JAL Outside Safety Advisors Issue Report |
Tokyo, December 27, 2005: A special committee of outside experts established to consult and advise Japan Airlines on safety issues has presented the results of their examination and recommendations. The five-member committee was set up in August this year in response to a proposal made to JAL by the Japanese Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) on June 17, 2005. The committee's 126-page report, handed over to JAL on December 26, includes a wide-ranging list of measures and recommendations. With the basic title of, "Securing the Fundamentals in Achieving the Highest Safety Standards," the report proposes action in 11 major areas. These include upgrading employee safety awareness, company organization changes to clarify and simplify chains of command, greater personnel exchange to broaden basic operational knowledge, heightened safety oversight, the systematic use of case studies of safety-related events in employee training and encouraging staff to take the initiative in preventing everyday errors. Also emphasized in the report are the links between human error and accidents, the importance of improving the flow of information through good communications and the establishment of a solid corporate safety culture, aiming at the creation of a safety culture of the highest level. On receiving the report, JAL C.E.O. Toshiyuki Shinmachi commented, "We thank the Safety Advisory group and appreciate their diligence for making their investigations in such a short time and for providing their recommendations. We will examine their recommendations carefully, with a view to their implementation by all JAL Group personnel." "There is no end to the challenge to secure flight safety. We will continue to make ceaseless efforts to gain the confidence of our customers," Shinmachi added. The advisory committee is composed of five experts from outside the company who have an extensive knowledge of and experience in the fields of safety, human error analysis, organizational operations and business culture. Chairman of the committee is Mr. Kunio Yanagida, a former news reporter for NHK – the Japanese national broadcasting corporation – and now a very well known award-winning writer specializing in scientific, medical and aviation topics in Japanese media. JAL has been carrying out a series of corrective measures that were implemented in response to a MLIT "Business Improvement Order" issued on March 17 to boost safety awareness after a series of infringements. Among measures already taken by the airline are the raising of employee safety awareness through informal meetings with top executives; a review of all safety procedures and operations manuals to prevent human error; and confirming compliance procedures and making improvements to the Group's safety organization structure. |
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