The Dirty Dozen - Lack of assertiveness #12

Lacking of assertiveness is defined as how one is aware that certain method of doing is wrong but is not confident enough to question or clarify. Thus leading to abnormal operating method which will nto be corrected leading to other faults that could've been solved at a much earlier stage.

Being "assertive" is the ability to express your feelings, opinions, beliefs and needs in a positive, productive manner. It is not the same as being aggressive

Cause and effects of the Lack of assertiveness

Causes

Individuals being hesitant in expressing their opinions - often found in people who are new

Individuals who are new and dares not ask any question even when they're uncertain;

Individuals who sees something wrong but fails to communicate with their superiors to clarify.

Effects of the lack of assertiveness

The lack of assertiveness may cause;

Improper work planning

Improper or unsafe working environments/operating methods
Safety issues, concerns &;
Accidents

Safety net for the lack of assertiveness

the lack of assertiveness can be prevented by

Being confident in sounding out your concerns;

dont be afraid to express your opinions and ideas

ask for what you need to know, approach supervisors whenever necessary

never compromise your job's integrity simply because you're afraid to sound out or to ask someone when you see something done wrongly

learn how to be assertive in doing your job, be confident in your knowledge if you know something is done wrongly

The Dirty Dozen - Lack of awareness #11

The lack of awareness can be defined as the failure to be alert, vigilant or observative in the surrounding or in the job itself. Such incidents can lead to the failure to recognize the consequences of an action.

Cause and effects

Factors that can lead to the lack of awareness;

The absence of situational awareness leading to the;
Failure to know what's going on around oneself &
The lack of alertness and vigilance in observing the job and the surroundings

Effects of the lack of awareness;

The lack of awareness can cause;

Damage to the equipment being handled or the tools being used.
Injuries to oneself or endangering the lives of others.

Safety nets of the lack of awareness

There are many measures to take to combat the lack of awareness such ask

Being vigilant of the surrounding of your workplace - be situational aware of the surroundings

Understand the situation awareness would deteriorate as time goes by - Do not let fatigue kick in, rest if necessary

Ensure that all equipment used is the correct type and to get supervisors to conduct periodic checks to ensure correct work procedures

Recognize the job requirements and complexity - Seek advice with superiors and clarify any critical factors for your job, do not be complacent.

The Dirty Dozen - Stress #10

There are 2 types of stress:

ACUTE
Acute stress relates to the demand placed on the body because of current issue. for examples, time constraints for converting the aircraft from passenger to cargo configuration. To handle acute stress, try to take a five minutes break and relax by deep breathing.


Chronic
Chronic stress results from long term demands placed on the body by both negative and positive major life events, such as divorce, or winning the lottery. Chronic stress can exaggerate the effects of acute stress. Dealing with chronic stress is more difficult and usually involves a lifestyle change.


Causes of stress
The common causes of stress:
- Personal issue
- Weather concerns
- boss rushing for job to be done


Effects of stress
The Effects of stress:
- Anxiety
- Difficult to concentrate
- Fatigue

Safety net 
The following methods can be use to prevent Stress:
- Eat proper meal, rest adequately, exercise.
- Take time off; take breaks regularly.
- Talk to someone who is not emotionally involved with the situation.

The Dirty Dozen - Fatigue #9

Studies have shown that, similar to being under the influence of alcohol, we tend to underestimate the problem and over estimate our ability to cope with it.

 These studies have proven that after 17hours of wakefulness, you are functioning as if you had an equivalent blood alcohol level of 0.05%

After 24 hours the lever increases to 0.1%; a very sobering though. the more fatigued you are, the lower your IQ.

It is also noteworthy that the more fatigued you are, the more easily you are distracted.


Causes of fatigue
The common causes of fatigue;
- Don't have enough sleep before work.
- Working hours too long.
- Rushing for completion of task lead to skip of break.


Effects of fatigue
The common effects of fatigue lead to;
- Making more mistake and delayed reactions during task performances.
- Difficulty to maintain attention and awareness.
- Information given may be forgotten.
- Difficulty to perform in every task.
- Involuntary lapses into sleep.
- Doesn't communicate or interact with people.


Safety net
The following methods can be taken to prevent fatigue;
- Get adequate amounts of sleep, at least 8 hours per day.
- Eating proper meals and drink plenty of water.
- Exercise regularly
- Physical check-up annually.
- Search for resources on fatigue management.

The Dirty Dozen - Pressure #8

Interestingly, people put the most pressure on themselves. Self-induced pressure are those occasions where one takes ownership of a situation, which was not of their doing. The 'monkey on you back' is yours because you accepted it. Being assertive and not accepting the 'monkey' will help.

Urgent demands, which influence our performance, include:
- Company
- Client
- Peer
- Self-induced

Causes of pressure
common cause of the pressure;
- Having too many tasks in a workday,working over time causing performance problems.
- Not enough time to complete tasks safely without any errors.
- Aiming for promotion, to be better than your colleague.
- Multitasking on the task given.


Effects of pressure
The pressure can lead to;
- Poor performance problems with task given.
- Accidents and injuries to yourself and colleague.
- Damages to the property.
- Make mistakes on the job given.
- afraid to approach for help form colleague and supervisor.


Safety net
The following method can be taken to prevent the pressure from happening;
- Plan well before starting task.
- Always ask around your colleague and supervisor for help.
- Never take shortcuts, always follow  the appropriate procedures.
- Getting enough sleep before work.

The Dirty Dozen - Norms #7

Norms are unwritten rules or behaviors, dictated and followed by the majority of a group. Norms can be postive and negative. A positive norm would be scanning the area inside the aircraft you have been working on prior to closing up A negative norm would be pushing an aircraft into the hangar by yourself.


Causes of norms
The common causes of norms:
- Doing the same daily routine
- Are set by employees
- The way of doing business that's not approved, but it's been done locally for long time.


Effects of norms 
The effects of norms are;
- causing employees to follow whether is correct or wrong.
- causing the technician on getting use to shortcut.
- giving bad impression to new employees.

Safety net 
The following methods can be taken to prevent norms;
- Never us shortcuts, always abide the policies ad procedures.
- Have a habit to remove bad habits and behaviours.
- Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative.
- Set a good example for others.

The Dirty Dozen - Distraction #6

Distraction can be defined as anything that draws your attention away from the task at hand. Psychologists say distraction is the number one cause of forgetting things. We are always thinking ahead. Thus, we have a natural tendency, when we are distracted before returning to a job, to think we are further ahead then we actually are.



Causes of distraction
The various factor that causes Distraction:
- Technicians being interrupted during a task and forget what they left out.
- Personnel's doing too many jobs at once - multitasking too much is counterproductive
- Phone calls being made halfway through the job.

Effects of distraction
The various effect of distraction;
- Performance will be affected;
- Jobs would not be done properly due to things being left out or undone or;
- Endangering the lives of another person who's using the equipment you've serviced.

Safety net
There are many steps that we can take to counter the effects of distractions, such as;
- Creating a checklist -breakdown into detailed steps, complete step by step.
-Minimizing all distractions, if possible eliminate it.
- Completing the task before taking any calls if possible
- If someone is talking to you while you're working, try to get them to either leave you a note or talk to you later.
- If a job has to be left unattended, leave a tag or flag it as uncompleted work.

The Dirty Dozen - complacency #5

Complacency can be defined as how one gets over-confident in his work. This is often a self given satisfaction, one might think that since something has worked for you in the past, the same thing will work for you in the future. This is where the dangers of complacency would kick in.

Typically, complancency steps in after one has overcome a reasonably significant accomplishment. It's usually found in a person who has a lot of experience on the job or in one who has done a certain task multiple times.

Causes of complacency
The causes of complacency can vary, some of which can be found in;
- Personnel's with lots of experience thinking that they can do their job without following the manual.
- Personnel's who's activities are routine resulting in personnels getting bored or tires of their job or;
- Personnel's who show off by performing a task without using the proper guidelines and procedures.


Effects of complacency
When complacency kicks in, people will have the tendency to;
- Allow experiences to guide their expectations
- taking shortcuts or skipping a step
- Not following the proper guidelines & procedures
- Develop an attitude that everything will be done right and nothing would go wrong.


Safety net
The prevention of complacency:
- Use a checklist
- Perform every job according to its regulation and procedures
- Never work from memory
- Always verify your job upon completion
- Remind yourself of the dangers of complacency, do not let it kick in.

The Dirty Dozen - Lack of resources #4

A lack of resources can interfere with one's ability to complete a task give because there is a lack of supply and support. Low quality products also affect one's ability to complete a task

Cause and effects of the lack of resources

• The followings are the common contribution to the lack of resources;

• When supplies are not available from suppliers

• During job performances, parts may not be available or up to date

• Employees may assume on other solution when the proper resource is not available

• Employees may forget the missing resource during job procedures.

Effects of the lack of resources

• The effects caused by the lack of resources;

• Unnecessary delays on task while parts are being placed order, made or retrofitted.

• Fatigue on employees over doing more tasks which may lead to human errors, injuries or accidents.

• Low quality of the job done

• Jobs not be able to be completed due to unavailable spare parts

Safety nets for the lack of resources

• Update on parts being purchased, used or maintained - create an inventory to prevent parts from being unavailable when needed

• Always use the correct tools, if special tools or equipment are not available, custom-make them.

• Preserve all tools and equipment  through proper maintenance

The Dirty Dozen - Lack of teamwork #3

The lack of teamwork can be define as the presence of a interdependent individuals who does not work together or communicate well with others to achieve a common set of goals.

Cause and effects of the lack of teamwork

The common causes of the lack of teamwork can be caused by;

• Individuals who work by themselves and not communicate to the rest of the team to achieve the same set of common goals;

• Individuals unclear of their roles and responsibilities, causing confusing and frustration.

• Decisions are made by one or two people in the group, without the team's majority agreement or acknowledgement.

• Problems found by an individual is not addressed to fellow team members, therefore leading to teamwork problems and performance issues

Effects

The lack of teamwork can lead to;

• Confusion and frustration among the team;

• Poor performance and results in the standard of the job given;

• The lack of communication resulting in problems and issues not being addressed.

Safety nets of the lack of teamwork;

The follow measures can be taken to as a safety net for the lack of teamwork;

• Having an effective plan among the team-mates - clarify all team goals, roles and responsibilities

• Make sure every individual understand their roles in completing the job

• Follow proper procedures and communicate with each other clearly

• Make sure every individual have a balance participation and not some doing too much work and some too little

• Be pro-active on the job, take initiatives and be aware of the team's progress.

The Dirty Dozen - Lack of knowledge #2

Lack of knowledge can be defined as the lack of experience or training in the task at hand. Often one must ensure that their personnel have the required training before getting them to perform any task they're unfamiliar with.

Cause and effects of  Lack of knowledge

There are various factors that can contribute to the lack of knowledge, instances such as;

• New equipment
• New technology
• Inadequate training or;
• Not following of procedures and regulations.

Effects of Lack of knowledge

A personnel who lacks the knowledge and chooses to continue to perform his job might end up damaging the equipment his handling with or even worse, injuring himself or others around him.

Safety nets of lack of knowledge

There are many ways to prevent the lack of knowledge,

• Never do a task if you don't know how to do it;

• Never hesitate to ask - always approach a senior or supervisor who has more experience with the job

• Always use up to date manuals, follow procedures and manuals;

• Never rely on memory, consult the relevant technical manual whenever necessary

• Don't let pride get in the way - be a lifelong learner,  ask someone who knows or get the necessary training if needed.

The Dirty Dozen - Lack of communication #1

Lack of communication

In general only 30% of verbal communication is received and understood by either side in a conversation.

People normally remember what was said first an last in an exchange; consequently it is important to put the most important part of your message first and then repeat it at the end

Depending on the complexity of the message it might be effective to provide some form of written instruction such as a check-list.

Cause and effects of lack of communication

Lack of communication can be caused by ;

Poor relationship between colleagues, employers and supervisors.

Resulting in lack of communication due to personal conflicts and having disagreements over petty issues.

Effects

In many instances, lack of communication can have impacts such as;

Decrease a person's performance

Lost of trust and respect between colleagues

Jobs getting delayed or not getting done right.

Safety nets of lack of communication

• Lack of communication can be prevented in many ways, the following measures can be taken to prevent such incidents from occurring;

• Personnel should practice the 3-way of communication - Verbally, non-verbally (body language) and written.

• Information should always be provided to the right people at the right time;

• Important information should be written down to prevent one from forgetting or missing it.

• Briefings should be conducted before, during and after jobs to keep all personnel's updated on what's happening and what they're doing;

• Do not assume anything, always ask when in doubt.