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The Aerospace Performance Factor: How the APF is changing the way aviation views safety information
How does a company best measure safety performance? What information provides the most comprehensive picture of an organization’s ability to prevent accidents and unintended losses? Is there a way to present safety related data to decision makers that gives a clear view of how the organization’s processes and safety programs are impacting operational performance? Answering these questions is an unending challenge to the aviation safety community. With the advent of a methodology known as the Aerospace Performance Factor or APF, and an APF trial program ongoing within easyJet Airlines, aviation is taking a giant step toward a decision management solution that answers these questions and paves the way toward a revolution in safety performance measurement.
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Future Concepts for Measuring Aviation Safety, Performance, & Effectiveness
This paper presents the Aerospace Performance Factor, APF, a balanced approach to measurement using multiple indicators, weighted by expert judgment, and normalized against system operations. The paper introduces the philosophy and some early concepts that led to the development of the beta version of the APF. Conceptually, the APF should allow any organization that deals with risk management to maximize their operation while maintaining an acceptable level of risk.
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Aviation safety an evolution of change
Everyone who is involved in aviation, regardless of our roles, has always considered safety to be our first priority. Whether we are air traffic controllers, pilots, dispatchers, maintenance professionals or other members of the aviation community, our actions are driven by the principle “safety first”. By Tom Lintner
Interestingly however, when we are asked, “is it safe?” our unanimity ends, since we all see safety in different ways. When I ask an aviation professional, “is your system safe?” the universal answer, after a pause, is “yes” followed very quickly by the comment “but it could be safer.” When you ask the follow-up question “how would you measure that?” the answers become less definitive. -
The Aerospace Performance Factor (APF) Developing the EUROCONTROL ESARR 2 APF
The Aerospace Performance Factor (APF) represents a new methodology that moves away from performance measurement that relies on a single or limited number of measures. Instead, the APF aims to aggregate multiple operational safety risks, expressed as the sum of reported incidents, in a weighted manner, into one value that can vary over time.
