manual handling at ALCOA/KAAL | management training | physiotherapy gait correction | employability skills training | piano posture correction | workplace safety | rotor stall recovery |
manual handling training program—case studies in improved compliance and work habit correction
ALCOA/KAAL improves hazardous materials handling using Old Way New Way®
Changing Work Habits: More Gain, Less Pain. Australian Safety News, October 2000, pages 58-59. National Safety Council of Australia Ltd. By Graham Weaver, Training Coordinator, KAAL Pty Ltd., Point Henry, Geelong, Victoria. Paul Baxter, Mediational Learning Consultant, Department of Training & Industrial Relations, Brisbane, Queensland and Harry Lyndon, Department of Education, Training & Employment, Adelaide, South Australia.
"KAAL Australia (a joint venture of Kobe Steel and ALCOA) writes about a new process of Skill Mediation (Old Way New Way®) which aims to change behaviour at work in the name of good OHS." See below for an earlier full text version of this article.
management training and development
The Education Boom. Jarek Czechowicz. Management Today. November-December 2000. Pages 12 and 13. Australian Institute of Management.
Knowledge is an enterprise's greatest resource. Online management development is fast and cheap. By 2002, more than half of all training will be technology based, with the remainder taking place in the classroom.
This article discusses the proactive habit interference mechanism that slows down change and continuous improvement in knowledge and skills. The solution, Old Way New Way®, accelerates human learning and allows the rapid uptake of new knowledge and skills.
Old Way New Way® makes health professionals' treatments more effective
Andrew learns to walk again and overcomes a long standing health problem
Andrew had a walking problem. His gait was unusual in that he normally threw his right foot toe-outwards on a forward step, instead of pointing it straight forward.
To an uninformed person that might not seem so drastic but the problems that it caused for Andrew, now in middle age, meant that his personalised walking style had to change and change quickly.
His physiotherapist had diagnosed the cause of his swollen achilles tendon, his tight calf muscle and his persistent lower back pain as all due to his unfortunate walking style. The prescribed treatment was that Andrew actively concentrate and practice a new way of walking. Instead of throwing his right foot out to the side he now had to point it straight forward when walking. In fact, he had to learn how to walk all over again.
The prognosis was dubious at best. Given a lot of effort and sufficient time, Andrew might re-learn how to walk in 6 months, or perhaps longer, or maybe never. He was somewhat pessimistic about his own chances of making the change. Having had the problem for so many years the injurious walking style was deeply ingrained.
Fortunately, Andrew was conversant with Old Way / New Way and sought the assistance of the PBS facilitator. A session was scheduled for the next day.
Andrew had paid close attention to his physiotherapist's explanation of the problem and could give the facilitator a detailed description of the problem. After this Andrew spent some 15 minutes walking back and forth in a room, with his shoes on and at other times with them off, and sometimes with his eyes open and at other times with them closed, all the while speaking aloud of his sensations while he was walking in his usual way with his foot thrown outwards.
While walking in his own way he described the sensation of feeling the back of his right heel strike the floor first, followed by a "foot roll" or something he later described as a "rocking motion." He said that there appeared to be a two-stage impact. When asked to walk in his new way he described the sensation of feeling less heel strike, making a flatter impact, having more bend in the foot and in the centre of the foot and feeling more lift-off from the ball of the foot and from the toes. His foot seemed to be "working harder," he added thoughtfully. Andrew also mentioned that he could feel his right knee "working" to keep the foot pointed straight ahead when he walked.
The remaining part of the half-hour session was taken up by Andrew comparing his old and new ways of walking, followed by a short practice session where he walked in his new way. He was given a simple procedure for self-correcting his walking whenever he detected he was walking in his old way and was reminded that his progress would be reviewed in two weeks.
In an informal discussion a few days later Andrew said that the metacognitive treatment appeared to be working and that he had been able to successfully apply the self-correction procedure a few times. He also complained of a new pain in his right knee. The facilitator suggested that he should mention this to his physiotherapist on his next visit that evening and also asked him to explain to the physiotherapist that the Old Way / New Way process had now enabled Andrew to exert more conscious control over his walking such that he was actually walking more often in his new way and consequently using his right knee more to maintain the new direction of his right foot. Andrew agreed that this was a likely explanation of the knee pain and said that he would mention this to his physiotherapist.
2 Weeks Later. The knee pain has gone and Andrew's walk is now much improved. He has noticed the improvement himself and so has his physiotherapist. Altogether, its been a very positive outcome for all concerned.
how Jennifer improved her work skills, conquered her fears, learned to take on more difficult tasks and aspired to permanent employment and promotion
In 1985 the Commonwealth Department of Education employed the services of Personal Best Systems on behalf of several Aboriginal students. In a letter of referral dated February 5, 1986, the Education Officer stated that,
"Most of the cases were with secondary level students where the intervention techniques with English and mathematics problems proved most beneficial to all the students. Further to this, the techniques proved remarkable in the case of a young adult who had previously been struggling to hold a position in the Public Service, This young person has now assumed increasingly more difficult and complicated tasks and aspires to permanent employment and promotion. I would recommend the programme highly on the results I have seen in only one year."
Our case notes tell the following story about this highly personal transformation.
"Jennifer was referred to Personal Best Systems by the Department of Education. A 25-year old counter officer employed by the Department of Social Security, she was experiencing the following difficulties at work.
- Her poor spelling was preventing her from dealing efficiently with the completion of a wide variety of required forms.
- Her perceived need to conceal her spelling disability from her clients led her to adopt various strategies designed to hide the form from clients as she worked. Her clients became suspicious and resentful and would make negative comments.
- She was very slow in processing clients, sometimes managing to deal with only 6 or 7 during a morning period. This also generated comments from clients as well as co-workers.
- She would select the simplest cases to deal with, leaving the more difficult work to other counter officers.
- To alleviate some of her difficulties, she would frequently call on other counter officers for assistance. This interrupted their own duties and created resentment.
- She would find ways to avoid having to deal with clients and would try to appear pre-occupied with other tasks.
- Her growing dissatisfaction with her work and the belief that the situation would never improve led her to seriously consider resigning. There was the clear possibility that if she did not resign her employment would be terminated.
Jennifer underwent an intensive period of occupational training and spelling remediation. She completed 29 hours of work, with the following outcomes.
- Her vocabulary of words required for her work increased greatly. Many long established spelling errors were corrected and she was taught a method for learning new words quickly. This made her self-monitoring and self-correcting in spelling.
- Her tendency to hide forms from clients as she completed them was eliminated by a series of direct interventions. This was achieved even before there was a noticeable improvement in her spelling. As a result, her relationships with clients greatly improved, to the extent that she perceived them as friendly and cooperative rather than unsympathetic and hostile.
- Her efficiency in processing clients greatly improved and she now handles in excess of 50 clients in a morning's work. Its is no longer necessary to recall clients to amend forms or get additional information. She gets all she needs from them the first time and in an atmosphere of cooperative friendliness.
- She now selects clients from the board, in turn, just like other counter officers, regardless of the amount and difficulty of the work involved.
- She faced initial resistance from other counter officers at being granted time away from work to attend PBS. Because her productivity was so low they begrudged her two afternoons a week at PBS since they were then required to carry her work load at a time when the Department was very busy. However, she improved her work performance and her productivity so quickly that fellow staff were soon taking it upon themselves to remind her of her appointments at PBS. She no longer relied on them to provide assistance with procedures.
- As a direct result of her increased competence, her job satisfaction improved out of sight, as did her self-confidence and self-esteem and her sense of independence. In her own words, "Now I know I can be what I always thought I could. I suspected I had the raw material to be good at my job: now I know I am!"
how Christopher overcame a serious postural problem in his piano playing
In 1982 an examiner from the Australian Music Examination Board (AMEB) commented in his examination report that Christopher had a problem in the way he raised his shoulders. Whenever a stressful passage was attempted he would unconsciously tense his shoulder muscles causing his shoulders to lift which adversely affected his playing.
His music teacher over the next three years from time to time used a method of tapping him on his shoulders in order to get him to relax and release the tension in his shoulders. However, in 1985 a different AMEB examiner again made a comment in his report about his raised shoulders. It appeared that the raised shoulders had now become habitual and had become a permanent part of his playing style.
Worse than that, his music teacher pointed out that this persistent habit would stop Christopher becoming the really good pianist that he was capable of being, unless it was eradicated. The problem was a great concern not only to Christopher but also to his parents.
Christopher's home and talked through the problem with him and his parents in detail.
Paul explained to Christopher and his parents why the raised shoulders had proved so difficult to correct, followed by a brief outline of how this problem would now be corrected using Old Way / New Way.
Christopher then took part in a 20-minute session during which Paul helped him recognise when he was actually raising his shoulders while playing and then replaced this habit with a new habit - relaxed shoulders while playing.
After this brief treatment Paul explained that Christopher could now be expected to play with relaxed shoulders 80% of the time, or better. Furthermore, on those 20% of occasions when he would fall back into his raised shoulders style he would detect this by himself, without needing outside assistance, 95% of the time it happened.
Christopher and his parents, who quietly observed the entire treatment, were then given a simple follow-up routine to deal with those 20% of occasions when Christopher would revert to his old way of playing. His parents monitored Christopher's playing during the next three weeks and whenever a lapse occurred took him through the prescribed brief routine.
In a letter dated October 21, 1985, Christopher's parents were happy to report that,
"We would like to express our sincere thanks for what you did in helping Chris overcome a postural problem in his piano playing. Your solution to his problem seemed so simple, yet two months after your intervention treatment the problem appears to be permanently 'fixed'. The proof to us of a permanent solution came recently when he played to a public audience and there was no sign of a recurrence of the problem."
Christopher subsequently went on to complete his music degree and also won the university piano prize.
KAAL improves workplace safety with Old Way New Way®
Kobe Alcoa Aluminium Limited Training Coordinator, Graham Weaver, liked what he saw and heard at the Australian National Training Authority Research Advisory Council National Conference in Melbourne on November 3, 1996.
He was particularly intrigued by a presentation by a group of three researchers from Queensland and South Australia. They presented the results of a controlled experimental trial of an innovative training method that appeared to be far superior to any other training method he knew.
Graham met and talked with the presenters afterwards and invited them to visit the KAAL aluminium production plant in Geelong and present their research results to a group of trainers and managers.
On the morning of Tuesday 15 July, after seeing the presentation, the management and trainers at KAAL agreed to a workplace trial at their plant. For the rest of the day the presenter met with a wide range of staff including safety officers, production coordinators, trainers and management to discuss the kinds of safety issues that might be suitable targets for a workplace trial.
The topic selected was the appropriate disposal of Synthetic Mineral Fibres (SMF). This material is used as part of the Casting Process for Aluminium and under a particular set of circumstances can be considered as having the potential to be detrimental to health. When this material was introduced as a replacement for more hazardous material, the Company set up proper disposal procedures which were never wholly accepted by the work force who typically tended to dispose of this product in a somewhat ad-hoc manner. Numerous Company initiatives to improve this practice had resulted in short term improvement at best and no improvement at worst.
The workplace trial was scheduled for November 10 and the eight members of pit Crew C in the ingot mill were chosen to participate.
The hazardous nature of the casting pit precluded the running of a hands-on mediation session where crew members would have practiced their actual old and new ways of SMF disposal. Neither was there the time to set up a simulation. Instead the "training room exercise" was used although it was understood that this had significantly less power than the full scale practice.
The re-training session lasted 90 minutes and included a psychological explanation of why established work skills are hard to change; a demonstration of the mental mechanism responsible for protecting skills; a demonstration of the Old Way New Way® training method; a discussion of the existing problem with SMF disposal including why it is so hazardous if not handled properly; a brainstorming session where crew members explored alternative feasible ways of properly disposing of SMF; and finally a conceptual mediation process where each crew member described what his old way of disposing of SMF was, what his new way would be and what difference there was between those two ways
Crew members were then told that this Old Way New Way® process would make them self-monitoring and self-correcting.
The Operators were left to their own devices for a six day period, after which the Training Coordinator spent a total of 5 minutes with each of them informally asking how the new program was going. The responses were more positive than he had ever dared to hope for.
- 'After doing the program I can't 'not think' about how I dispose of synthetic mineral fibres' - Casting Pit Operator A.
- You would have got even better results with a project the crew actually WANT to do' - Casting Pit Operator B.
- We don't get any complaints from the crew who takes over from us' - Casting Pit Operator C.
- 'The casting pit is significantly different on 'C' shift in terms of the amount of synthetic mineral fibres left in the bath pans and around the pit itself. There is a significant and noticeable improvement' - 'C' crew Team Leader.
- 'When can you work with my team?' - the Team Leader of a different area - 'I can't wait until we deal with my golf swing. If it works in the casting pit when I'm only part interested, it should be great on the golf course'.
- 'It was a most interesting training program, not boring like a lot of the stuff we have to do here' - Casting Pit Operator A.
- 'I went into the training room only because I had to. I had little interest in the program at the beginning. But it got me interested and I left the meeting committed to giving it a go' - Casting Pit Operator B.
- 'You can tell the difference when we take over from another shift. You have to give the other shifts the same training to bring them up to our level' - Casting Pit Operator C.
- Unfortunately the crews rotate regularly, so only a couple of people who did the training are actually still working in the pit, but they are influencing the people around them who have not done the training to clean up the SMFs properly. That says a lot about the program' - Team Leader 'C' crew.
- 'It sounds like a really interesting training program, when do I get to do it' - Operator who was not involved in the initial training program.
Given the restricted program that was used and given the limited amount of time spent with the crew, Graham Weaver said that these initial results speak well of the program. He is looking forwards to having the Old Way / New Way facilitators back at the Plant to deliver the next round of training and to discuss further options for the use of this innovative training method.
24 Days Later. I asked Graham how the program was going now that just over 3 weeks had passed since the Old Way / New Way re-training session. "It's now just over 3 weeks since we did the program so I thought that further feedback would be interesting," he commented.
"Of the six operators I spoke with, four of them remain optimistic or very optimistic about the effect of the program, one is somewhat non-committal and one is not terribly impressed," he explained.
"Their Team Leader said that this crew now always dispose of the fibres properly when he was around but couldn't be sure what happens when he is not around. I tend to interpret this view as positive as I believe that most times our operators are consistent in their behaviour, it's either good or not so good." "What sort of feedback have you been getting, then?" I asked. "Some of the comments I got from them today were:
- 'I get fed up with the crews we take over from as they don't care about how they dispose of SMFs. They always leave fibres in the bath pans'
- 'What was said during the training program has really stuck in my mind'
- 'We make sure that new people in the pit dispose of SMFs properly'
- 'The program has had a profound effect'
- 'You've tried a number of programs to manage SMFs and this is the only one which has had any effect on me'
- 'I don't even use SMFs as floats for the hooks anymore, I've developed a system where we don't need to use any fibres at all'
- 'It's a pity we only did the shortened version of the program, imagine how we would be with the full version.' "
He added, "The non-committal person says that he always disposes of the fibres properly anyway, even before the training program was run."
"One person was a bit negative about the impact of the program - but I don't see this response as being solely for the program. I suspect that this is possibly his normal way of being. When pushed a little he was a little bit supportive of the program, perhaps due to the golf lessons we talked about."
"So, how would you evaluate the program at this stage?" I asked.
"Overall I think that this is positive feedback, and when I asked if they would like to have a repeat of the program the answer was universally in the affirmative." Graham concluded.
"Well, Graham, where do we go from here?" I prompted.
"We have set a completion date of the first week in February for this trial. By then the program will have run for 13 weeks and we'll be able to say with certainty to what extent it has been a success", Graham explained.
92 Days Later .Graham informally interviewed various members of 'C' shift. Their feedback was as follows, without names on who said what:
- 'It's easy to tell who has done the program and who has not'
- 'I cannot help myself, I have to pick up SMFs wherever I see them'. This statement was accompanied by laughter from colleagues, then more quietly, 'It's true, I just have to pick it up'
- 'It works with some people but not with others'. After questioning it turns out that the people it 'works' for are the ones who have done the training, and the people it doesn't work for are those who have not done the training
- 'Most times I properly dispose of SMFs, though there are a few times when I don't'
- 'I'm really glad I did the program. Why don't you give it to everyone then the problem with SMF would be well on the way to being fixed'
- 'I'm looking forwards to having my slice cured!'
Three months after the initial training the Ingot Mill ran their own audit of SMF disposal practices in the Plant. Here are the comments of the Production Supervisor who also attended the initial training program with the crew:
- After discussions with the Team Leader, I've come to the conclusion that the training program has been very effective in changing the work habits of those that attended the training session for handling SMFs in the DC pit
- While carrying out process and safety audits the Team Leader has been easily able to identify those who completed the training against those who didn't
- For this reason, I would recommend that we investigate the possibility of expanding the use of the program with the intent of covering a number of safety related work habit issues that exist in the Ingot Mill
"I don't think you will get a clearer or more positive response than this from an Operating person!" said Graham.
Graham went on. "The Area Electrical Engineer also took part in the initial training just out of curiosity. He is now completely sold on the program and his view is that this program has the potential to save our industry 'thousands and thousands of dollars over time'. Without doubt, he sees the value of this program."
"We are presently negotiating to have the presenter return to our Plant to give the program on handling SMFs to the other three crews so that this particular problem can be fixed properly once and for all. After that we would be in a better position to start negotiations for the purchase of the program."
Graham concluded, "It works! I am sold on this program and am delighted that we have had the first opportunity for industry to trial the program."
International Aviation Safety College adopts Old Way New Way® in its safety awareness course
Accident avoidance using Old Way New Way® was one of the learning innovations introduced in the three-day Robinson R22 helicopter pilot safety awareness course conducted at the Ant Hill Hotel in Mareeba, North Queensland, during January 1998.
Over 30 mustering pilots learnt how to use Old Way New Way® to correct a potentially fatal emergency situation known in the trade as "rotor stall."
The Robinson R22 helicopter has an excellent safety record. However, like any aircraft, if it is allowed to stray outside its safe flight envelope and immediate and appropriate corrective action is not applied, a situation can develop that can have serious and even fatal consequences.
In 1994 the Board of Air Safety Investigation Asia-Pacific Air Safety Journal stated that the R22 is subject to main rotor blade stall resulting from an initial state of low indicated air speed combined with low rotor rpm. A pilot who is aware of this danger can take steps to prevent it and, even if it starts to develop, can take immediate action to prevent the rapid onset of rotor stall with its potentially fatal results. Theoretically, any rotor can stall but the lightweight, low energy rotor fitted to the R22 reacts very quickly to changes in power or angle of attack, rendering the R22 more susceptible to this problem than other small piston-engined helicopters.
The sequence of events leading to rotor stall is described graphically in this example from the International Aviation Safety College Robinson Helicopter Safety Course Manual.
- The aircraft is cruising at 80 kts indicated air speed (IAS) at 500 ft above ground level.
- The pilot decides to slow the aircraft to permit better observation of a ground feature. The pilot applies aft cyclic to reduce IAS. As the aircraft flares, rotor rpm increases. The pilot therefore decides not to increase power. IAS reduces to 53 kts, the speed for minimum power in level flight but the pilot decides to continue to slow the aircraft.
- As IAS reduces below 53 kts, more power is required to maintain level flight. As the pilot has not increased collective, the aircraft begins to descend. At this point the rpm may also have reduced, depending upon the circumstances.
- The pilot notices the reduced rpm and lowers the collective lever in an attempt to restore rpm. However, the very effective mechanical link between the collective and throttle system responds to the lowered collective and operates to also reduce throttle setting. This reduces engine power output while not increasing rotor rpm. IAS remains low, the descent steepens, thereby increasing the angle of attack of the main rotor blades and further increasing the stalled areas that exist on the innermost sections of the main rotor. The rate of descent increases even further as rotor efficiency is reduced.
- IAS continues to reduce, requiring even more engine power. As power is unchanged, the descent continues to steepen and, as the stall progresses outward along the rotor blades, the rate of descent increases. Due to the increased drag on the stalled sections of the rotor, rotor rpm further reduces to a dangerous level, often in a matter of seconds.
- The pilot becomes alarmed and again lowers collective in an attempt to restore rotor rpm. Again the collective throttle mechanical link operates to reduce throttle setting. The descent steepens again, rotor rpm does not increase, rotor angle of attack further increases and the stall moves rapidly outwards along the rotor blades.
- The pilot observes the ground rushing upwards, panics, opens the throttle fully and raises the collective. The main rotor angle of attack increases in response to the raised collective and drag on the already stalled rotor increases substantially. The engine cannot overcome the rapid increase in load and becomes ineffective. The rotor stops. The engine has now stalled. The aircraft pitches to a vertical nose-down attitude and impacts the ground.
- The sequence of events from 3 onwards can take place in less that 5 seconds.
The remedy is to prevent engine power reducing and rotor angle of attack increasing to the point at which it is impossible to recover rotor rpm. That is, if rotor rpm is low at low IAS (as indicated by the low rotor rpm warning horn), lower the collective while simultaneously increasing throttle.
Even if rotor rpm is further reducing, power will be available to recover rotor rpm as collective is lowered. Clearly, the pilot must carefully monitor the rotor rpm recovery to ensure that the rotor is not oversped. At the higher power setting, the collective throttle mechanical link will operate to maintain rotor rpm as the pilot raises the collective to stop any descent that may be developed.
Robinson Helicopter Company has been aware of this risk for some time and describes it fully to all students on safety courses. U.S. experience has shown that the pilots who are most vulnerable to this danger are:
- students in early solo, especially if sent solo with less than 20 hours R22 experience
- middle-aged pilots (those who had problems in training are most at risk)
- pilots with significant fixed-wing experience but limited helicopter experience
- pilots carrying out their first flight with a passenger, and
- pilots distracted by events outside the aircraft
To reduce the risk of the low IAS low rotor rpm situation developing, the aircraft manufacturer recommends a minimum speed of 60 kts for normal flight and to avoid unnecessary flying at low level, especially under 500 ft AGL.
The third high-risk group, fixed wing pilots, when faced with a low IAS low rotor rpm situation, are very likely to experience interference that can arise from old automated skill routines when they interfere with the learning of a new skill ("old habits die hard"). This "habit interference" (sometimes called "negative transfer") is one of the major causes of technique problems in experienced operators as well as novices.
Low IAS/low RRPM accidents in fixed wing pilots are caused by the automatic application of an incorrect recovery attempt (the learned skill and automatic reaction that is transferred from a previous and different ship where it may have been appropriate). As stated in Robinson Safety Notice SN-29:
- the ingrained reactions of an experienced airplane pilot can be deadly when flying a helicopter
- the airplane pilot may fly the helicopter well when doing normal manoeuvres under ordinary conditions when there is time to think about the proper control response. But when required to react suddenly under unexpected circumstances, he may revert to his airplane reactions and commit a fatal error
- under those conditions his hands and feet move purely by reaction without conscious thought. Those reactions may well be based on his greater experience, i.e., the reactions developed flying airplanes
Conventional wisdom says that it takes time to overcome old habits and change established skills. To continue the above example, the safety notice correctly recommends that:
- the experienced airplane pilot must devote considerable time and effort to developing safe helicopter reactions
- the helicopter reactions must be stronger and take precedence over the pilot's airplane reactions because everything happens faster in a helicopter. The pilot does not have time to realise he made the wrong move, think about it and then correct it
- to develop safe helicopter reactions, the airplane pilot must practice each procedure over and over again with a competent instructor until his hands and feet will always make the right move without requiring conscious thought
It is generally accepted that emergency procedures in airplanes require that a pilot has instilled in him certain automatic reactions. Learning these reactions can take a considerable time, especially when what is required to be learned is different from or conflicts with a previously learned reaction or response to a particular situation. Changes in routine or in equipment or control configuration can present persistent obstacles to learning progress. Research studies of skill development indicate that under conventional instruction and re-training it can take up to 2,000 repetitions of the correct reaction before a skilled operator really learns (to automatic or instinctive response stage) a new skill that conflicts with a previously learned skill.
In an ideal world a pilot would undertake such extended training until it had the desired effect but all too often the pressures of earning a living preclude completion of all but the bare minimum training requirements.
A common reaction of experienced pilots and instructors to this habit interference problem that so often occurs with conventional skill training methods is to say that this is not a "training problem', in other words, that re-training will not fix it. This mistaken belief is based on the fact that:
- the pilot has already been re-trained (using conventional methods)
- he knows what he is doing that is incorrect
- he knows what he should be doing
- he is highly motivated to change because his livelihood and reputation depend on it
- during training and when under supervision he can do it; and
- so, its now up to him to put in the required effort.
Old Way-New Way offers a new way of looking at pilot training and re-training. Instead of blaming lack of learning progress on the instructor or on the pilot undergoing instruction, or on both, this methodology instead attributes poor learning performance and poor transfer to proactive inhibition, a well-researched brain mechanism that has been substantiated in the psychological literature for some 80 years. "Proactive inhibition" takes place whenever old learning interferes or conflicts with new learning.
For example, explaining to a helicopter pilot that his reaction to the low rpm warning horn is incorrect and hazardous, then showing him what he should be doing and then getting him to practice that over and over does little to help him change - it simply arouses proactive inhibition in his brain which then interferes with (i.e., causes a high rate of forgetting of ) the new technique the pilot is trying to learn. Under conventional methods of technique correction the pilot may even appear to improve during training sessions and can perform satisfactorily under the watchful eye of the instructor, but he typically reverts to his old incorrect technique (the previously learned automated skill routine) in the absence of supervision and in the stress of unexpected or emergency situations.
The use of proactive inhibition, a fully-researched and validated brain mechanism, as an alternative explanation of such learning difficulties takes a lot of the "heat" out of the re-training situation and is one of the reasons for the high acceptance of the method with both instructors and trainees.
Old Way / New Way is the only skill correction method that effectively deals with such interference problems and offers quick and permanent correction and transfer of skills.
The method respects the pilot's existing skills, even though some of these may cause problems, and takes him through a systematic comparison and differentiation of his "old" (incorrect) and the "new" (correct) way.
The method is based on the premise that in order to reach the future you have to first revisit the past. Notably, because it is a metacognitive approach that makes the pilot able to self-detect and self-correct errors, the method is able to achieve the rapid transfer of learning that is so elusive under more conventional skill correction techniques. At the same time, it is user friendly and easily incorporated into what pilots and instructors normally do. Old Way-New Way is ideally suited to training using flight simulators.
Unlike other skill correction methods, with Old Way-New Way there is no temporary drop in performance while the pilot is adjusting to the new technique - improvement is almost immediate. And unlike behaviour modification or operant approaches to training, Old Way-New Way does not involve cumbersome manipulation of behavioural consequences nor does it require intensive monitoring.
All this makes Old Way New Way® very cost-effective.
