (TASM) framework, based on the combination of Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM), Grounded Theory, Template Analysis and Goals-Means Task Analysis (GMTA) was developed to support systemic safety modelling of GHS. The data that underpins the TASM framework includes extensive literature review, 15 observations, 43 interviews and expert judgement across five international airports. While the TASM framework can be applied in retrospective, prospective and system design analysis to improve both the safety management and the efficiency of apron operations, this paper showcases only one of its application on a case study of a historical safety occurrence. The results of the investigation carried out in this paper clearly demonstrate the benefits of the systemic as opposed to the existing linear approaches to retrospective safety analyses and the suitability of the TASM framework for occurrence analysis and prevention.