Norms
Norms is a set of social norms.
Contents
Definitions
According to the FAA AC 120-72,
- Norms. Expected, yet implicit rules of behavior that dictate a person's dress, speech, and basic interaction.
As a human factor
Norms is the human factor that is characterized by commonly accepted practice of working routine jobs without the manual. This factor is one of the Dirty Dozen of Human Factors.
In aviation maintenance
- According to the FAA AMT Handbook,
Norms is short for “normal,” or the way things are normally done. [Figure 14-29] They are unwritten rules that are followed or tolerated by most organizations. Negative norms can detract from the established safety standard and cause an accident to occur. Norms are usually developed to solve problems that have ambiguous solutions. When faced with an ambiguous situation, an individual may use another's behavior as a frame of reference around which to form his or her own reactions. As this process continues, group norms develop and stabilize. Newcomers to the situation are then accepted into the group based on adherence to norms. Very rarely do newcomers initiate change in a group with established norms.
Some norms are unsafe in that they are non-productive or detract from the productivity of the group. Taking shortcuts in aircraft maintenance, working from memory, or not following procedures are examples of unsafe norms. Newcomers are better able to identify these unsafe norms than long-standing members of the group. On the other hand, the newcomer’s credibility depends on his or her assimilation into the group. The newcomer’s assimilation, however, depends on adherence to the group norms. Everyone should be aware of the perceptiveness of newcomers in identifying unhealthy norms and develop a positive attitude toward the possibility that norms may need to be changed. Finally, as newcomers become assimilated into the group structure, they build credibility with others. Once this has been done, a relative newcomer may begin to institute change within the group. Unfortunately, such actions are often difficult to do and rely heavily on the group’s perception of the newcomer’s credibility.
Norms have been identified as one of the dirty dozen in aviation maintenance and a great deal of anecdotal evidence points to the use of unsafe norms on the line. The effect of unsafe norms may range from the relatively benign, such as determining accepted meeting times, to the inherently unsafe, such as signing off on incomplete maintenance tasks. Any behavior commonly accepted by the group, whether as a standard operating procedure (SOP) or not, can be a norm. Supervisors need to ensure that everyone adheres to the same standards and not tolerate unsafe norms. Aircraft maintenance technicians should pride themselves on following procedure, rather than unsafe norms that may have been adopted as regular practice.
Mitigating the risk: (a) Ensure that everyone follows the same standard, (b) The easiest way of accomplishing something may not be the standard, (c) Be aware that just because it seems normal does not make it correct. Norms is short for “normal,” or the way things are normally done. They are unwritten rules that are followed or tolerated by most of the organization. Negative norms can detract from the established safety standard and cause an accident to occur.
