The National Aviation Office of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) awarded Mission-Centered Solutions, Inc., a contract to conduct an organizational review of the BLM’s aviation program. The intent of the effort is to focus on accident prevention and organizational improvement as well as to identify potential areas of cultural or organizational weaknesses that may contribute to unnecessary risk.
The project was originally envisioned by John Gould, Chief of the Division of Aviation at the BLM, who launched the internally-driven review as the result of conversations with the aviation staff over the past year. “I see this as a significant discussion for current operations and one that is critical to our success in the future,” said Gould.
Describing the project, MCS CEO Lark McDonald commented, “I am very pleased that the BLM selected us for this work, and I think that our firm is well suited for the project. This effort is unique in what it is trying to examine: safety and risk through the lens of operational culture and organizational preconditions, rather than only individual behavior, motivational safety, or the limited construct of a ‘safety culture.’ Our prior work in strengthening concentric action in distributed systems should prove very useful.”
The work, to include an analysis of interviews and surveys and a final report, will be carried out in locations in Idaho, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, and Montana in June, July, and August of 2013. Data will be gathered from aircraft and services providers, cooperating agencies, and BLM employees at all levels of the BLM aviation program.
In a letter to BLM aviation staff announcing the project, Gould described the focus of the effort, “Without doubt, a large percentage of our collective success (or failure) is human-based. Even though many accidents in our industry have shown direct effects of human performance issues at the operator level, we haven’t specifically examined how effectively our organization puts in place the pre-conditions that support safe and effective operations. In this review, we want to probe items that are not typically examined during accident reviews, including how well we provide guidance and intent, what we do collectively to manage risk, and how consistently our perceptions, words, and actions are applied throughout our system.”
In regards to the selection of MCS to spearhead the project, the BLM cited MCS’s reputation for high-quality work in the field of organizational and leader development and its history of assisting national fire agencies with numerous evaluation projects.
MCS has been given full responsibility to design the surveys, select interviewees, and steer the review. Dr. Charles Palmer, EdD, and Dr. Courtney Stewart, PhD, professors at the University of Montana, are directing the survey design. Investigation resources from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement also will assist the MCS team.
The final report is expected in the fall of 2013. BLM’s National Aviation Office is headquartered at the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise, ID. Mission-Centered Solutions, Inc. is participating in the contract with AE Strategies, LLC, who is serving as Prime.
