Production and safety trade-off in the perspective of the work of cabin crews

Abstract

Recent studies have been pointed out the necessity for the understanding of the operating circumstances, which lead operators to emphasize the search for production (e.g. to get the job done, to do it faster) instead of safety goals (e.g. to follow the procedures, to do it safer). This work aims at discussing such a potential dilemma in the perspective of cabin crews. In this way, a qualitative-exploratory study was carried out based on documental analysis and interviews with twenty flight attendants from four airline companies. Results indicate that the reduction on the number of flight attendants on board, the pressures for punctuality, the support from managerial level for the judgment of sacrifices, the flight schedule, and the need for adaptations across standard procedures, are factors perceived by the cabin crews as highly influent to the management of the production and safety conflicts.