Sugar N Spice

By David Carr
Director of Safety














































OCTOBER 2013



Sugar N Spice


Behind The Toolbox


Catching Zzzs at
Flight Level 350




2013 Incident Stats


If you read Julys newsletter, you were introduced to our Just Culture Program as being the foundation of our safety
culture. In August, part II of Just Culture focused on error control. I want to take space here this month to expand the
conversation about our overall safety culture.

-One Of These Is Not Like The Other (Part I)
Wherever we go, we expose ourselves to different cultures. Stop in your local Walmart and you will get an
underlying sense of economy. Compare that to a trip to a high end department store. The differences are obvious.
So too are the differences between MTC bases. We all operate under the same rules, the FAA, our GOM, protocols,
etc. But there are differences, some subtle, some obvious. Med-Trans has its own culture, and by extension, each
base has their own, and at many bases, there are subcultures that exist that are different from their host.

-Location, Location, Location
It would be an impossible task to have the exact same culture at every one of our bases. And thats okay, even for a
control freak like me. But we all need to know the left and right limits of deviation from the standard. Those limits are
spelled out in the regulations, our operations and repair manuals our protocols and our procedures. Our goal then is
to be as consistent and standardized as we can throughout our organization, without losing the local flavor each base
prides itself in. Be it Cajun in LA, country fried everything in the deep south, pine nuts and granola in CO/CA or Tex-
Mex here, having pride in your operation is important, but that local seasoning shouldnt overpower or replace the
standardized Med-Trans practices.

-One Of These Is Not Like The Other (Part Deux)
Once upon a time, I flew for a commercial airline, a company with two major hubs. The differences between them
couldnt have been more stark. The corporate headquarters and primary base was in Atlanta
with a satellite base in Dallas. The folks flying out of Atlanta loved flying to DFW, but those of
us based at DFW detested flying to Atlanta. -One company, two totally different cultures.
Being the smaller of the two, the DFW hub was a tight knit community. Folks knew each
other and flew together frequently. Management had a personal and cooperative relationship
with the employees. We felt like we belonged to a good organization so we cared a lot about
what went on there. Morale was high (even with low pay) which manifested itself in month
over month high on-time departure rates, happy customers and low employee turnover. DFW
management lobbied hard to have one of our jets painted to display our local flavor and we
were proud to get the keys to the DFW mascot:

Atlanta on the other hand was easily twice the size of
the DFW operation. Nobody seemed to know anyone-
or care. Management was not closely involved or
accessible to crewmembers. The air was thick with
mediocrity. The operation wasnt agile, professional
or friendly. This culture was reflected in bad attitudes and poor customer service. You could
feel the difference and so could the paying passengers. Low on-time performance, high in
customer complaints, employee turnover rates that resembled a spinning revolving door.






































































Again--one company, two cultures that were polar opposites. Fortunately though, there were a few things that we
had in common. Regardless of which base we belonged to, our rules, procedures, and standardization kept us
heading in the same direction, safely. It didnt matter who you flew with, once in the cockpit, everything was the
same. I could fly with a guy from DFW or a guy from Atlanta, it didnt matter. Everyone knew exactly what their
duties were and executed them as they had been trained. It didnt matter that I may have never met the other pilot
before. We strapped in, and I knew exactly what the guy in the other seat was going to do and say, and he/she
could expect the same from me. Each base had its own flavor, but when it came to how we did business in the
pointy end of the jet, you couldnt tell us apart. The regulations, our operations manuals and our procedures were
the safety rules of the roaddeviations to add in a little local seasoning were unacceptable.
-Dont Try This At Home Kids I Am A Professional
We all want to show that we are the best at what we do. Individualism is important and if you have a better way
of designing a mousetrap, we want to know. But its not impressive or professional for an employee to disregard
the way MTC requires a task to be performed. True professionals in any line of work prove their worth and skill by
doing their job the way it is supposed to be done, not by how they feel like doing itor how they did it somewhere
else. Safe operations start with employees who live the phrase: We do it by the book here.

-All My Heroes Are Cowboys
Let me leave you with one final thought. I started out in HEMS with another company in 2009. My first order of
business was to get a feel for our lifesaving mission. So, I went on a watching and listening tour of our bases.
Luckily for me, my timing was perfect as I had a chance meeting with the most senior flight nurse in the company,
an employee who had over the years, gained enormous respect among his peers. I asked him what his biggest
safety concern was. Paraphrasing, his response was this. He was worried about the pilots we were hiring. It
seemed to him that new pilots coming in didnt have the same skills, like flying under a set of wires to get into a
tight LZ, sub-3 minute lift off times, flying at treetop level to stay under low ceilings, or having to
use checklists to start and shutdown the aircraft. Seriously, those were the examples he chose
to define piloting skill.

His view of professionalism was exactly the opposite of mine. He was confusing the actions of a
rogue pilot with skill and professionalism. That was the seasoning he was sprinkling around his
base. What is the culture are you fostering through your words, actionsand personal standards?

BEHIND THE TOOL BOX
Anonymous

Its 2 oclock in the morning. I am dialing the phone to my base mechanic to report the aircraft is out of service.
This is not the first time I have called him in the middle of the night, nor will it be the last.

We often overlook the important role our mechanics play as we go about our business of saving the lives of
critically ill or injured patients. It is us, pilots and medical crew members who often take the credit for a job well
done. We receive thanks and praise from our patients and family members who may even refer to us as heroes or
angels from above.

Little do we think about those who work tirelessly behind the scenes to keep us safe. Those who seldom get a
thank you from the doctors and nurses who will say, Were glad you are here. Thank you for coming, or from the
rescue squad member who will say, Thank you for getting here so quick.

We will always be thankful when our mechanic is called in to fix a broken helicopter. Even more thankful when we
did something stupid to break it, but how many times do we take routine maintenance for granted. How often do




OCTOBER 2013










































































we think about all of the training and all of the years of experience our mechanics have that goes into keeping
these multi-million dollar aircraft airworthy. Nothing to them is routine. Behind every turn of a screw, every safety
wire or a final inventory of his tools and with every drop of sweat is a loyal, conscientious, hard-working professional
who is an integral part of the team.

We are fortunate to work for a company that places safety above all else. We are also fortunate to have the best
and the brightest in our maintenance side of the house. From Josh and Les and our Regional Maintenance
Managers all the way down to our newest mechanic. To all of you we say thank you for keeping us safe. Thank
you for all the long hours away from your families while you maintain our highly complex fleet, and thank you for
coming in at 2 oclock in the morning especially when I do something stupid.

The next time someone thanks me for doing a job I love to do, I will remember to extend
that thanks to my mechanic. As part of the team, you deserve it. I might even share
with you, that fruit basket I get every now and then.
- This article has been anonymously submitted by a very grateful pilot -





CATCHING ZzzS AT FLIGHT LEVEL 350

LONDON - More than half of Britain's airline pilots have fallen asleep in the cockpit and a third have woken up to
find their co-pilot asleep, according to a new survey. The poll of 500 pilots commissioned by the British Airline
Pilots' Association (BALPA) also found that 43 percent believed tiredness had compromised
their ability to fly a plane at least once a month for the last six months. Some 56 percent
admitted they had fallen asleep during a flight and 29 percent said they had woken up to find
the other pilot had also dozed off, according to the ComRes poll.

The survey comes after it emerged that both the captain and co-pilot of an Airbus A330
plane fell asleep at the same time while it was on autopilot during a flight by an unnamed
British operator on August 13. The Civil Aviation Authority said one of the pilots had reported
that the pair had only five hours' sleep each for the previous two nights.

Nearly half of the pilots questioned by the BALPA -- 49 percent -- identified tiredness as the biggest threat to flight
safety, while a third said their airline's culture discouraged them from reporting their tiredness.
Source: http://www.interaksyon.com/article/71677/half-of-british-airline-pilots-fall-asleep-on-the-job-survey









DONT WAIT UNTIL YOU ARE
A 10 TO LET SOMEONE KNOW!
.

OCTOBER 2013





























































The Med-Trans Safety Compass monthly newsletter
is one method we have of communicating with every
employee. We want this newsletter to be a forum for
fostering a culture of informing and learning.

I welcome your suggestions on topics you would like
to see addressed here. Better yet, send me your
article and I will get it added in the next issue.

Feel free to contact me by phone or email, my virtual
door is always open.

David Carr
Director of Safety

If you have a safety concern, or if something in your operation doesnt seem right, you have tools available. First, speak
up! Get your supervisor involved. Submit a hazard report/Safety Concern. If you are uncomfortable with either of those
options, you can submit your concerning via our compliance hotline anonymously at:
800-399-2319.




Director of Safety
David Carr
David.carr@med-trans.net
The Med-Trans Leadership Team
Chief Operating Officer
Rob Hamilton
Hamiltonrobert@med-trans.net

Director of Operations
Bert Levesque
levesquebert@med-trans.net

VP, Program Operations
Connie Eastlee
Eastleeconnie@med-trans.net
Director of Maintenance
Josh Brannon
Brannonjoshua@med-trans.net

Chief Pilot
Don Savage
Savagedonald@med-trans.net

Assistant Chief Pilot
Mike LaMee
Lameemichael@med-trans.net

VP, Flight Operations
Brian Foster
Fosterbrian@med-trans.net

OCTOBER 2013















































OCTOBER 2013